So every business should be on Facebook right? Wrong…

I hear it all too often, “We’ve engaged a company to setup a Facebook page for us” or “I’ve decided to setup a Facebook page so we can start marketing on Facebook”… then I always ask “Why?”…

Seriously, Why? Why do you want to be on Facebook, what do you plan to get out of it?

Don’t get me wrong, I love Facebook it’s the social media platform I spend the most time on personally and professionally but for many businesses it’s going to be a waste of time and money at least if you are still in startup and needing to get new business quickly.

Here’s 10 Reasons Why Your Facebook Page Won’t Work For Your Business

1. Your customers aren’t on Facebook

If your ideal customer is 80 years old, they aren’t likely to be on Facebook are they? So why put time and effort building a page just so all your friends can click Like and you can feel significant, then you forget about it.

2. Your customers don’t use Facebook often

What if you’re targeting 60 year old business owners. Maybe they have a Facebook profile so they can stay connected with their kids and grandkids but how often do they check it? When was the last time they logged on and bought something through liking a page? I’m not saying that they definitely aren’t, but have you done the research do you know if your market is actively on Facebook and using it reguarly?

3. You are interested in Generating not Connecting

Facebook and social media in general is about connecting with people. If all you are interested in doing is generating new business from your Facebook page then you are bound to fail. You must use your Facebook page as a way to engage, discuss, share and even get a little personal with your tribe.

4. You don’t have the time to commit

“If you build it, they will come” – Field of Dreams. That’s exactly what it is DREAMS, if you think you can just create a page and not continue to update it with new content you won’t get any results. You must commit time and effort to your page. There are many time saving tools available for social media, such as Hoot Suite – which lets you manage your Facebook pages and schedule posts, but there can be negative effects to the effectiveness of your Facebook page strategy when you use these tools.

5. Looking for Quick Results

Facebook pages are not a short-term strategy, you won’t create a page, get some likes and start making more money and getting more customers straight away. It’s about building trust and rapport with your followers and building a tribe of people who will promote you and buy from you regularly. Building that tribe takes time to achieve and to do it you need great content to be shared, which takes preparation.

6. You’re down to your last dollar

A client once came to me and said… “I’ve got about $500 to spend on marketing I was thinking of paying someone to do a Facebook page for me.”

If you are down to your last few dollars and only a limited budget there are so many better avenues that have measurable ROI’s and will deliver much better results than a Facebook page.

7. Your delivery and customer service suck

Facebook pages are a two way street, you communicate with your customers and they communicate with you, and it’s all done PUBLICLY! So if you fail to deliver your product or service well, and you have customer service issues be prepared to have it made widely known to all their Facebook friends and to all your otherwise satisfied clients.

8. Have no clear defined goals for your Facebook Page

All marketing should have a Return on Investment (ROI). You invest time or you invest money or you invest both – so you should expect a return. Here’s the question though… what return are you looking for?

• Do you want more customers?
• Do you want more repeat business?
• Do you want to build a community of customers?
• Do you want to be more well known?
• Do you want to be seen as an Expert in your field?

You must know your outcome and goal for the page, how will you know if it’s succeeding and it’s a worthwhile investment?

9. Your goals don’t serve your audience

Having a goal as discussed above is crucial, but there’s an extra element. Your goal needs to serve your audience. If making your business more well known is your goal, ask yourself, how does that serve your audience? Will you being more well known help them in some way?

The quickest way to achieve your goal will be to have others enrolled in helping you, and to do that helping you needs to help thems.

10. You are always selling

You’ve met those people right, they are slick and salesy and all they ever do is offer their products or services to you. How do you feel when you meet them at a dinner party or networking event?

So why are you going to do it on your Facebook page? As stated earlier, Facebook is about connecting. Give first then ask for their business. Help them in advance, then they can feel that you actually care (which I’m sure you do) and will be happier to do business with you when you suggest it.

So is a Facebook page going to work for your business?

The answer is I can’t tell you for sure, what I can tell you is that Facebook is a long term strategy, it takes time although there are ways you can automate it to reduce the time required.

Is your Facebook page working? Will you create a Facebook page for your business?