Facebook marketing strategies on center stage

Springfield’s small-business community is on the hunt for customers, and last week they received a crash course in marketing from the world’s largest social network.

Despite Facebook’s ubiquity – roughly 1.5 billion people use the platform – many local companies were curious about the company’s Boost Your Business seminar, geared toward coaching the best practices for building online engagement.

“I didn’t know what to expect from it, but I was really impressed,” said Charley Garrison, digital media manager for Branson-based Earl’s Family Broadcasting Inc. “Over the past few years, we’ve been doing more and more with (Facebook), and I think that’s the direction everybody is going.”

More than 300 people attended the Aug. 23 event at The Old Glass Place, which Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) spokesman George Gonzalez said is a typical audience for small- and midsize cities.

“Sometimes, we’re not a big enough draw,” Gonzalez said. “When we were in Los Angeles, we couldn’t fill a whole room. It’s tough because people either already know about it or hire out for the services and they don’t pay attention to it.”

How Facebook came to Springfield is a study in content similar to the company’s presentation. Company representatives say analytics help them identify cities with a small-business community actively advertising on Facebook, then they’ll reach out to the local chamber of commerce, elected officials and other companies to spread the word.

“It’s driving customers to businesses, and that’s why everyone is here today – to learn how to do more of that,” Rep. Billy Long, R.-Mo., said prior to kicking off the event.

Bull’s-eyes
The sheer number of potential customers on social media is a boon to marketers, but it can be overwhelming for a small business. Facebook Small Business Community Engagement Presenter Sarah Pagliocco said the network has 158 million daily users, and the audience is captive: Users spend one out of every five mobile minutes on either Facebook or company-owned app Instagram.

Cutting straight to target customers by making connections on that wide playing field was the theme of the seminar.

“With Facebook, you’re able to target people who matter to you, who are already interested in your business or the types of products that your business has,” Pagliocco said. “Your audience does not need to be everybody because your products may not appeal to everybody.”

To select customers for a post or advertisement, Pagliocco said businesses can use Facebook’s analytics tool, called Insights, to hone in on demographics, interests, behaviors and customer locations using GPS data from smartphones. Businesses also can track their company’s engagement performance against that of area competitors.

Local businesspeople who participated in a panel discussion with Pagliocco have found ways to communicate sensitive information via Facebook in a relatively confidential manner.

Gwen Beebe, who’s over business development and regional operations for Phoenix Home Care Inc., said the company uses Messenger to keep in touch with roughly 2,500 employees – many who are working in the field – as much as it does prospective customers. “There are people who are reluctant to give a phone number,” she said. “They can talk directly to me, but if they’re more comfortable with Messenger, that’s fine, too. Mainly, they want to know someone is there and not an answering machine.”

Krystal Abrams, owner of Ozark Mountain Orchards, said some customers inquire about the company’s acceptance of WIC and food stamps via Messenger. More commonly, the seasonal produce business uses Facebook to keep followers updated on opening times and sales, as well posting proven recipes. The best practice, she said, is to be consistent.

“Stay out in front of your customers and post things that are relevant to them – not just things that can make a sale, but things that are useful and helpful,” Abrams said.

The buzz factor
For Nroute Enterprises LLC co-owner Will Reynolds, attending Boost Your Business was particularly important because Facebook is one of only two forms of advertising for the emergency vehicle outfitting company. The other: word of mouth.

“It was really to figure out how to market to other small businesses,” Reynolds said, noting the Ozark-based company also handles technical systems for commercial vans of electrical and HVAC contractors. “There’s a lot of different marketing strategies out there, but I don’t want to throw money blindly at something to figure out what’s the most efficient.”

A tool panel members find useful is the boost feature, which allows a company to spend money to bump a post to the top of users’ news feeds. The audience that sees the boosted ad is often targeted based on demographics gathered through Insights.

Shannon Johnson, owner of wedding floral company Shannon’s Custom Florals LLC, said boosting is particularly advantageous for small businesses because they can control the budget and pull out if they don’t see results.

“I start with $5 and if it works, I keep going,” Johnson said.

The florist spends $300-$500 a month boosting posts and always profits from the spend.

“That’s the way we’ve done (marketing) for 16 years. If it works, go with it, and if it doesn’t work, try something else,” she said.

Reynolds, who started using the boost option in April, is working his way through applying analytics to advertising when posting vehicle photos to Facebook. He’s narrowed the Nroute demographic to 25-40-year-old males in the Springfield area, and he uses select keywords, such as contractor, police or sheriff. If the post nets interactions from 100 people, he’ll push the envelope by boosting the ad.

“I don’t have any hard numbers, but I know we’re getting more phone and web traffic from it,” Reynolds said.

Beebe said Phoenix’s best method for spreading the word is the one free of charge.

“Our best boost is getting people to share it,” Beebe said of the company’s employee base. “If businesses do more of that with their internal team, they’re going to see a lot of success.”