IF NOT SOCIAL MEDIA, HOW DO YOU GROW YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE?
Facebook is the most popular social network in the world with almost 3 billion monthly users and over 240 million in the U.S. alone who are on social media for upwards of 2 hours a day. But Facebook is not an effective tool that can strengthen your business. Today, Facebook is so polluted, so toxic, and so divisive that it’s not much more than a reservoir for noise that you’re already interested in or familiar with and its goal is to keep attention, not share it with entrepreneurs. If you want your business to get discovered, Facebook is not going to expose you to new clients.
REVISIT: FACEBOOK FOR YOUR BUSINESS (PART 1)
WHAT FACEBOOK CAN’T DO ON ITS OWN
Facebook is essentially one of the most successful (financially speaking) middlemen in history (Google gets the nod at #1). Facebook is a platform where people come to read and watch things that Facebook did not create. Facebook has no content of its own. If you want to grow your business online the key is very simple: CREATE AND SHARE MEANINGFUL CONTENT THAT ADDS VALUE FOR CURRENT CLIENTS AND POTENTIAL FUTURE CLIENTS. Neither Facebook nor Google, the two top internet brands can create their own content…but you can!
When we’re talking about social media in general, we tend to talk about it in terms of consumption. The vast majority of people passively consume social media as a matter of habit and low-friction entertainment. The trick is to avoid getting sucked into the well of consumption and instead become a producer. Producing content that can be consumed well beyond social media helps you cement a footprint that can withstand and ultimately benefit from all the algorithmic sorting, shuffling, and artificial nonsense that comes with Facebook and the other social media platforms.
LEARN MORE: HUBSPOT’S GUIDE TO CONTENT CREATION
ACTIVE CONTENT CREATION AND DISSEMINATION
At Nexus Property Management®, we break our content creation and our online business approach into four interrelated and cohesive branches:
1. WRITTEN CONTENT:
Written content is the backbone of any online presence. This begins with your website. If you don’t have a website today, you don’t have a viable business plan. If you’re an older company and have been successful for far longer than smartphones have been around, that’s fantastic, but those days are numbered and potential new clients aren’t finding you in the yellow pages. During Covid, restaurants learned quickly that if they didn’t offer a digital menu, they were going to fall behind immediately. Technology is the present and the future and you need an established digital homebase.
On top of that foundational website, you need to add content regularly. This is why blogs continue to be popular. Most successful companies will release blogs every couple days or weekly because it a) adds to the amount of content your website offers and b) keeps your content current. Both of these variables are critical when it comes to search engines (Google) placing your business on the first page for search results…and this is where you’re going to get the most organic and interested eyeballs.
LEARN MORE: TOP 10 FORMATS FOR ONLINE WRITTEN CONTENT
2. NON-WRITTEN CONTENT:
If written content is the backbone of your online presence, non-written content is the musculature. People aren’t going to the gym with their bone health in mind, but muscle growth will help sustain a healthy skeleton. In the same way, your non-written and written content should complement each other, and like biceps (as opposed to your healthy humerus bone), it’s the non-written content that is most likely to get people’s attention.
In the fast-paced world we live in today, videos are king. Videos are relatively easy to create and are more engaging for viewers. When people are looking to brush up on how to change their oil, or replace their faucet, they’re not reading instruction manuals or longform how-to articles, they’re going straight to Youtube. Avoid click-bait style videos and provide genuine value and you’ll be on the right track to establishing your reputation and online presence. Podcasts are another non-written tool that we and others have used to effectively add content and to expand our online footprint.
LEARN MORE: 5 REASONS VIDEO CONTENT WORKS BETTER THAN TEXT
3. REVIEWS:
As much as social media has really pulled at the fabric of networking and created unexpected challenges in terms of reaching audiences organically, the online review has been a game changer for those businesses who work hard to develop their local reputation through exemplary service. Online reviews have democratized the landscape in a way a conversation at the coffee shop on Sunday just couldn’t do alone. Your service has become synonymous with your brand and adding value to each and every customer (the way it should be) has become central to effectiveness.
At Nexus, we’ve seen our positive reputation multiply exponentially thanks to Google and other review sources. By focusing on consistent delivery of your services you are advertising far more efficiently than you could via Facebook. New customers can learn firsthand from other customers and they can get a greater sense for how reliable you are as the amount of reviews continues to tick up.
With over 200 more reviews and an astounding 4.8 stars, Nexus’ Fall River Franchise is heads and shoulders above their competition.
4. BRANDING
Branding really just refers to intentionally trying to separate yourself from the competition…in a way you can’t on social media. What is it about your company that makes you unique? What makes you better than others? What makes you recognizable and memorable?
Much of this should be incorporated into your written and non-written content already. Seeking trademarks and building visual branding is essential to carving your place into people’s memories so when they need the service you offer, you come to mind first. Occupying that space means consistency and wide distribution. Everything from $1.00 pens with your name on them to vehicles decked out in full logos are all proven methods of getting your name out there. It’s also a sign to customers that you’re thinking big and value your image.
LEARN MORE: 6 KEYS TO UNLOCKING BRANDING SUCCESS
NEXT STEPS
Yes, technology is the future, but it is still essential to network physically and to build personal relationships.
If you’re an average American who is on social media for upwards of 2 hours a day, get off!!!…and spend that time actively growing your business online instead. Focus on developing your website with written and non-written content and continue delivering superior service to increase your reputation through online reviews. Actively work toward branding your company and once you’ve got a solid foothold, THEN (and only then) if you really want to, go ahead and use social media to share that content that is already working elsewhere to attract new clients. Will it get you anywhere? Probably not, but if you’ve already done the legwork it won’t hurt your branding effort to expand your presence if you can do so efficiently.
It’s important to have realistic expectations and to understand the limitations that come with trying to use Facebook and other social media platforms to advertise your business. If you want to connect with people, do it on your terms, not on Facebook’s during people’s passive free-time. Want to learn more, or have additional questions? We encourage you to reach out to our team.
BACK TO PART 1: IS FACEBOOK USEFUL FOR GROWING YOUR BUSINESS THESE DAYS?
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Mick Lefort is the Vice President of Operations for Nexus Property Management®. A National Property Management Franchise that manages all types of rental property from single family homes or condos to large apartment buildings and complexes.
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