On average, 7.9% of Facebook fans see fan page updates on a daily basis. Read this.
So if you’ve neglected other ways to promote your business and think FB will do it all for you, your advertising and marketing reach is nowhere near where you think it is.
That’s not to say you can’t use Facebook in some interesting ways to make your Facebook page more interesting and compelling to your readers. Here’s one:
One completely free way to reward and recognize fans is to showcase an individual fan on your Page. Social media consultant Sarah Evans of PR and new media consultancy Sevans Strategy suggests that you “select a fan of the week. Interview the individual, post it on the Page and encourage dialogue around the person, not your brand. You can reward people with this honor who frequently contribute to the page or are loyal customers.” Read the whole article.
Just don’t forget that your Facebook audience is not what you think it is and that Facebook should not be the mainstay of your marketing program.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
I’d have to say I disagree- I have 2100 followers on Facebook because we upload photos of a huge chunk of our inventory. People can call in to put the item on hold or purchase it over the phone and pick it up at their convenience. Nearly every time we upload a picture, someone calls to purchase the item in under 5 minutes. Plus, a lot of shoppers will tell their friends when we have something their friend has been looking for. Facebook is like word of mouth on crack. I only do advertising through Facebook and our website. We haven’t had a slow day in a year. Total Cost in advertising: $10 a year to upkeep my website.
If we DON’T upload pictures of our inventory, the total in sales for the day suffers incredibly. There are plenty of days we’ve turned around a slow day to a huge one just by bombarding the page with pictures.
I wouldn’t have a store if it wasn’t for Facebook! 🙂
Tawny, that’s great that your FB campaign works so well! Unfortunately, you didn’t absorb the word “ALONE” in my headline.
Relying SOLELY on whatever percentage of “regulars” see and react to FB photos, or on the one out of however many who will alert a specific friend who might be interested in a specific item, really limits your market place.
Building business means reaching more, and new, potential customers every single day.
You are doing great with the customers you already have, but think about my last sentence above, as well: “Just don’t forget that your Facebook audience is not what you think it is and that Facebook should not be the mainstay of your marketing program.”
Thanks for your comment, and keep on keepin’ on!
On the other hand, instead of posting on Facebook 5 times a day, and having those posts basically be worthless within hours, you could post to your blog and have it there forever (or until you choose to delete it.)
When you post to your blog, you can have it appear on your FB page (as my posts do, in fact FB has a nervous tic that makes it post several times!) and on Twitter. Then, to alert your FB fans who missed it at that time, you simply FB something like “today’s topic at the blog is how to wear boots with cocktail dresses”…
Now the above is how to market more effectively on FB, but let’s remember: FB IS NOT ENOUGH. How else is everyone getting their name out in front of current, and as important, POTENTIAL “friends you haven’t made yet”? Or is all your marketing energy focused on FB?
Kate – Great facebook link!! I always knew that my posts would get lost in the newsfeed, so multiple posting through out the day was important… But up to 5 times a day!! WOAH! : )
Keep pounding the pavement, work with other businesses to cross-promote… and apprecite each customer that walks thru the door.
Thanks for keepin it real.