Small businesses can access customers on Facebook

BUSINESSES are discovering that Facebook's a powerful tool to connect with customers.

Small businesses can utilise Facebook to update customers all in one place / File

YOUR customers are on Facebook.

There are 400 million users on Facebook and Facebook Pages - free public profiles for your business - have more than 5.3 billion fans.

You want a presence on the internet, but only 44 per cent of small businesses have a website, despite 63 per cent of consumers turning to the internet first for information about companies.

You can't really tell who's coming to your website, whereas with Facebook, you can attract "fans", or potential customers, with a Facebook Page, allowing you to update them all in one place and know who you're interacting with.

Facebook Pages are free public profiles for your business that provide an easy and powerful way to connect with customers.

Facebook Pages look and act like your personal Facebook profile page. When you share information about your business, such as upcoming sales, these stories go directly to your fans' News Feed, where they spend a lot of time - an average of 5.75 hours a month.

Fans can comment and click "Like", sending their friends stories linking to your Facebook Page and creating a viral effect.

Savvy at-home Queensland mums such as Jennifer Campbell Case, who has twin boys, are using the power of social networking to sell their wares.

Ms Campbell Case launched her pram cover business immie&ollie on Facebook two months ago.

"I wasn't aware of the extent of the handcrafted community's presence on Facebook," she said.

"The social networking community for handcrafted goods is really active and supportive.''

Small Business Learning Centre principal consultant Gordon Cramer said small businesses needed to go wherever the customers were, which included Facebook and blogs.

"You have to think, where does your market hide out?'' Mr Cramer said.

So, how do create and update a successful Page on Facebook?

Here are four simple tips:

1 Be open and authentic
People relate to genuine messages. When posting, consider what customers want, and listen to feedback. Include messages that aren't purely commercial. If you own a women's retail store, share articles about fashion or women's causes.
Post content that sparks conversations and creates dialogue. This can be significantly more valuable than broadcasting one-way marketing messages.

2 Be active and update often - even quick updates can be interesting
Your Facebook fans are interested in your business, so keep them informed. Post pictures of new merchandise or extended hours. Ask for feedback on products or survey them to see what they love about your business. Or pose questions about your business or industry to start a conversation among your fans.

3 Listen and Adapt
Learn from your customers and take their feedback into consideration; they can provide helpful insights about how to improve not just your Facebook Page, but your business. Ask questions and adjust your strategy as you grow. Like your business, your Facebook Page should be dynamic, not static.

4 Use Facebook Ads to drive more traffic to your Page
Facebook Ads help you target your audience precisely with an image and a few lines of text. It's one way to find people who might be interested in your businesses or service and point them to your Facebook Page or website. Facebook also offers “Facebook Ads for Pages" which allow users to fan your Facebook Page by clicking on “Wecome A Fan'' right in the ad. When a user does this, it automatically creates a story on the user's profile page, generating free distribution for you.