A common question I’m asked is “Should I use ‘bright shiny object of the month’ to market my business?
Lately, the question tends to be asked in the context of Facebook, but quite frankly, the answer is the same regardless of the “magic solution” you’re asking about.
As usual, the answer is “Fish where the fish are.”
You’d never fish for westslope cutthroat trout in a midwest farm pond. Or at least…you’d never catch any cuts if you did try to fish there.
But..back to Facebook
In the context of Facebook, we’re still talking about people who care about the product or service you provide.
Let me rephrase that: What they really care about is what your product/service does for THEM, caring about you is way down the food chain.
And while it really doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about Facebook or the Weekly World News, I’ll continue in the context of Facebook because there are a few Facebook-specific things to consider.
Ask yourself…
You have to ask yourself a series of questions about the pond you want to fish in.
Can I specifically identify the kind of prospective customers I want to meet? (No is not a valid answer – no matter what you sell)
Do those prospective customers hang out on Facebook?
A question you might not have considered…are your customers mostly women? And are they mostly women in their prime buying years?
If you take a look at the demographics of Facebook users (here, here, here and here), you’ll find that about 55% of Facebook users are women and the biggest group is 35-55 years young (Tom Peters would be yelling at you not to ignore this market if he were here).
BUT…the key point is still “Are they actively using Facebook?”
Joining the conversation
Is your product or service the sort of thing that people tend to talk about around the water cooler, the sidelines of a kids’ soccer game or similar? That’s the same kind of conversation that occurs on Facebook.
If your audience converses on Facebook, you should be there and join the conversation.
If you were on the sidelines of a kids’ soccer game and the conversation turned to a topic that you are an expert on, would you ignore the people having the conversation or would you join in?
I’m guessing you’d gently find a way to join the conversation.
If you were at a Chamber luncheon and some business owners at your table were discussing a problem that your business’ product and/or service is great at resolving, wouldn’t you find a way to join the discussion in a way that doesn’t impose on the table?
Sure you would.
So…If there’s a conversation on Facebook, how is that different from these two situations?
You’re right. It isn’t different at all.
Finding them on Facebook
So..your next task is to create a Facebook account and search for people having conversations that you can offer value to. You need to look at Facebook groups. There are groups for every conceivable topic. Some of them are sponsored by industry associations or leading vendors.
You might also look for Facebook “pages” (which normally represent a business) that you have something in common with. Interact when it makes sense.
Your goal is not to carpet bomb Facebook with “buy my stuff, visit my website”. Your goal is to join conversations and establish your positioning as an expert.
In order to avoid spending all day on it AND to avoid blowing it off, treat it like any other work: Schedule it. If you don’t schedule it, you won’t take it seriously.
If it isn’t right for you: Two ways to say “I don’t use Facebook”
Almost every day, I hear business people saying “I don’t waste my time on Facebook.”
That’s one way to say “I don’t use Facebook.”
I suggest this one: “I looked on Facebook to see if there was a community of people who need what I sell and found none, so I don’t use it for business. I still check in every few months to see if that has changed.”
That thought process shouldn’t be limited to Facebook.
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a business, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site or contact him via email at mriffey at flatheadbeacon.com.