Looking for an effective, easy-to-execute marketing tool that can help you connect with your customers and prospects so you can achieve more bookings for your small business?
Whether you need to increase client bookings for your beauty salon, improve reservation rates for your B&B or secure more patients for your dental practice, marketing on Facebook – the world's largest social network – simply makes sense.
Why should small businesses market on the world's biggest social network?
A 2016 study by the Pew Research Center revealed that 79% of Americans who are online use Facebook. As of December 2017, there were approximately 202.82 million active U.S.-based Facebook accounts, and that number is projected to rise to 220 million by 2022.
Not only do millions of American adults visit their social media sites frequently, but they're spending an average of 50 minutes each day browsing through Facebook and its holdings (which include both Instagram and Messenger).
Facebook marketing advantages for small business owners
From a marketing perspective, Facebook is a digital goldmine filled with extensive data about its users, including details about where each user lives, their age and gender, who their friends are, their relationship status and what they like, share and comment on.
To get started, here are four ways you can boost bookings at your small business by marketing on Facebook:
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Add a “Book Now” button to your small business Facebook page
Integrating a live call-to-action button on your Facebook page makes it easy for your followers and prospects to commit to an appointment booking on the spot. This saves your visitors the effort it takes to either call you directly or navigate to your website, and it also dramatically increases the odds that you'll capture the lead.
To add a “Book Now” button, simply follow these steps. Easy, right?
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Highlight positive customer reviews
Social media marketing is all about word-of-mouth, so when a customer leaves you a positive, well-written review, you should respond with a heartfelt, personalized thank you, then copy and paste the review into your latest Facebook post. After all, happy customers are your best advertisers!
If you've been reluctant to turn on the Reviews feature of your Facebook page because you're concerned that you might get a bad review, remember that you have a number of options when it comes to dealing with less-than-glowing feedback on your social media feed.
Responding is always a good idea; reviews that break the rules can be removed by Facebook, and you always have the option of simply turning off the Reviews feature.
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Harness the power of Facebook ads
Facebook knows an awful lot about their users, which is why Facebook marketing has the potential to deliver a great ROI for small business owners.
With Facebook's Ads Manager tool, you can create a targeted marketing campaign, making it easy to reach prospective clients based on their age, specific geolocation, interests, education and even what devices they use to surf the web.
By getting started with Facebook ads, you can guarantee that your advertisement will be shown to your target audience, at a very cost-efficient price. This will grow your overall brand awareness and attract new leads to your business.
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Promote limited-time offers
Encourage your visitors to like and follow your small business on Facebook by creating exclusive, limited-time offers that are only available to those who visit your social media feed. Not only will this help to increase the ROI of your Facebook ads, but the extra traffic to your page will help boost your posts, making your small business visible to more prospects.
When you're searching for ways to secure more bookings for your small business, don't overlook the power of Facebook marketing. Your audience is waiting!
