How small UK businesses can use Facebook

As of March 2013, Facebook has over 1.11 billion users globally, with around 26 million in the UK. It is the world’s second most viewed website. It is therefore not surprising that businesses are a continually growing presence on Facebook, as it is a fantastic opportunity for them to reach, engage and interact with new and existing customers. Here are a few tips on how small businesses can use Facebook. Get as much information about your company on your page as possible, including contact details, opening hours, descriptions about your business, products and services. Post regularly to build up a relationship with your followers. This creates more chance of your posts being seen and shared. You can schedule posts in advance if you are not able to post for a while. Engage with your audience. If someone comments on your page or status, reply and interact with them to build a relationship. Use your statuses to ask questions of your followers, so that they feel involved with your business, and encourage them to like or share your statuses. Once your page has reached 30 likes use “Page Insights” to see which posts have been popular, shared or talked about the most so that you can tailor future posts to be more like these. Keep your posts short and eye catching – most people have a lot of status updates on their newsfeed to scroll through and don’t sit there reading each one. Make good use of photos as they stand out on people’s newsfeeds. Your cover photo says a lot about your business, so change it regularly to attract attention. Don’t change your profile photo as it gives continuity to your page and helps to establish your brand. Highlight the most important posts on your page that you want customers to notice, and pin to the top posts you want to be seen immediately. Post about relevant events and key issues of the day to engage with your audience. To attract more likes, give followers something that nobody else can get unless they like your page – e.g. exclusive access to a competition or a special offer. You could announce new products or services first on Facebook, or display the photos from an event on your page, which people at the event will only be able to see if they like your page.