Creating a Facebook Page for your green industry business can be a valuable complement to your company website--leading to a strong and balanced presence for your company on the Web.
Facebook allows you to easily reach people in real time--when it truly matters. You can't do that with a static website that is updated once or twice a year.
Because of this "real time" power of Facebook, you consistently stay in front of people who can spread the good word about your business.
Here are a few important things you can do with a Facebook Page that you cannot normally do with a traditional website:
- Interact with clients, prospective customers, peers, and other business associates.
- Handle customer service questions and requests
- Meet new business associates and expand your "sphere of influence". From architects and property managers to realtors and media contacts, they are all accessible on Facebook.
- Provide seasonal, timely advice and tips
- Share up-to-the-minute company information such as current promotions, upcoming events, current projects, and recent publicity.
Although more and more Green Industry companies are creating Facebook Pages for their businesses, I think the value is still being overlooked.
And there's another issue we all deal with: Time.
Your company's Facebook Page does not have to be a time drain.
You can build an interesting and engaging Page, and a "fan" base, in less than two hours each week.
The key is to develop an effective Facebook page content plan.
Your Facebook page content plan...
- gives you a structure to work within as an individual or as a team.
- will organize "what" you post to your Facebook page and "when".
- provides consistency--it ensures for a steady stream of interesting and engaging content for your fans.
- will help you develop and keep track of ideas for what you will post in the future.
- ensures that you diversify your media and message (see below) which will create more interaction with your Facebook page content.
Let's talk about how to create a Facebook page content plan.
Mixing up your media for more engagement
People prefer to consume information online in different ways. While you may prefer to read blogs and articles online, some prefer to watch video while others enjoy browsing images.
Because of this, the type of Facebook page content (the media) you post needs to appeal to everyone in order to engage the greatest number of people.
If your Facebook page is too heavy on text then you are missing out on a large user segment who may prefer to look at pictures or watch video.
You need to deliberately mix up your media.
The four media types are text, images, video, and audio. Let's talk about the first three.
Text- Text includes sharing status updates (what you're doing), sharing tips and advice, asking questions, and sharing links to other interesting and valuable content online.
Images- In this industry we should never run out of interesting pictures to share on Facebook. We have endless possibilities for Facebook page content.
Share images of:
- Your projects- before, during construction, and after.
- Your designs and renderings
- Your employees and customers
- Your travels
- Other people's work that inspires you
Video- People are beginning to expect online video from companies. It's fairly simple to produce and Facebook makes it extremely easy to share video on your page.
Here are some ideas:
It's critical that you have a diverse mix of media for your Facebook page content in order to create greater interaction and engagement.
Getting more interaction on your Facebook page
Just as you mix up your media, you also need to mix up your message.
Your focus should be on providing valuable information to your fans. You want to be seen as an authority figure. Marketing and promotion should be secondary.
Certain types of Facebook page content, or messages, will create more interaction than others. Mix it up to make your page more lively.
Here are some examples:
Status updates- These simple updates are an easy way to share information about what you're up to.
Ask questions- Posting questions on your Facebook Page is the easiest way to generate interaction. Make a habit of regularly asking your fans questions. You can even create polls for your fans.
Tips and advice- Provide your fans with helpful and relevant information like seasonal tips and basic "how to" information.
Blog posts- If you're a blogger you can publish your recent posts to your Facebook Page to share with fans. If you don't have a blog, you can use the Notes function on your Facebook Page to share longer posts.
O.P.C- Don't be afraid to share other people's content-O.P.C. Share blog posts, articles, pictures, and videos that you think your fans would enjoy.
Contests- Host contests on your Facebook page just for your fans. This is a great way to get more engagement--and more fans.
Promotions- Create special offers specifically for your Facebook fans. This will keep your fans engaged and coming back to your Facebook page.
Keeping your Facebook page content organized
I've thrown a lot at you in this post. I know it can be a bit overwhelming.
So, where to start?
I highly recommend creating a written Facebook page content plan (especially if you are working as a team). I personally use a simple Excel spreadsheet to organize my Facebook page content.
I create three headings on my spreadsheet labeled Daily, Weekly, and Monthly. Under each heading I enter what I'm going to post to my Facebook page.
For instance, "Daily", I may ask a single question. "Weekly", I may post a set of pictures on Tuesdays and share a link to other interesting online content on Thursdays. "Monthly" I may share a video the first week of each month and hold a contest on the third week of the month.
This keeps me organized and ensures for a good mix of media and message. This written plan is also a huge time saver for me because I also use it to keep track of post ideas. I just refer to the spreadsheet when it's time to post something to my page. I never have a "Gee, what am I going to post today" moment.
Author: Chris Heiler
