I learned a valuable lesson this week. It turns out my web designer knows what he is talking about. So does Darren Slaughter. Both of them have the same opinion that driving traffic to my company Facebook page isn’t doing me any favours. Up until last week, I disagreed.
Here’s what happened. I had some stunning before and after pictures of a kitchen we recently painted and I wanted to share them with my Facebook friends and customers. It was one of those knock them out of the ball park transformations that could convince just about anyone to paint their kitchen cabinets, even the greatest wood lover out there. I uploaded them to a photo album on FB, wrote a couple of comments, clicked share and yammo, everybody is looking my photos.
I should have been happy watching my fabulous painted kitchen cabinet transformation get shared and shared again. Traffic to my Facebook page was brisk. But here’s the problem. Guess how many new likes I got? Or more importantly, how many requests for estimates did I get? Not one. All that traffic, all those “wow” comments and “likes” and yet none of it translated into a lead or a new customer.
So what do I think went wrong? Well, if I had listened to my web designer or to Darren Slaughter, I forgot about my website. I should have taken those amazing kitchen transformation pictures and posted them on my blog along with a smart, well written article about how we could transform your kitchen into a thing a beauty. All that traffic should have ended up on my website where a potential customer could have learned all about Warline Painting and who we are and what sets us apart from the competition. Instead, it went to my Facebook page where lots of people looked and liked, but moved on.
That’s Facebook. Click. Look. Like. Next.
Facebook is an excellent tool for communicating with your existing customers and even indirectly exposing new people to your company. What it doesn’t do however is sell your services. Facebook is a brand builder, not a lead generator.
Ugh. I hate learning things the hard way.
I love posting our before and after shots on Facebook. I enjoy the immediate response I get along with the interaction with customers, friends and peers. I like seeing our number of followers grow. It’s also a great way to let my audience know about something I want to share (or sell).
I just have to remember to do my sharing on my website. If I had used my blog, those viewers would have been exposed to my other articles, my gallery of photos and all the content I have worked so hard to write, all designed to convert traffic into leads. Also, if I had used my blog instead of Facebook, those photos and my article on painting kitchen cabinets would have become part of the content on my site and helped increase my SEO rankings.
It’s not too late and I will still write that article and add the photos to my website but I should have just done that in the first place. All those Facebook friends that shared my before and after photos already aren’t likely to share the same story twice.
So here is my new advice to myself and others using Facebook for their business. Post your daily updates and events on Facebook but save the big stuff for your website. Use Facebook to announce you’ve got something great to share and drive that traffic to your website, where you can actually convert a like into a customer.
Heidi,
Great post. I am happy to hear that your site is going to be your new online showroom. In one quick post you have learned a lot, which will result in new business I promise!
I am going to do a video on your post next week if that is OK with you, and hopefully you will get a lot more exposure TO YOUR SITE.
Thank you for the kind words and take care! If I can help, please feel free to reach out to me!
-Darren
Thanks Darren. I’m glad I have been following your articles on this subject because if I hadn’t I probably wouldn’t have thought twice about the response I got from my post. I look forward to your video. I should have my article on my kitchen makeover on my own site by then.
By the way, I love your site! Very clean lines and nicely done. If there is any way to make the images in the slider bigger it would make a huge impact on drawing people into your work.
Thanks for the great tip Darren.
Thanks Heidi, we got into this a little on the forums the other night. I let loose with exactly what I thought about it. I absolutely think time spent on FB would be better invested elsewhere. Canvassing with flyers or door hangers give you more return than FB as far as leads.
If I didn’t have the ability to post once and publish across all social media sites I probably wouldn’t bother.
Making a project blog post and then linking it to FB, twitter, bookmarking sites, and g+ will be the extent of my social presence.
So many experts out there don’t know their butt from a hole in the ground, especially these social media ones. Applying the same principles to a small business just don’t work the same as they do for Pepsi.
Hi Tommy. I really do love Facebook and the response and feedback I get when I post. But I am learning to keep FB in its place, which is a way to keep in contact with existing customers and to reinforce my brand. I don’t think I would spend much effort or money in getting more likes with the hopes of them turning into customers.
Its going to be hard but I am going to work on spending no more than 15 minutes a day of FB. Wish me luck.
Great post Heidi! As much as I love Facebook, I don’t expect leads. I really enjoy networking, sharing and finding great information from my networks. Limiting myself to 15 minutes a day would be tough! One blogger I know says she sets a timer and when it goes off, she is done! We might have to try that!
Great post! I agree, fb is great for keeping yourself top of mind to your networks and not a lead generator. I wish you much success!
I agree with:
– Don’t spend too much time on Facebook
– Your site or blog get priority.
– Use Facebook to promote your site
But,
most people wouldn’t care much what your project pictures are and linking back to your site they will not. By the way I love your pictures and articles.
The biggest response from Facebook is for a single picture. Not a link, not a video, not an album.
There are also certain days and times to post on your wall. Facebook is all about building a community, sure. But it is absolutely about sales and estimates and easier to close leads.
It is about your next sales call talking about the blue house, or will they get S….. as their crew leader, or cross-referencing the requests for proposals and seeing that an increasing number are also Facebook fans, if not before contacting us, for sure after.
Where else can you choose your demographic like this:
College educated, female, 30-60 year old, in a certain geographic region etc. Or even better:
to your fans only.
My point is, not long ago we heard similar points being made about blogs, before then websites, before then the internet. Careful of the missed oportunities. We are getting a taste of what Social networking could be and it is good.
And by the way, it is a lead generator.
HI George, Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Insight from someone with a successful Facebook page is always welcome. I totally agree with the single images being more successful than albums and it is definitely a way to communicate with your customers.
I have no doubt that FB and other social networking sites are here to stay but they need to be tools we use to drive traffic to our website and not be the final destination we want our potential customer to be.