Does your company have a Facebook page?

[Liam Weston]

I'm launching a social marketing app that integrates with Facebook and I am interested to know how many businesses have a Facebook for Business page. Please cast your vote.

Thanks!

 

[fisicx]

Business Facebook are mostly vanity pages. The number of leads they generate are tiny compared to other marketing methods. If you want to engage with people twitter is far better for business.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

No I don't, if a small business has time to piss about on social media, which will usually be directed at a couple of hundred followers at best, then they probably aren't worth buying from.

Social media is just that, "social" and not business.

 

[KM-Tiger]

We used to, but found it served no purpose.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

We used to, but found it served no purpose.

Yes, true, but there's many a "expert" on here who will tell you different!!!!!

 

[fisicx]

All the experts will tell you they have 5 million likes but won't be able to attribute a single conversion to any of those likes.

 

[Tier1Logistics]

I use to have a business page had 3000 odd likes and out of that I had 2 customers, didn't see the point and got rid of the page. In fact I no longer have a Facebook account.

As people above have said, twitter seems to do better for business.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

All the experts will tell you they have 5 million likes but won't be able to attribute a single conversion to any of those likes.

So true, Facebook is good for paid for ad's that apparently use your Google searches between posts. But it still is a social medium, with targeted paid for advertising, rather than a selling platform. And Facebook know this.....

 

[myfairworld]

Horses for courses I reckon. While I've found it very hard to build up followers on our Facebook page, a lot of those following are actual customers or likely potential customers of the business and the page seems to give them some sense of belonging/loyalty to the business/interest in the business.

I've found building up followers on Twitter ultra easy and we've got umpteen more followers than on Facebook but as far as I can see 70% of them are people hoping to sell my business something, 25% are businesses or organisations in the same sector and whom I follow in turn - we have a happy time exchanging ideas and this is very useful but only a long term and very indirect route to increasing sales. I'd doubt if more than 5% are simply and straightforwardly customers/potential customers.

But every business you talk to seems to find that the equation works out differently.

Instagram seems to be the current big scorer for many but I find it too difficult to produce so many high quality photos so often. I suppose if I was thoroughly convinced it would be a great marketing tool I'd find a way to do it but at this stage I'm not so convinced...

 

[HazelC]

I have a facebook page and I am a B2B company, I would normally only recommend Facebook to B2C businesses that sell things like clothes, cakes, trades and such like. This works really well!

The reason I have a Facebook business page is to show it as an example to those using Facebook for their business.

 

[Paul Murray]

Used to, zero point anymore. My target market aren't using it for a start, but even if they were, I don't have the time to faff about with it (and Facebook UX is terrible, they don't make anything easy to do). Add to that, the fact that I'd have to pay to have my content seen and it's a big fat "no".

I'd take everything I read from these self-titled "experts" with a huge pinch of salt. Empty vessels make the most noise.

 

[Trisha&ChrisPlant]

An interesting discussion. We have two businesses and two Facebook pages. I work at it in fits and starts, when the mood takes me - though probably not the best approach. Sometimes I chuck a tenner at a post to 'boost' it, and I maybe get one or two comments, but I don't really think it generates any business.

 

[Vincentas]

Yes, we have a Facebook page as well and the main reason for this is because it can reach a really big audience. Also, it seems that it is becoming the main platform for your customers/visitors discussions.

 

[BustersDogs]

Yes, I get a lot of work through facebook. Most of it is networking, which doesn't need the page itself as the page can't post in the groups, but it gives people a place to go to check me out and my style of dog training. Some of my dog walking customers have followed me on facebook before signing up, although it's mostly training. It's also getting my name known out there which I really need as I'm trying to write a book. (ha! if I ever get time). The last dog training event I did, two thirds were customers of another service and the other third came from facebook posts.

 

[fisicx]

Dog walking and similar are where FB can be very useful because it's all about a personal service. If you were selling kitchen cupboards a facebook page is pretty pointless.

 

[ADNattan]

I've got a Facebook page. It's delivered one lead in about three years.

LinkedIn delivers two, maybe three leads a month - personal profile, not business page, and Twitter's landed me overflow work from other copywriters and agencies.

 

[14Steve14]

A few years ago someone advised me to have a facebook page. I was new so took their advice. After working at it a bit, but throwing only my time at it, I now dont bother and am seriously thinking of getting rid of it. Too few likes and not one sale from it as far as I know.

I then started a group and told all my customers about it via email newsletters and do so every month. It has just under 100 members,which is small, and gives me a sensible place to push my products and chat to my customers answering their questions. Does it bring in any sales - to be honest I have no idea, because I never check. What it does give me is somewhere to interact with a few customers, and thats about it. Numbers are growing slowly. Being an online only business I have to get to my customers some how and this sort of works, but is not the best.

 

[boring-friday]

hardly use it, like twitter and instagram though

 

[Liam Weston]

Lots of interesting responses. My take on it is that the value of Facebook for a business is not in the business's Facebook page, as that relies on consumers finding it. Your business can have a fantastic, professional Facebook page with lots of regularly updated content but unless people are looking for your page you are shouting into an abyss.

The real value of Facebook is the connection between friends and the holy grail for a business on Facebook is for satisfied customers to be posting good things about the business on their own Facebook timeline, where their entire social network will see it. A study from Nielsen (a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy) states that 92% of consumers around the world say they trust recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of advertising.

The app I have developed provides a mechanism for a business to send an endorsement request to a customer and for the customer to post an Endorsement to their timeline, with a business card type attachment. When their friends see the endorsement and click through it takes them to a profile page with details of the business, the services it provides and showing all the endorsements it has received.

A business doesn't even need a Facebook page to realise the marketing opportunity that Facebook offers.

Do you think this is a marketing approach that could benefit your business?

 

[fisicx]

The app I have developed provides a mechanism for a business to send an endorsement request to a customer and for the customer to post an Endorsement to their timeline, with a business card type attachment. When their friends see the endorsement and click through it takes them to a profile page with details of the business, the services it provides and showing all the endorsements it has received.

While this may work functionally the business it generates will be tiny. People just don't use FB this way and the chances are FB won't even show the posts on your timeline.

Are you using the app? Are you getting endorsements? Are people clicking on them?

 

[dealmegood.co.uk]

We hardly use facebook our main way of marketing is through twitter which we find most effective and other sources

 

[Charlotte Barnes]

Facebook, and social media in general, may not bring in the high conversions that some people expect but that doesn't make it a waste of time.

If you are looking to build up your business in terms of authority, engagement and trust, then social media can be a very useful tool. Granted, for some businesses, Facebook can lead to sales and revenue, but it can also open up avenues for networking and communication with your customers. Some people feel more comfortable engaging with businesses via social media rather than by phone or email.

 

[JeromeJ]

My company has a facebook page. However from people's responses, it looks like that Twitter could be more effective.

 

[Leaflet Distri Experts]

Hi,

In my opinion you should create a Facebook page. Indeed three months ago we were thinking about deleting it but according to our Google Analytics data a lot of Internet users are converted through our Facebook page.

You just need to make it official: I think you have nothing to lose

 

[Reshad Bashir]

For me, Facebook is another way to stay in touch with my customers. It is not a way to get new customers, but a way to stay in touch with the customers you already have. I like to keep them posted on news and developments and a good way to do this is through Facebook.

 

[Carl Mintern]

We have a page, couldn't tell you what it looks like though. I know it has generated some work

 

[Frimley111R]

Yes, it works for us as we sell B2C (climbing frames and treehouses) and so we have very visual product. Also we use retargeting so our ads appear on FB. We don't have lots of likes but a competitor with over 40,000 does very very well just from FB although their likes were built using techniques that FB won't allow now.

 

[dtdigital]

Twitter kicks Facebook's A** for biz dev. I'd always go down that route for the best results.

 

[Opinion87]

Facebook is one of the main ways we communicate with customers.

We have 4,312 "Likes". Our total reach thus far this week is 39,786. Our Total Engagement is 3,001; broken down... 943 "Likes", 72 "Comments", 40 "Shares" and 11,329 "Post Clicks. We post once per day, six days per week. Most posts we'll Boost for £10.00.

(B2C, no B2B.)

Edit: We get far better engagement from Facebook than Twitter. In order- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pintrest

 

[fisicx]

How much revenue has this generated? Or are you just using it as a communications tool.

 

[Deleted member 252819]

As a B2B service provider, we have never found Facebook useful for sales, conversions or even discussion. However, I do think it's important to have a presence so clients see you're active and easy to contact.

 

[Opinion87]

How much revenue has this generated? Or are you just using it as a communications tool.

In general I couldn't give you an exact figure, that would be impossible, but it's certainly a revenue generator. We have plenty of customers that come to the business that say that came down because of something they saw on our Facebook. We also sell tickets online and use Facebook to direct customers to the likes of WeGotTickets and it's a very cost effective way of getting sales.

 

[Olson]

We have, but there is no sense to have it.

 

[Matt1959]

my missus says there are visitor stats for business facebook pages - is this true? Judging a facebook pages effectiveness by the number of likes seems a bit hit and miss to me.....

 

[Opinion87]

my missus says there are visitor stats for business facebook pages - is this true? Judging a facebook pages effectiveness by the number of likes seems a bit hit and miss to me.....

She is correct. The "Insights" on Facebook are quite in depth. Examples;

Page and Tab Visits
Broken down by: Timeline, Events tab, Photos tab, Info tab, Others)

External Referrers
Broken down by website (handy if you're advertising on 3rd party sites)

When Your Fans Are Online
Broken down in to hourly intervals so you know the best time to put your posts live and/or Boost them.

Very detailed stats on each post
"Likes", "Likes on Post", "Likes on Shares of Post"
"Comments," "Comments on Post", "Comments on Shares of Post"
Etc.

The People who Like Your Page
Broken down by; Sex and Age
Example of our currently...
44% of "fans" female, 13% between ages 18-24, 16% between ages 25-34, 9% between 35-44
55% of "fans" male, 15% between ages 18-24, 20% between ages 25-34, 11% between 35-44

I can see how many fans/"Likes" by country, city and language.

My Page has 4,329 "Likes." I can see what parts of my page they're clicking on, I can see when they're looking at the page and when they're not; I can see what they're Liking, Commenting and Sharing (and likewise I can see what they're Hiding), I can see exactly where they're coming from and what language they're speaking (as an example we occasionally put out a post in Polish, because we can see exactly how many of our "Likes" have their language set to Polish. As another example, we currently have 5 set to "English (Pirate)" I can see that this week our posts appear to have be received better by males over females- 44% of our "fans" are female but this week we've only engaged 28% of them. 55% of our "fans" are male but this week we've engaged 72% of them

Facebook is VERY, very effective for us- BUT, we know how to use it. I'm not intentionally going to insult certain people on here by telling them they aren't using an extremely powerful tool correctly, but to be perfectly honest, they aren't. Everything in this post is fact and comes from the fact that we invest some time and some money on our Facebook presence. And I would hope from this post people will realize what they're potentially missing out on.

 

[MOIC]

Having read this thread, it seems like I have an "anti social" business!

As a B2B company, perhaps it serves my existing customers better not to be active on social media.

Most companies want to keep their suppliers secret and would prefer that their competitors know little of who they use to purchase their products.

Do I have a responsibility to my customers?

Yes.

Will they prefer me to be "not active" on social media?

Probably yes.

Will being active on social media benefit my company?

Unsure . . . . Will it?

 

[Ali Cort]

Depending on your industry, Facebook might not send as many new customers as other channels but it could be useful in showing a more personal side of your business. Perhaps if you think of it as a recruitment tool to show the people in the business, rather than to acquire new customers, it might have a better purpose. All social media channels should be treated uniquely and have their own unique objectives. Always use Google Analytics to see how many people make it back to your own site via Facebook too - a like on its own isn't a lot of use!

 

[Gyroteck]

Yes we have one (we are just starting out). I think the usefulness depends on the type of buissness in question.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Well, we cover the whole range:

1/ Facebook Page
2/ Twitter Account
3/ Linkedin Company Page (set up yesterday).

I treat social media as another "window" or "contact point" to our business. Okay, so someone might not buy just because we have a FB page, but, I look at it as just another reminder to people that we are here if they need us. As I have just taken these accounts over, I am now going to make sure they are updated regularly. People like our FB posts and so that gets shared on their timeline, so even more people hear about us.

How long does it take me to keep these updated? About 10 minutes a day.

On Thursday evenings on Twitter there is the "#SussexHour" where people & businesses in Sussex can chat using the hashtag. Last night I forgot about it until 9:15pm, so only had 15mins left before the hour was up. In that 15mins I got chatting with someone who runs a small charity and was interested in our stationery, etc. so will be following that up today.

When I used to run the call answering service, not only did I get clients through both Facebook and Twitter, but some of current clients would send us Twitter DMs or FB Messages to update us on what they were doing, rather than call or email us.

I want people to buy from us, and I try and make it as easy as possible - they can contact me through any of this media, as well as phone or email.

 

[Ashley_Price]

No I don't, if a small business has time to piss about on social media, which will usually be directed at a couple of hundred followers at best, then they probably aren't worth buying from.

Social media is just that, "social" and not business.

Yet, you're on UKBF - have made 341 posts, chatting with others and discussing stuff, yet you don't consider that "pi**ing about" and "social"?

What is the difference between chatting with people on this forum compared to on FB, Twitter, Linkedin...?