Yes, it is true. Facebook is here to stay.
Did you know that Facebook’s monthly active users have risen 9 percent year-over-year to 2.32 billion people? You might also be interested to know some of these stand-out fun facts about Facebook:
- Americans spend an average of 58 minutes per day on Facebook
- Visits typically last ten to 12 minutes
- Two-hundred million Facebook users are members of meaningful Facebook Groups
- 43 percent of Facebook users get their news from Facebook
Even as criticism of Facebook increases, I highly recommend using it to grow your coaching business. In my “Master Your Coaching Business” program, I talk with my clients about broadening their use of Facebook to include a business page. Let’s discuss the business pages first.
The best way to market your business on Facebook is through a Facebook Page dedicated to your business. One of the primary reasons to build a specific business page is that Facebook will be in the top listings in search engines when people look up your company.
Here three business page features that I recommend other coaches take advantage of:
Always use a call-to-action button on top of page
The call-to-action button, which typically gives potential clients a streamlined way to get in touch with you or sign up for your services, displays on both desktop and mobile at the top of your page, so it is easy for people to find.
Facebook also allows you to add a “message me” call-to-action in your posts if you are using a business page. Users can message you directly, and you can provide the next steps to sign up with your business.
Pay attention to Facebook Insights
Data is essential, and when to plug is also crucial for your social media. Have you ever looked at your Facebook data on your business account and when your followers are online or not? Here is an example of mine:
As you can see, users don’t typically visit more on any particular day, but the time of day is more interesting. It’s obvious that most visits are around 8:00 p.m. So, if I have a post that performed well on Instagram, I will use that same photo and repurpose it around that 8:00 p.m. sweet spot.
Remember that video is king!
As you can see, most of the interaction here is coming from native Facebook Live videos, not links to YouTube or other platforms. Facebook Live is a vast opportunity since many people hesitate to post in that manner. If you need some help with your Facebook Live videos, check out this article I wrote about best practices.
If you aren’t ready for a business page…
Even though business pages can result in big growth, your personal profile presents some marketing opportunities of its own.
First and foremost, getting the most out of your profile starts with personal relationships, but be mindful about how you are posting as posting too much may repel your Facebook friends. For example, I think of multi-level marketing posts on personal pages. When a solicitor reaches out and wants to meet over coffee, I always worry they are going to try to sell me something
- Let your friends know about your business and publish posts that specifically focus on the company. You can put a lot of information in one post, but it is often more useful to spread out information over time, each including a unique tidbit of information. Multiple posts increase the chances that more friends will see the post.
- When friends share posts about your business and their friends like or comment, consider sending friend requests to those new contacts. If they accept your friend request, you have new people that will be seeing your posts regularly.
- Use your ability to select whether each post can be seen by only friends or by the public to reach a larger audience.
- Allow people to follow you. When you enable followers, you don’t have to accept individuals as friends for them to see all of your public updates. You also won’t have your news feed cluttered with the updates of all of your followers.
- Even personal posts can connect to your business. Your business is a significant part of your life, so it is natural that some of your personal posts will involve things that are happening in your industry. Keep those posts personal for your friends, but don’t overlook the opportunity to promote your business at the same time.
- Don’t hesitate to create posts that are solely ads for your business. This is a useful place to do that because your friends already trust you. You have to build that trust in new contacts. Please keep it in balance though. Even your friends will lose interest if they are about nothing but your business.
- Whatever the nature of the post, if there is any connection to your business, include business contact info or a link to your website.
- Always work to find ways to include a call-to-action. Whatever you do to promote your business on Facebook, asking the reader to take some action that will strengthen their connection to your business is essential. Think about adding links to take them to your website or Facebook Page, or asking them to sign up for your mailing list to receive an informative report or other information. Any response to a call-to-action gives you more information about the prospect and presents an additional opportunity to make them a customer.
- Use images extensively. A company logo, a photo of your place of business, or a picture of employees involved in some public service activity—images like this draw attention to your post and get more responses than text alone. Include text with or even within the image to create interest.
- Any professional certification or award is a subject of personal pride, but don’t overlook it as an opportunity to promote your business.
In marketing your business through Facebook, you have an entire suite of tools available. Don’t overlook the opportunities presented by your profile.
My goal for you and your coaching business is to make sure you are utilizing a couple of different social media platforms. When Instagram shut down a month ago, a lot of companies and business had a little “freak out moment”, including me. Don’t focus on just one social media platform, focus on a many to help build your business and watch it grow.
