Social media had become a game changer. 15 years ago if you wanted to promote your craft business your options were things like; advertise in craft publications, attend craft fairs and give out business cards perhaps even have a radio ad. Now with platforms such as Facebook and Twitter it has never been easier to put your products in front of potential customers.
Facebook cottoned on to this and now provides the "boost" feature. For a modest fee you can have your ads placed right in front of potential buyers that fit in to the criteria that you have set.
But do you know the one thing better than cheap publicity? Free publicity!
The number of people that see your business is described as your "reach". The more people see your posts and share them, the more your reach will increase.
So whats the best way to do this?
Here are 5 ways that you can increase your reach on Facebook without spending a penny.
1. Share content onto relevant groups.
Only sharing content on your own page is just preaching to the converted. You may get a couple of shares from people who already "like" your page, but your going to be waiting a long time to see your reach increase that way.
Start sharing your content with Facebook groups that would find it interesting.
For example, if you specialise in making button frames you may want to share a picture of a recent commission on Crafting with Buttons
If you make Harry Potter inspired book folds then you may want to share a picture onto Home made Harry Potter
2. Encourage interaction by asking questions.
If you put an interesting post on your page, someone may "like" it but that would probably be the end of it.
If instead your asked a question, then someone may leave a comment answering it. Facebook ranks post with comments higher than that of those with just likes. Comments also work by "bumping" posts up to the top of the news feed meaning they are more likely to get seen.
3. Create "shareable" content.
Shareable content is something that the reader would think that other people would find interesting.
We've all see these posts on Facebook;
(Sorry for the naughty swearing)
This is a prime example of "shareable" content, because nearly everyone will know someone with their name on that list who will inevitably "tag" them and share the post.
By creating content that the readers friends and family will find interesting, you are encouraging them to press the "share" button.
4. Leave the hashtags where they belong! #######
There's a time and a place for Hashtags, and Facebook isn't it. Facebook just doesn't like hashtags. If you can't bear to leave those scratches alone then use them very sparingly.
This info-graphic from Surepayroll demonstrates how using too many hashtags on Facebook can do your post more harm than good.
#just #don't #do #it
5. Don't be all about business.
If all you ever do is bombard people with images of the same woolly hat you have made in 20 different colours, your page will be getting "unliked" faster than you can blink. Keep the content fresh and engaging. Direct sales and marketing posts should only be making up about 50% of the content that you share.
What are your customers other interests? If you make customised wool gloves then why don't you share that article you just saw about us being in for the coldest winter on record? If you sell bath bombs, then write a post asking people when was the last time they had a proper soaking session in the bath? Keep all content topical, relevant and consistent with your brand image.
I hope you find these tips useful. If you have any other queries as to how you can improve your Facebook business page then please get in touch, we love hearing from you!
Click the image below to be taken to our Facebook page.
