Every small business has a million and one decisions to make on a daily basis, their top priority (along with most Fortune 500 companies) isn’t Facebook….but it should be. There is literally no other form of media before or after radio, tv, direct mail, Google adwords, or banner ads that has this single known fact:

“One out of every five page views in the United States is on Facebook.”
― Gary Vaynerchuk,

 

Not by accident people. So how does a small business, owner/operator, entrepreneur even begin to know what’s important and what the focus should be when every marketing agency is coming at them with a marketing strategy that was effective 5 years ago.

Tell Your Customers Your Story

Yes, the really do want to know about the blood, sweat and tears you’ve spent, countless restless nights that you’ve stressed about your business? Why? because vulnerability doesn’t show weakness, it shows realness. It shows you’re human. It tells them you care about where you’re going and where you’ve been. The more authentic you can be with how you started, why you’re in business, and who you really are….chances are they will make the connection between your story and your brand.

Unfortunately, it seems like most everyone is still marketing like it’s 1999. Some people even market like it’s 1979.

The mistake they are making is this: they are not following where the consumer attention is going. And in marketing, we need to be placing importance on attention, not impressions.― Gary Vaynerchuk,

Your Story will Make Your Brand Human

People want to do business with other humans. Real companies. That’s one leg up from large corporations that people are beginning to crave once again. Once upon a time the Walmart of the world took over and shoved small businesses out of the way for “the great deal”. But now, the tides are changing. People want “great value” and value doesn’t always necessarily mean the cheapest.

This can be used to your advantage, because not only are you human…you’re reachable. You’re just the regular guy/girl in town that now runs a business selling t-shirts. So people get you. They can relate. Don’t stop being relatable and always strive to keep your brand human.

Facebook is a Storytelling Platform

That’s precisely the content that Facebook wants.

Authentic, human storytelling.

The entity, however, happens to be your business. No other marketing tool will limit your budget because it’s not practical in order to save your own retail space. Facebook does. Not to help you but to keep intact the platform they built. They don’t want trash content on their site. They only promote what they deem as “good.” So you can essentially “test” a post before putting money on it? Not sure how?
Ask me.

Market the Way You Would Want to React

The most critical question to ask yourself when choosing a marketing strategy is WWYD (What Would YOU Do).
How many banner ads have you clicked on? How many google Adwords have you clicked on? How many direct mail postcards have you read? How many emails have you opened?

After you realize the answer to most of those questions is honestly NEVER (or very few)….ask yourself this question…..”How many times a day am I on Facebook?” If you are almost 80% of the United States population, you will be there at least every 5th time you open the internet, and most likely on your phone.