Incredible how Facebook has changed through the years! Remember cat posts on business pages to get engagement?  Experimenting with anything to get “likes”. And how easy it was to grow pages! The bar has risen for sure… As I started my business, it was originally called “Social Eyes on Business”. I planned to focus on social media and relationship building posting on Facebook for other businesses. And that is what you do when you start a business. You have an idea, test it and then respond based on what you learned. I came to the conclusion it was not a satisfying experience for me and my clients were better off doing it themselves (with training if needed).  

Workshop as Social Eyes on Business in 2014 with a message in a bottle

Take a look at what resources you currently have in your business to help you with Facebook.

Posting on Facebook is better done in-house. Now you can schedule post out throughout the month and that may work in some instances. But we as your audience want to know what is happening NOW! I started out helping a hair salon with posting on social media. But I found it frustrating because I was this middle (and in my opinion), unnecessary person. Why wouldn’t the business want to get what is currently happening in their salon at the time it is happening (or at least close to it). And why not post in their voice instead of someone else trying to sound like them.

Is Facebook right (or necessary for you)?

The businesses that weren’t active on Facebook were either not that interested or didn’t want to invest in the cost of someone outside their business figuring it out. Just because you see value in what you can do, that doesn’t mean other people put that same value to it. Small business owners are very busy working on their business. Facebook is not always a priority because it gets much attention through general media.

The quality of your social media posts is best if they are about what is happening NOW…TODAY!

Facebook is an amazing tool!

Don’t get me wrong! Facebook is powerful. Most powerful for organizations, politicians, businesses that are of interest to huge audiences. It all depends on who you want to communicate to and your purpose in being active. Are people interested in learning about the information you have to share? USE FACEBOOK! And in those cases, there are usually resource to handle the posting who are present daily within the business or organization. Or use Facebook for general branding and connecting. But be careful about getting drawn in too much when your time is better spent on other options. (I know that from experience!)

Livingston Sunrise Rotary Club Facebook Page

If you have a membership organization, this may work for you! We have many members that are actively posting on our Facebook Page as the club. This has worked well because we have diverse interests in our Rotary Club. Members can post what they are involved in (often that day). The purpose for the Facebook Page is also to educate, engage, recruit, publicize and so much more. It makes for a stronger and more engaging page to have many involved. And it divides up the work!

Let me know your thoughts and experiences! 

As I have experienced life, I am more aware of how much falls into “opinion”. I was around in the day when we had feared that the planet was going to freeze. (not an opinion on global warming). Medical opinions change with new information; legal opinions change with new decisions, and our beliefs change with new understandings.

This is the start of “MY VIEW MONDAYS” this week talking about Facebook. Next Monday will be about my view of “Email Marketing Campaigns” which can be a very effective way to stay connected. Stay tuned!