Many people today are throwing their money away on Facebook marketing. Yes I said it. Facebook Likes are overrated. It’s the equivalent to being crowned high school prom queen. So what if 30,000 people like you on Facebook? Obviously if your a big brand, there’s a good chance a lot of people are going to like what your doing. You’re a big brand. You became “big” by what your selling and how people portray your business. They tell you that simply by purchasing your products, not by liking you on Facebook. When’s the last time you made a purchase and looked to see how many people liked that business on Facebook first? Did Facebook play a part in your decision to purchase?
What’s the Value of a Like?
A “like” is perceived as a customer by many businesses. How many of those customers who liked you on Facebook have also purchased from you or have hired you for your services? Isn’t that the goal? Why put money towards contests and giveaways to get likes on Facebook? Do you find those customers coming through your doors or shopping on your site because of it?
Facebook is just another media outlet. It’s not the holy grail of new customers. People use Facebook to connect with their friends, share photos, play games and find deals from businesses or companies whom they are already familiar with. They may use it to share a link to your product or website with their friends. That has no correlation between you having 30,000 likes vs. 1,000. People often take the recommendation of their friends. So in that respect, Facebook is a good thing. It’s a way to share information. It always has been just that.
I think marketers are turning to Facebook to advertise simply because people are on Facebook. It’s the “go where the people are” mentality. People aren’t on Facebook to purchase products. Who thinks, ” I should probably do some shopping today on Facebook.”
Marketing Real Estate
Lately I’ve been seeing so much prime real estate on flyers, commercials, websites, direct mail pieces etc. being given to huge Facebook logos. “Follow us”. “Like Us”. What happened to “Buy Our Products.” or “These Products Can Improve Your Life By ‘x’ ‘x’ and ‘x’ ?” That precious space you are paying for should go to promoting your services and products rather than promoting Facebook. Use a tiny space if you need to include a Facebook callout. It’s not front-page worthy.
Own Your Content
This is for those of you out there who do have a website for your business. The content you are generating on your website, whether that be from product descriptions, buying guides, blogs, user generated content, etc. is priceless. It’s also your content. You own it. It’s on your website. The content that is generated on Facebook can be considered Facebook’s content. You don’t have the control over it like you do on your own website. What if, in a crazy world, Facebook went down or shut its’ doors? That content is gone. You also aren’t earning the SEO benefits on Facebook content. Some of which may have taken some time and consideration to put together. Why isn’t it on your own website? If anything it should live in both places if you can see the benefits in doing both.
What things are you doing on Facebook for your business that is converting potential customers into repeat customers?
