With Facebook removing grey ticks from business Pages and changing the algorithm to limit a pages organic reach (Click here to find out more) it’s inarguable that small and medium-sized businesses will be most affected.
Currently, without boosting a Facebook post it will only reach roughly 1-3% of your following, this looks like it will be impacted further with the new changes.
Facebook for local businesses: Can you do it with no marketing budget?
In the last year, Facebook has limited the impressions of Facebook Ads and now with the amendments to organic impressions and the legitimacy of the grey tick this could have a very real negative impact on the success of small businesses with no marketing budget. This begs the question; How can you work with the Facebook algorithm to get what you need out of the platform?
- Encourage reviews. This will add legitimacy to your business/company.
- Remember that Facebook is there to promote conversation and social interaction. If your content produces more interactions you can overcome the changes to organic reach.
- Sometimes you need to think about XYZ to avoid getting stuck at ABC. Businesses can become bogged down with constantly selling their product, however, this can hurt your business when dealing with the social media savvy audience of 2019. People don’t want all of the content they receive to be a sales pitch, so it can actually help your marketing strategy to provide other relevant content which is of interest to your followers.
- Hosting events is a great way to increase your reach. When your followers express interest, the people they’re connected with are also more likely to see your event/page.
- Streaming live videos can be a great way to reach your followers. It’s a focus for Facebook so they boost the visibility of live streams.
- Create and join Facebook groups. It’s a fantastic way to humanise yourself/your brand and increase your reach. It is important not to solely promote your business in these groups, instead see this as an opportunity to genuinely increase your reach and visibility by contributing t the discussions.
- Facebook is starting to favour local news over national news. This means cultivating connections with the local media is increasingly important. If you have an event, or an exciting development with your business create press releases and make sure to get the word out there.
- Finally… You may need to boost your advertising budget. If posts are meaningful and have been generating a lot of engagement/clicks you should consider putting paid promotions behind them. Just make sure to analyse what you’re doing so that you’re putting your budget to it’s best to use.
What will your social media marketing strategy be?
Facebook is still a platform that can benefit your business, it is just trickier to navigate than it would have been in previous years. It’s something that takes strategy and an investment of your time and a certain amount of money. Even if you’re operating on a shoestring budget, at the very least having an active Facebook Page is something that will show your customers that your business is thriving. Source: Idea Marketing / Source: inc.com
How Plugged In Media has helped Kent-based beauty business
After launching in 2014 Makeup by Lottie started her career in the beauty industry. Plugged In Media helped her cultivate a customer base from scratch after she moved to Tunbridge Wells. We built up her business solely from Facebook using a £2 a day Facebook marketing plan. Using a strategy where we focused on getting the best out of Facebook by bolstering her business but also making the most of it as a true social networking site, she was able to build a substantial client base that now covers Kent, Sussex, Essex and London.
5 years on, over 70% of her business comes from Facebook and she is one of the highest-ranking makeup artist on both Facebook and Google in the South East and Kent.
