Facebook isn’t like any other marketing medium typically used in a salon marketing portfolio. It’s not a one-time activity that you work to produce and then sit back and measure the results. Sure, successful Facebook marketing improves your brand, increases client retention and referral rates and definitely increases loyalty across your client base, but the results don’t truly come back to you for several months and it’s typically not results that will thump you in the forehead and send you dizzy.
This kind of long-term strategy can make some small business owners lose steam when it comes to Facebook and have a yo-yo attention span to their posts. In other words, you post regularly for a while…..then forget about it for a while when things get busy…..then remember and start posting like crazy again. Sound familiar?
While this may fly with say email marketing, or direct mail, it is the worst thing you can do in Facebook marketing. Why? Because Facebook is designed to filter you out if you aren’t in it for the long haul and focused on creating consistent and engaging posts.
Newsfeed Fixation
First of all, most people only interact in their newsfeed when they log into Facebook. The newsfeed is your home page that lists all of the recent posts and the associated comments and likes. Only about 10% of your fans will ever return to your page after ‘liking’ your brand. That means your fans have to interact with you amongst their friends, family and other brands they follow within the brand.
According to a study done by Pagelever.com, Facebook pageviews actually drop 12x faster than newsfeed impressions as your page grows in the number of fans. This means that as you get more fans, you’ll have fewer and fewer people visiting your page so the importance of focusing on great, interesting (and consistent) posts increases.
Newsfeed Filters
There are two key ways to filter a newsfeed – Top News and Most Recent. The default setting is Top News, which aggregates the most ‘interesting’ content, while the Most Recent filter shows you all posts in real-time.
The problem for marketers is that most people never change their newsfeed filter from Top News and it’s up to Facebook to define what ‘interesting’ means. Basically, Facebook will display the posts that have the most engagement against it (likes, comments, etc.) and also take into consideration the individuals history with your brand. So, if that fan typically likes your content Facebook will prioritize it.
On average, less than 7.5% of fans see your posts, which is a shocking statistic. This demonstrates that pages on average are under performing as plenty of examples show us that Facebook has a real impact on consumer behavior. Where should you aim to be? Closer to 30-40% is a good average to aim for when trying to make a real impact. If you can get at least one third of your fans seeing each post you’ll be on your way to truly impacting your overall marketing strategy.
Morale of the story? You can’t turn your back on your Facebook activity; you have to be serious about starting a Facebook strategy and you have to be consistent. It’s harder to get momentum back into your Facebook page than it is to start the momentum in the beginning.
Author Bio: Valorie Reavis
Social Marketer, foodie, closet geekA marketing professional who has focused primarily on the hair and beauty business for of the past decade, Valorie now runs linkup marketing, a digital marketing agency for the hair and beauty professional. Valorie works to engage clients in the marketing process and help them successfully engage with their clients and community. Energetic and passionate about the industry, Valorie focuses on blending traditional and digital media in order to bring salons closer to their clients.
