In our last post, we discussed how to create and manage a newsletter. In this blog, we’ll focus on the next step — the pros and cons of starting a Facebook page.
Facebook is one of the easiest ways to get an online presence up and running fast. It offers a number of free tools specifically designed to help small businesses increase awareness and attract more customers. You can also build or connect an Instagram account to increase your social media footprint.
The advantage of social media sites like Facebook is the ability to interact with customers on popular platforms. You can make use of easy promotional tools such as live stories and conversations, showcase and sell products, enable private messaging with customers, enable appointment scheduling, and much more.
While having a social media presence is essential, it’s important to note the pitfalls as well. An insensitive photo or offensive post can reflect poorly on your business. Unhappy customers may also leave negative reviews on your social media pages. And all too often, social media messages go unanswered, which can frustrate potential customers looking for information. So it’s important to manage your social media presence carefully and consistently.
For any business, setting up a Facebook or Instagram page is just the beginning. To effectively use it as a customer communication tool, see our next post, “How to promote your business on social media.”
