I came across an NBC News article online about why some businesses are quitting Facebook, and, needless to say, it caught my attention: “Goodbye Facebook? Why some small businesses are quitting the social network.”
Here is the opening of the NBC article:
After nearly two years under fire for false news and Russian election meddling, Facebook has felt the pressure from users and government regulators to address these issues. Earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced changes to the platform’s news feed product with content from “more posts from friends and family” and “less public content, including videos and other posts from publishers or businesses.”
The goal was to make Facebook more social with fewer commercial and product posts. Publishers ranging from big businesses to mommy bloggers are forced to post more content that they create personally, rather than sharing products or affiliate links.
With these changes, some small publishers claim to see a massive downside.
The headline and article prompted me to think about my company’s relationship with Facebook Business.
Wooster Media Group on Facebook
When I first launched Wooster Media Group in January 2018, I advertised just about every day for two months on Facebook. I was spending about $1 to $3 a day (less than $200 total), and it generated about $2,000 in revenue. It also helped me garner hundreds of likes on the page, giving my new business more likes than other, well-established companies operating in the same space.
But, there came a day when those ads were no longer getting the same reach. I was spending the same money, but reaching fewer people. I curtailed my advertising efforts. Occasionally, I would start a new Facebook ad campaign, only to see limited results and quickly shutting down them down.
Other businesses on Facebook
Wooster Media Group LLC helps businesses and organizations reach more people. The overall approach involves search engine optimization, content creation, and social media management. The company does other work, like keyword research, content audits and content strategies, but the thrust of the business is optimize, publicize, and socialize. After I launched, I began handling the social media management for a number of organizations and businesses on Facebook.
One of my clients contracted with me to oversee the Facebook pages of two of her companies. Things started out fairly well, but relatively quickly, the analytics showed a drastic drop in the reach of our efforts. While my client is not among the businesses quitting Facebook, she did decide to suspend our agreement until things settled down at Facebook. I told her I completely understood and would have done the same thing.
Let’s look at another client. This company has far fewer likes than my other client, even though it experienced nearly a fourfold increase in likes over a few months. Despite having fewer likes on its Facebook page, this company has seen an increase in engagement. Where Client A was reaching an audience of about half the number of its page likes, Client B touched an audience nearly 10 times the size of its page likes.
Why such a drastic difference in the experience of these two clients? I suspect it has to do with Client B being a well-established company with dedicated and loyal customers who like and share the posts more often.
Why Wooster Media Group is not among the businesses quitting Facebook
I understand businesses are quitting Facebook, but Wooster Media Group isn’t one of them. I still believe businesses need to have a presence on Facebook, which is why I recommend maintaining a Facebook business page. The key is getting people to engage with your brand and supplementing your organic reach with some Facebook advertising. I would make sure to target a very specific audience.
Through engagement, businesses on Facebook can have a far greater reach. However, if you are on social media, then the key is to be social and interact. Some business leaders do not have the time, so they assign the task to a key employee or hire companies like Wooster Media Group to handle it for them.
Despite the criticisms of Facebook and all the controversy re: Russian hacking, collusion, and fake news, the reality is you and all of your friends are on Facebook. You are checking your notifications all the time. I do it, too. Because you and your friends are there, businesses need to be there, too. Should you invest a lot of resources in Facebook? I would invest some, but not a lot. I use Facebook as an opportunity to raise awareness and any revenue that comes my way as a result I consider a bonus.
So, I think businesses need to have a presence on social media, but they also need to understand the limitations. In this instance, Facebook wants to generate ad revenue while at the same time get the government off its back. As I mentioned earlier, supplement your regular posts with Facebook ads, either designing (or having designed) specific ads or boosting posts. This will expand your reach and your presence. In all likelihood, I will boost the Facebook post linking to this blog piece.
Also, there are some business owners who think they do not need a website because Facebook is free. Well, the NBC News article demonstrates why you want your own website to be the hub of all your digital marketing activities … you can see how easy business can be lost by putting all of your eggs in one basket.
Can you do me this favor, please?
My sister-in-law, Randi Vahl, is among the people who like and share nearly all my Wooster Media Group posts. She does this for one reason: To help my business. I am in the habit of liking and sharing nearly every local business post I come across, whether they are a client or not. I also do this with my competition’s clients. Why do I do this? To help out local businesses. It takes about a second or two to like and share a post on Facebook.
So, the favor I ask of you is to like and share posts from local businesses. If you want to do it for Wooster Media Group, I would be very appreciative, but please do it for all posts from local businesses that show up in your timeline … as long as you do not have a moral objection to the company. (You are likely not going to see me support a tobacco shop or any kind of alcoholic beverage.)
If you would like to see if Wooster Media Group can help your business or organization, then schedule a free consultation with no strings attached. You can schedule that free consult here. Oh, and if you want to share on Facebook or Twitter, that would be great. Those share buttons below this post make it so easy!