Facebook reveals secrets to Alfred

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OCTOBER 2015 | Joanne Eisemann

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IN A ROOM filled with eager- to-learn people, Jan Collett, Facebook-guru and a volunteer of Deloraine Online Centre, ran two sessions on how this social media could help spread the word about business or community group services.

This is because only around 50% of businesses in Meander Valley have a presence on Facebook, some more successfully than others.

“You have to remember that Facebook is the social aspect of your business. It is not necessarily going to be your core web presence for selling things,” advises Jan.

Marketing research shows that 80% of Facebook users click the ‘About’ icon on a business page. It is one of the first things they do to learn “more about the philosophy behind their commerce and who the proprietors are.” Facebook is also designed to encourage spending on advertising through them, so many posts will hardly be seen.

“The average quantity of stuff that will come across your ‘friends’ or ‘fans’ who have liked your business page is 6% because of the news feed and the way the Facebook algorithms work,” explains Jan.

Moreover, “this percentage can be increased by encouraging more people to interact with your page.”

‘Seppenfelts’ owner, Alfred Franssen, attended Jan’s workshops at Deloraine Online Centre to learn more in order to give his partner, Isabel, a hand to promote their business through Facebook – a social media she already uses.

But he does not find the move to social media easy, as he is “still a bit in denial about it.”

“It is not really my habit to go sit behind a computer everyday and communicate that way. It is too indirect for me,” he explains. “But I can see it has got a really good place in our world. It is efficient if you want to put messages out there really quick.”

“But it is easy for people to get overloaded with all that information,” he adds. “That is why I think this shop, (with the) face to face, is always going to stay relevant and important.”

Yet Isabel has found using Facebook a great way for her to let her customers know that ‘Seppenfelts’ had moved to a new location on Emu Bay Road.

That successful start in this social media has led her into experimenting with ways she can continue communicating with her customers through Facebook.

Even then, she is cautious about not overdoing it as she does not want to be “like the shops that post every new item they bring into their store.”

Her experiments with different types of posts has led her to discover what works for their company; like how to schedule posts so that she can work more effectively with the flow of the business.

Jan advises that each enterprise is going to be slightly different. What works for one might not necessarilywork for another and while listening to the marketing experts is useful, working outwhat works for your business is a matter of experimentation.

If you would like to learn more about Facebook, call 6362 3537 to register your interest for the next course at Deloraine Online, scheduled when numbers allow.

[udesign_icon_font name="fa fa-camera" color="#000000"] Mike Moores