“I keep hearing about all the different social media platforms. Where should I be marketing my business? There are so many! I simply can’t keep up.” I hear comments like that from busy floor dealers. It’s understandable because there are a lot of options available!

If you’re struggling to choose a platform, why not focus on the one platform where most of your customers are?

According to a report released by the Pew Research Center, 68% of Americans are on Facebook. That dwarfs the number on Twitter (21%), Instagram (28%), Pinterest (26%), and LinkedIn (25%). When it comes to “which platform can do the best job of sending you the most customers,” Facebook is still the most effective.

You can make money by using some of the other platforms. If you have the time and resources to design and run effective marketing campaigns on multiple social media platforms, go for it. But most dealers barely have the time to implement one platform, let alone many effectively.

The question becomes this: out of all the platforms available, which one is most effective?

In my opinion, when it comes to which one can do the best job of sending you the most customers, Facebook is the most effective. Done correctly, it can produce a steady stream of quality customers for your business.

Facebook Marketing Mistakes

You may have attempted Facebook marketing and gotten mediocre to lousy results. I’ve found that dealers make some common mistakes that hurt their efforts on Facebook.

Mistake #1: Trying to sell directly on Facebook

The only products that tend to sell well on Facebook are low-end, impulse items like t-shirts, inexpensive electronic gadgets, costume jewelry, etc.

Regarding selling, think of Facebook as a large mall. You don’t usually see high-ticket items like flooring getting sold in malls where people tend to browse for impulse buys. Therefore, your Facebook marketing should be designed to get prospects off Facebook and into your store if you want to generate sales.

Mistake #2: Incorrect page setup

Not setting up your business page properly can hurt your visibility online. That can cause you to miss opportunities to get people off Facebook and into your store. Here are some common mistakes:

Using incomplete information.

  • Inconsistent information and branding with other online listings.
  • No call to action.
  • No link to the dealer’s main website.
  • Weak or non-existent Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
  • Setting up your business as a personal profile. (NOTE: This is currently against Facebook’s guidelines. That can get your profile shut down and any pages associated with it.)

Mistake #3: Buying “Likes”

Thousands of likes on your Facebook page makes you look more relevant. IF the likes are from real followers — and you market to them properly — they can convert into significant revenue for your business.

It can be tempting to buy likes. There are companies all over the internet offering to sell them to you. Don’t do it!

If you have 10,000 likes from fake followers who are not interested in your products, then your posts and page will get low engagement. That hurts the visibility of your content, and your real followers won’t see them. Fake followers are also not going to buy your product.

Mistake #4: Having no Facebook marketing plan

Many dealers simply post photos of products or special offers periodically, with no thought-out plan for systematically generating business from this platform. Your posts must fit into an overall strategy for generating customers. To make that happen, each post should do one of three very specific tasks.  I’ll reveal those three tasks in my next column.

 

To Tons Of Customers!
Jim Augustus Armstrong is The “Coach”

Jim Augustus Armstrong is the President of Flooring Success Systems, a program that equips dealers to double their profits, cut their work hours in half and beat the boxes! Many dealers have totally transformed their businesses and their lives for the better after joining Flooring Success Systems.
See what real, live dealers are saying!

Free book! For a complimentary copy of Jim’s book, “How Floor Dealers Can Beat the Boxes and Escape the Cheap-Price Rat-Race of Doom Forever,” visit BeatTheBoxesToday.com.