Facebook for Business has put out some great tips for businesses on how to best use the platform during this current crisis. The suggestions are really good ones, so I’m linking to them, but want to expound a bit as well.
I mentioned in a previous post on strategies to go digital that the best way to use Facebook as a business right now is to communicate with your customers. Let them know if your hours are changing, or what you are doing to keep customers safe if they come in to your business. If you are a gym or health club, emphasize you are wiping down all the equipment with antibacterial wipes twice a day, cleaning locker rooms regularly and providing extra antibacterial foam throughout the facility. If you are a restaurant, you may want to point out what delivery services you use, and how you are ensuring the drivers and food prep teams are wearing gloves and masks (or whatever you have decided). It’s important to let customers know you care, and what you are doing to help keep them safe.
If there’s one important Facebook post you want customers to see, pin it to the top of your page so that it’s the first thing visitors to your Facebook page see. And if you want it to be viewed widely, boost the post by paying to push it out to a wider audience.
If your business has to cancel in-store classes or live events, consider going online with them. There are a lot of options for live streaming and recording, including Facebook Live and Instagram Live. You also might post the recorded video to YouTube or do a webinar via Zoom, Skype or another service. For example, if you have a class scheduled at a craft store, turn it into a virtual class via Facebook Live, so that attendees can comment or ask questions. It can then be posted to your page for continued viewing.
YouTube channels are great for posting series of how-tos or demonstrations, from crafts to cooking to home repair. Have you ever seen the YouTube channel “Pasta Grannies“? It’s got 462,000+ subscribers. In fact, if you are a restaurant looking for ways to stay connected with customers, you might consider a recipe demonstration, with a link throughout the video to the website where customers can arrange for delivery of a hot meal to their homes. You can then post that video to your Facebook page as well.
Make customer service as much a priority online as it is in your place of business. Create a FAQ area of your website for customer service questions. Be sure to include your email, phone number, social media handles and maybe even a live chat feature. Be sure your FAQ page is prominently linked from the home page or customer service area of your site.
Consider templated responses on Facebook Messenger for when you are not immediately available. You can do this through Settings, under Messaging, on your Facebook admin page. You can also communicate with customers via Instagram Direct Messaging and WhatsApp, the messaging app.
If your business relies on a small team of employees, some level of automation — like templated responses — will help you if those employees are sick and unable to manage your website and online platforms. It may be impossible to man social media 24/7, but automated responses help by telling users you’ve heard them and will respond as soon as possible. And every social media platform has a form of these.
Be sure that there is a place in the cloud where you store sign-ons for all digital tools, systems and platforms. Google Drive (Notes and Spreadsheets) and Evernote are two of my own personal favorites because you can share areas with all individuals who need access, then remove that access easily if necessary. If the person who handles all the social media accounts is suddenly unable to manage them, this system of shared access can be important to your business running smoothly.
For conferencing with employees, my own personal favorite easy-to-use tool is Zoom. I love how easy it is to learn and use, and there’s both a free version and paid version. The free version allows for up to 40 minutes per meeting, and as many as three participants from different computers. The paid version allows for unlimited live conferencing and more participants, and it also allows you to tape your call for later reference. There are certainly other options for video or audio conferencing, but Zoom has been my go-to for several years.
Zoom can also be used for video conferencing with customers or clients. If you are a service provider, Zoom can be a great way to consult with a client because it allows you to share your computer screen easily, on either side. A customer can show you the room he or she wants painted, the kitchen needing remodeling or the front of the home needing landscaping. In a time when you, the business owner, are also limiting your time in public, Zoom might be a good tool for managing leads and clients you’ll be doing work for in future months.
Email is also an essential tool for communicating with customers. If you have an email that goes out to regular customers already, that’s great. Email is a fantastic way to keep your customers informed, and it allows you to reach out directly rather than waiting for people to come to your website or social media sites. See the attached email I got this week from Rosebud, well-known Italian restaurant chain in Chicago and one of my favorite places to dine when I visit my daughter in the Windy City.
If you don’t have an email currently but want to start one, create a way for customers to sign up on both your website and on social media. Consider Facebook Lead Ads to encourage signups. The great thing about Facebook Lead Ads is you can gather the information you need by simply asking users to opt in; their email is already available via Facebook. You might, for example, offer 50% off on one product or an opportunity for a $50 gift certificate (one person selected at random each week) for those who sign up for your customer loyalty club, which would include a regular email. There are a lot of ways to do this if you want to get it started, and you can put money behind the effort to reach a wider audience.
I haven’t really addressed Twitter here, because most small businesses won’t get as much out of using that platform as they will from Facebook and Instagram. But Twitter is a great platform for some organizations, especially if you have a steady stream of content for a website blog or frequently changing information. Twitter done well requires a combination of brevity, creativity and cleverness in conveying information, just as Instagram takes finesse and creativity. And it requires frequency; if you are going to use Twitter, you must use it at least daily to be effective. That said, if you see your competitors doing well on Twitter, or have a good following, go for it. Twitter ads can be used to boost your posts just as Facebook or Instagram ads do.
Most of all, you don’t want to stretch yourself too thin when it comes to social media. Pick one or two platforms to concentrate on, and do them well. Your customers will appreciate the attention, and won’t be frustrated by the infrequency of postings that sometimes is a byproduct of trying to maintain too many social platforms.
The bottom line: Think of social media as another avenue for communicating with your customers, especially at a time when they are likely spending less time in public and more time with their phone or in front of their computers. The connection you count on with customers who walk through your door can be maintained digitally if you take the time to do it right.
