While telephone marketing has long been considered vital to small and medium-sized businesses, Facebook is far more valuable, according to Australian ebusiness educator Craig Reardon.
Whilst phones require a series of one-on-one communications, Facebook allows businesses to get their message out to large numbers of people simultaneously, Reardon points out in a piece written for the business advice website Smart Company. All that is necessary is a “post-worthy” story and a stock photo. Furthermore, if the story is sufficiently interesting, it can go viral. A single Like or Share can lead to the story instantly being forwarded to hundreds, even thousands of the users’ friends.
Reardon regards Facebook Groups as an underused tool for small business marketing. Group members are often specifically on the lookout for services such as plumbers and electricians, and group membership can allow you to introduce yourself to people who share the same interests as you in a way that doesn’t feel like advertising.
For one-on-one marketing, Facebook Messenger offers a better alternative to a phone call, as it is less intrusive. Prospects can respond to the message in their own time, and there is no need to worry about interrupting them in the middle of dinner. For larger firms, Facebook Messenger also allows you to create chatbots that can assist with customer service, as previously reported on this site.
Of course, there is no need to choose between Facebook and your phone, as Reardon freely admits. Facebook has apps for all major mobile operating systems. But Reardon says that if he had to choose between the two, he would ditch his phone and just stick with Facebook. Facebook marketing can offer everything that telephone marketing offers, but with additional capabilities that have been unheard of until recently.
