Catherine LewisNot on Facebook yet? What are you waiting for!? In the latest installment of our six-part What Consumers Want series, we reveal how Facebook is by far the most popular site for consumers looking to engage with local businesses. Read on.
Our recent Yodle survey* findings indicate that 45% of consumers follow local businesses on Facebook. The next most popular site is Twitter, but only 18% of consumers are following local businesses there. One thing is probably certain when it comes to Facebook marketing: if you aren’t engaging with customers on the social platform, your competitors probably are.
Facebook: The New Yellow Pages
Before the 1990s and the Internet revolution, your local business hadn’t really arrived until it was listed in the Yellow Pages. For businesses that want to be found, it might be time to think of Facebook as the Yellow Pages of our era. Consumers are on Facebook; it’s where they’re linking to their favorite news agencies, community organizations, and local businesses. According to our survey, 42% of consumers reported that they search for local businesses via social media and review sites. Since Facebook is the mother of all the social media sites, it’s important for your business to be found there.
How Should Your Business Use Facebook?
At the very minimum, your business should have a Facebook business page listing its address, services or products, and website. Yet, Facebook offers businesses many wonderful features and tools for interacting with customers and potential customers. You can use the site to announce sales and incentives, advertise newly posted blogs, or to report industry news. By interacting with customers, you can reinforce your brand and grow your business online. By linking your business website to your Facebook page, you can drive more traffic to your website and, ideally, make more sales or win new clients.
Since four out of every ten customers are using social media and online review sites to locate local businesses, it’s important to ensure your presence on heavy-hitting sites like Facebook. As increasing numbers of people flock to the internet for information, this number is likely to rise. The sooner your business launches its Facebook profile, the sooner it can be found by area customers searching for products and services like the ones you offer. Check out these tips on Facebook posts that people will actually read and the best way to track your Facebook marketing success.
* In April 2015, Yodle commissioned an independent online survey of 6,000+ U.S. consumers, including 200+ local respondents in 20 mid-market cities, via a third party research firm.
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