Why Facebook is not good for small business marketing!

This just in, or what the industry like to say, “Breaking News!”

 

Scanning Facebook on my smart phone this morning revealed something very telling! What I was able to see was just one more reason that Facebook is bad for small businesses! If your planning to use Facebook for marketing your small business, then you better take time to read this.

Why is marketing on Facebook not good for small businesses? Because … you can’t afford it! Take a look at the screen capture above. What do you see? I see BIG business using Facebook’s sponsored ads to not only get traffic, but also to promote it’s daily news show! Did you catch that? The above pic shows that Channel 7 ABC News is using Facebook to sponsor daily shows. So why is that big news? You CAN’T afford to promote daily! And the news gets even worst.

“Fundamentally, Facebook cares about THEIR business, not about YOUR business.” Jay Bear

In a recent post here from Convince & Convert  (4 Things You Can Do About Your Facebook Problem) Jay Bear breaks down what is happening to your marketing efforts on Facebook (I think his statements says it all) and that’s just the beginning. In February I remember reading about a FAILED Facebook ad campaign that ended with a $600,000.00 unpaid bill by a small business owner that Facebook ran up on his credit card bill. He only had approved $489,000.00 (that no chump change either) here’s the link!

What is also true, is that big business has full time copy writers that know how to write headlines and copy that grads your attention (they do it as their full time job) and did I mention that they also have visual content creators also? (picture from the same sponsored post)

Did you see the amount of likes and comments? Now that is engagement. I’m not sure if you have a complete marketing department, and the budget to do this? Or, the time to create all these daily post to drive traffic to your business. What I do know is that trying to compete with the big boys will only empty your pocketbook. Even if you have been able to get traction with your own “#” (hashtag).

But wait … the daily news just got worst (but when is anything on the news good?) this just in today:

 Warning: Facebook Is Now Marketing to Your Behaviour <– Link here

Here’s what you need to know: “Previously, Facebook has focused on interests at face value. For Interest-based targeting, if a user liked a page, a brand or even a public figure such as the irresistible Ryan Gosling, they would be tagged as an avid fan. This strategy is limited by the thinking that if that user liked Ryan Gosling a year or two ago, an advertiser would market to them, even if they now found him to be distasteful, or had fallen horribly out-of-love.” 

What’s going on now: “Broad Categories have been phased out. Precise Interests are outdated. Facebook is now paying closer attention to more of your online habits.”

Don’t worry small business owner, because tomorrow, I’m going to give you the answer to what you need to be doing with your marketing. Make sure you subscribe so you’ll get it in your inbox, and I promise to show you how to create traffic for FREE!

 

 

Facebook’s Birthday and your business.

Facebook does NOT allow consumers to feel like they get to engage with your company. Don’t believe me?

Watch this:

After watching this very informative video you may be asking, “Now what do I do?” You may have spent a lot of time and money over on Facebook and feel like you don’t know what’s your next step with social media. Well, I have one word for you, “Google+.”

Two things business owners can learn about building communities on Google+ and igniting a movement, plus having success again with Social Media:

FIRST:

Target like-minded individuals.

Rather than focusing on gender or ethnicity, engage consumer groups with common interests. Be vulnerable. Part of the bond that ties followers to you is that you share a sense of vulnerability. Treat your circles like rock stars. Rolls out the red carpet for your engagers. Actively looks for ways to honor them.

The BIG (+) Plus, put the consumer first, make their dreams your mission, and they’ll rally around you, creating a powerful community. If you don’t treat your circles like your friends, then you aren’t going to understand them, and therefore not evolve to keep up with how they live and act on Google+.

My friend Martin Shervington, on Google+ show’s you  “5 quick marketing steps for building opt-in Circles on Google+.”

SECOND:

Create a collective experience.

With social media this is easy, but it’s only effective if you do it the right way. Successful small business owners need customers in their daily lives just as much as the need and want them. When done authentically, Google+ can allow consumers to feel like they are part of a larger group dynamic with your company.

One of my other friends on Google + is Wade Harman and every week he talks about the different aspects of Relationship Marketing for your social media platforms and Google+. You can read about “3 components to relationship building.”

If you deliver a great experience that relates to something that your circles are passionate about, they’ll share amongst the rest of their friends and ignite a movement.

Give yourself a present on Facebook’s birthday and join me on Google+.

5 Best Blogs for Business Growth

The dynamics of business growth must be tempered with the consciousness of stark realities, (SBA, “56% of businesses will fail within 4 years.” Brian Head) Studies also show that most of the new jobs created in a country come from small business and not from large corporations.This combined with the composition they provide to each other and to big business, they both accounts for much of a country’s striking economic dynamism and growth.

Many small businesses fail because of fundamental shortcomings in their business planning and the model they follow. It must be realistic and based on accurate and current information.

Marketing – Sales – Social Media – Leadership – What’s Next

This is why I follow and subscribe to these 5 Blogs on Business Growth. I have them in 5 different categories.

 

MARKETING

 

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing (blog)

John Jantsch is a marketing consultant, speaker and author of Duct Tape Marketing and The Referral Engine and the founder of the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network.

He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing System and Duct Tape Marketing Consulting Network that trains and licenses small business marketing consultants around the world.

His blog was chosen as a Forbes favorite for marketing and small business and his podcast, a top ten marketing show on iTunes, was called a “must listen” by Fast Company magazine.

 

SALES

 

Gary S. Hart of Sales Soup Du Jour (blog)

Gary S. Hart led an 800% sales increase over a five-year span for a manufacturing technology company. As VP of Sales & Marketing, Gary accomplished this with continuous sales process and strategy improvements, coaching and exploitation of their CRM.

The company maintained a competitive edge while leveraging the constantly changing market and economy.

His team was recognized as the top sales team in the industry.

He was a guest instructor for the Dale Carnegie Institute and was a key note speaker to numerous associations. His obsession for multiplying sales with sales process, strategy and messaging improvement borders a rather healthy addiction.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

Mike Allton of The Social Media Hat (Blog)

Mike Allton, “My goal is to ensure that businesses are able to leverage the power and connectivity of the Internet to promote and grow their business.”

Mike started his own website design firm in 2007 when he moved to St. Louis. Though he had been designing websites for years, it was always side jobs and part time gigs until he started his own firm. He now provide professional social media management and Internet consulting full time.

Mike had over 100,000 followers on Google+ and provides daily posting about everything social.

 

LEADERSHIP

 

Ken Blanchard of Blanchard Leaderchat (Blog)

Research shows that leadership is the key factor in influencing employee passion, customer devotion, and organizational vitality. Blanchard’s leadership solutions allow organizations to create results-oriented, people-focused leaders who improve performance, increase retention and morale, and deliver bottom-line results

Keeping up with hypergrowth can strain many parts of an organization. Systems can be designed to scale, but people can’t. Blanchard assists organizations through predictable growth phases—and sometimes difficult growing pains—by working with them to align their underlying culture and human development strategies with their growth objectives.

 

WHAT’S NEXT

 

Gary Vaynerchuk of GaryVaynerchuk.com (blog)

Gary Vaynerchuk In high school I joined the family business, a liquor store called Shoppers Discount Liquors that my dad started. It wasn’t long before he became obsessed with collecting wine. He used the site to grow the store from a $3 million business to a $45 million business, and it was just the beginning. Armed with a Flipcam and a NY Jets bucket.

Businessweek’s names Gary the top 20 entrepreneur to follow & one of Ask Men’s 2010 most influential men of the year! In the spring of 2009, with his brother AJ they launched VaynerMedia, a new breed of agency that would help Fortune 500 companies like GE, PepsiCo, Green Mountain Coffee, the NY Jets, and the Brooklyn Nets find their social voices and build their digital brands through micro content and other story telling actions.

A key to thriving in the new business reality requires making the mind-set shift from survival to growth. These blogs will help you do just that!