When I acted as a Social Media Consultant for a small, local restaurant in Chico, CA I faced some interesting challenges. Chico has a pretty mixed demographic, but about ¼ of the population are college students. The restaurant is located in the heart of downtown Chico. Its main selling points were quality food and a large bar. In the beginning it was difficult to target specific sets of customers, because the target audience was very diverse. There are a lot of college students, but at the same time there was a local business crowd during lunch time, families, and a late-night dining crowd.
After a month of analysis and measurements, we created “lists” for the three demographics. We developed a list for the college kids, the business personnel, and the late-night crowd. Then, when we post content regarding cheap drinks and happy-hour specials, we only allow our list of college students to view the content. Alternatively, when we post lunch specials, promotions that are specific to the business crowd, we only allow the business list to view the content. This helps your business zero in on specific segments of your audience, and reduces the amount of “spam” received by the audience(s) that is not being targeted.
Social Media Services
Want to sell online?
On July 8, 2009, the first complete e-commerce experience appeared on Facebook when 1-800-Flowers premiered its Facebook store, powered by Alvenda (Now 8thBridge). For the first time, users could conduct an entire sales transaction without ever leaving the Facebook environment. Although not a fully integrated Facebook experience, the Alvenda approach heralded the arrival of real shopping on Facebook.
Local businesses struggle with a dilemma every day:
Should I sell more of my products online?
In today’s world, there is no reason why you cannot sell your products online. The hard part is figuring out how to do it. There are many layers and things to know about selling products online. An easy example of an E-commerce website where you can sell your businesses products online is Ebay. But, the problem with Ebay is that they take a percentage of your sales each time you sell something.
If you choose not to use Ebay, then you may see other expensive alternatives. It is also an option to have your website where you sell products. You will need to pay a webpage builder, E-commerce platforms, and many other things needed to sell your products online.
Or, you can choose the easiest, and cheapest option: Sell products on Facebook.
Simply use your existing Facebook business page. If your business doesn’t have a Facebook Page, don’t worry. DSM Solutions can help you with that.
What is a Facebook store?
A Facebook business page is very much like an online store that can do much more than a website can:
- After your community is formed, you can reach your target audience instantly, and start selling more products right away.
- It is cheaper! You don’t need to hire a website developer, or other expenses involved. You can set up your own store in minutes, saving you a lot of time and money.
- It lets your customers shop socially. They can easily share your products with their friends and family, meaning your business gets a lot more exposure.
Why Facebook?
Facebook has over 700 million users. It’s more than likely that the majority of your customers have a Facebook profile. This makes it an ideal platform to reach out to your customers.
When someone ‘Likes’ your brand, it’s a sign they want to be ‘in the know’. In the know often translates to ‘want to buy’. Now you can make that happen.
You can keep fans on your page and keep them coming back by creating an awesome Facebook store. If you’re spending time and energy on your Facebook business page, isn’t a Facebook store the next logical step for your business?
Here are a couple Facebook applications you can use to create a Facebook store for your business:
Social Media Marketing for Small Business 