With over one billion users signing on each and every day, and by far the best demographic data available anywhere, there’s no denying that Facebook is one of the powerful tools available to the modern small business marketer. But with so many users and so many businesses vying for their attention every day, a less-than-stellar business Facebook page can easily leave your business lost in the crowd.
So what does it take for your brand to stand out on Facebook? Take a look at these 21 brands for a bit of inspiration—then read on for our best tips to get your business’s name onto our list.
Creative Businesses
Because their offerings are naturally visual in nature, creative small businesses are among the best contenders for beautiful, well-designed Facebook pages. These fan favorites combine awesome content with high engagement to make the most of what Facebook has to offer.
Breathtaking. With just one look at the Facebook home of this Portland, Oregon-based husband/wife photography team, that’s the only word that comes to mind. Every image has an other-worldly quality that transcends time, standing out dramatically from the large field of wedding photographers out there. Looking beyond the eye candy, Dylan and Sara have clearly worked to cultivate their reviews and ratings section, with each and every client review shouting praise louder than the last.
Clean and simple. That’s the stand-out message behind mompreneur Emily Ley’s collection of paper planners, stationery, and accessories. Homegrown from the beginning right in the social media sphere, Emily Ley’s team makes a point of engaging users through various types of content, all while maintaining a consistent editorial feel. If you’re a bit of a perfectionist but still want to show authenticity in your brand, this Facebook page is a solid best-of-both-worlds inspiration.
The moment you arrive at the #SWFrontPorch, you can’t help but crave a mason jar full of sweet tea. Just like the magazine, Southern Weddings’ Facebook page is a modern testament to all the best of what the deep South has to offer. By focusing on real weddings, calling readers to participate in the magazine as models, hosting weekly hashtag chats, and sharing videos from the Southern Weddings editorial team, this small home-based business has turned its Facebook page into an active, thriving community.
Fashion & Apparel
With a high margin of impulse shoppers, Facebook is a great avenue for fashion retailers to promote their brands and make swift conversions. Here’s how a few of the coolest brands around are using the power of Facebook to their advantage.
4. Beard King
Hopping onboard the raging hipster beard trend, Beard King’s Facebook page has all the cheekiness of a Buzzfeed listicle. They’re a fun crowd you immediately want to be friends with—meaning visitors also want to own their products. Beard King gets high marks on our list for using Facebook to turn their small business into its own pop culture mini-sensation.
5. Ona
As an advertising engine, Facebook’s highest and best use is as an avenue for businesses with very specific target markets. Fashion-forward photographers, for example? Yup, that’s pretty specific!
With awesome images and a clear communication of their product and audience, Ona uses Facebook’s targeted marketing potential to its fullest. Then, to promote engagement, Ona challenges its photographer audience base to an ongoing photo contest, encouraging even more visuals (which Ona can then use for ongoing marketing!). If you have a product or service with a highly specific audience, look to Ona for the inspiration to cut straight to the point!
If you’ve long associated pocket squares with your grandfather’s musty old suit, Pocket Square Clothing will immediately change your thinking. This group of guys has an enviable luxury style that demands the attention of the well-dressed man. Combined with high responsiveness, great customer service ratings, and a prominent call to action, Pocket Square Clothing has the Facebook page it takes to meet the expectations of the high fashion set.
Texas-based Style Nut Boutique was the first small business to take advantage of the potential of Facebook to create an auction style Fashion marketplace. This shop, now expanded to include a more traditional online store, was born and bred as a Facebook auction—and continues to maintain those roots through several themed auctions each week. With stellar engagement, excellent reviews, and lightning fast response times, Style Nut has earned its reputation as a pioneer in the realm of Facebook fashion.
Home Improvement & Decor
With entire television channels dedicated to home improvement and design, it’s little wonder that several of the best Facebook pages out there are connected to small businesses in design and construction.
Check out a few of these praiseworthy pages to inspire your next Facebook facelift.
8. Build Naturally With Sigi Koko
Whether you’re a die-hard environmentalist or just a fan of awesome design, there’s no denying that natural builder Sigi Koko’s Facebook page can’t help but catch your eye. Every photo is a work of art, leading the audience to dig deeper and engage more with the content. And a prominent call to action at the top of this Facebook page easily converts even the most casual of visitors to subscribers—who might eventually become customers!
Made famous by HGTV’s Fixer Upper, this Texas-based reclaimed wood furniture and home interiors company has developed an almost cult-like following on Facebook. It’s well reviewed, the pictures are stunning, and Clint and his team do an awesome job of engaging their audience with fun posts that show the business’s personality.
From the very first click, Kitchen Cabinet Kings’ wacky Facebook cover photo stands out from the masses of cabinet companies’ various designs. Reaching beyond that first display of personality, you’ll see incredible before-and-after photos, stunning design photography, and useful and informative articles about both DIY and professional kitchen renovations. By taking the time to verify their business with Facebook and add a “shop now” call to action to their page, Kitchen Cabinet Kings has gone the extra mile to drive one-time visitors further down the sales funnel.
In addition to its goofy and memorable cover photo, Pool Supply World has taken advantage of the popularity of Facebook games with its own “Poolaga” app. This fun and easy game drives home the importance of pool maintenance to avoid algae growth, while also capturing visitors’ information in order to play. Finally, by offering a coupon linked to email sign-ups, Pool Supply World creates a second avenue for capturing user email address for later follow-up.
Kids & Families
It’s official. Your mom is on Facebook, and so are thousands of her friends. From young, hip millennial moms to the June Cleaver set, more and more parents are connecting with their favorite brands on Facebook to shop for clothing, supplies, and more. Check out how these brands share their family-oriented products on social media.
12. Easy Lunchboxes
This company is all about keeping things quick and easy for busy families, so it makes sense that their Facebook page gets straight to the point. Along with an endless array of ideas for quick, healthy lunches, Easy Lunchboxes speedily converts customers with a prominent call to action and even a promise of free shipping for qualifying orders. If your unique value proposition is all about convenience and simplicity, look to this Facebook page for your marketing inspiration.
13. June & January
As if you could resist all the cute kid visuals, June & January takes their Facebook engagement a step further, using the power of consistent coupons and giveaways to drive engagement. Combined with quick response times and a prominent call to action, this kids apparel retailer is pulling out the stops to turn Facebook fans into consistent customers.
14. RAGS to Raches
Moving away from the syrupy sweet kids’ frocks, RAGS to Raches puts its best foot forward with a decidedly hipster kid vibe. This company knows its audience and makes its message clear on Facebook right from the start. And by sharing her personal story of the ups and downs of running her own business, owner Rachel endears her customers to her brand, building loyal and consistent fans.
Restaurants & Bars
Unlike most of the other businesses on our list, restaurants and bars have the unique challenge of needing to use their Facebook pages to ultimately push users off of their phones and tablets and out into the world, preferably to that great restaurant they just saw on Facebook! Here’s how a few of our favorite spots are doing just that.
15. Brendan’s Irish Pub and Restaurant
Without even stepping foot in Camarillo, California’s finest Irish Pub, it’s easy to tell that Brendan’s is a fun place to be. Day after day, the folks at Brendan’s are sharing another fun photo, announcing a contest, or promoting an upcoming event. Brendan’s Facebook page also takes advantage of all the best of Facebook’s features, posting their menu and most popular hours, cultivating an active ratings and reviews section, and more. This page is a great model for almost any local restaurant or watering hole.
Bozeman, Montana’s Red Tractor Pizza doesn’t just make pizza—they make really, ridiculously good pizza. They have vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. They use fresh ingredients and prioritize local sourcing. And when you visit their Facebook page, that’s the story you’ll immediately see.
Contrasting the good times vibe of the pub above, the Red Tractor Facebook page focuses on telling the story of how their food is made. Even so, this crew isn’t afraid to boast both personality and convenience—offering a call to action for online ordering and even some fun pizza memes for good measure.
17. Woods Coffee
Knowing that any cafe’s success is as much about a great vibe as it is about the joe, Woods Coffee takes a unique approach to promoting engagement by challenging customers to share their own awesome photos of the Pacific Northwest. This is a great way to both drive participation and curate awesome visuals to fill the business’s Facebook page. Small town community establishments—take note.
Specialty Foods
For the most selective of palates, the specialty food industry has made huge strides in connecting with foodie fans over Facebook. You might need to grab a snack after checking out these fan favorites.
18. Hungry Harvest
Foodies delight at the offerings of this produce delivery service that combines great fresh food with convenience and fantastic customer service. By cultivating online reviews and prioritizing responsiveness in their Facebook engagement, Hungry Harvest has built an interactive community of foodies eager to not only purchase more product, but also share the company’s message with friends online.
Part local pub, part craft beer distributor, Sun King Brewing Company faces the challenge of marketing its business on several fronts through one Facebook page. They bridge this gap by combining a behind-the-scenes look into the brewing process with promotions for upcoming events, all with the laid-back personality befitting an adult beverage company. If you’re looking to give your company’s Facebook page a local community feel, look to Sun King Brewing for inspiration to involve other local organizations in your community building.
20. Tillamook Cheese
You probably never thought the fight against big food could be laugh-out-loud funny. But with its social media led fight #ForRealFood, Tillamook Cheese has officially brought the comic relief. Though they are the largest “small” business on our list (and arguably with the biggest marketing budget), farmer-owned Tillamook was worth highlighting here for their penchant for community engagement with a cheeky twist. Don’t be afraid to follow in Tillamook’s footsteps by taking a lighter tone with your Facebook audience.
A butcher with almost 50,000 Facebook fans? You bet!
Wild Idea Buffalo Company proves that there’s no product or offering that can’t find its own niche Facebook audience. Not only do they show delicious cuts of raw meat right on their page, you can also click to purchase that raw meat directly from your Facebook feed! And in the meantime, by sharing a passion for conservation and high-quality ingredients, Wild Idea Buffalo Co. makes the most of Facebook to target and convert exactly the right audience for their product.
How Can Your Small Business Facebook Page Look Like These?
Like what you see here? Good news! With just a bit of effort, your small business Facebook page can easily look just as amazing as these. Employ these best practices to get your social media storefront in ship shape!
Update Regularly
Continuous and timely posting is the number one foundation of a strong social media presence. If your posting is sporadic and infrequent, you’ll have a hard time gaining the traction with fans that translates to true engagement.
Use a tool like Buffer to schedule a calendar of continuous content in advance so that you never have to worry about forgetting to post. Aim for at least one post per day when you can, with additional posts corresponding to sales, events, or other high traffic opportunities.
Respond Promptly
As social media becomes the primary means of communication for more and more consumers, customers have come to expect prompt responsiveness from their favorite brands on social media—and the better your brand’s presence looks online, the higher your customers’ expectations will be. In fact, as you might have seen in the list above, Facebook monitors and lets customers know how quickly your business’s page typically responds to messages. The better your response time, the more likely the customer is to place their trust in your business.
Make provisions within your team to determine who will respond to Facebook comments and messages, and when. And give your team permission to be personable in their interactions with customers. Let folks know that they are doing business with a human being, not a robot!
Make It Visual
It’s as true on Facebook as anywhere else: a picture really is worth a thousand words. So invest in creating strong imagery to make your Facebook posts stand out. Even simple equipment and iPhone apps can give your images a professional quality to tell the story of your business, and go a long way toward improving engagement on your Facebook page.
In addition to pictures, use video or other graphic elements to make your page more visually appealing. Try a graphic design resource like Canva to add text or interesting layouts to images, or give Nutshell a try for simple video editing.
Get Verified
In a few simple steps, you can now verify your local business Facebook page to prove to viewers that the page is an authentic representation of your business. Getting verified helps to assure customers that the information on your Facebook page is accurate, making them more likely to engage your business.
This is one of the simplest one-time actions you can take to make a big impact on your business’s presence on Facebook.
Request Reviews
When a prospective customer searches for your business on Facebook, one of the first things they’ll see is your customer rating—including a number of stars and how many reviews your business has received. Well-reviewed businesses are much more likely to attract the interest of new customers on Facebook.
Add more reviews to your Facebook page by requesting reviews for your most loyal customers. Add a link to your email newsletter requesting reviews from your current customers, or even consider offering a special deal for customers who review your business on Facebook. When prospective customers see that their friends have offered a good review to your business on Facebook, they’ll more likely want to do business with you as well.
Help, Don’t Sell
If you pay attention to the pages above, you might have noticed a common theme—they’re not overly promotional. Every post isn’t a discount, sales pitch, or urgent request to “buy now!” Sure, some of those elements are mixed in, but the best Facebook pages also feature neutral third party content that the small business’s target market will probably enjoy: links to articles or blog posts, quick tips or infographics related to your field of expertise, or even funny GIFs or memes related to your product or service.
Remember as you build your small business’s Facebook page that you’re playing the long game. Not every post will lead to a sales conversion, but it isn’t meant to. Use your page not merely as a sales platform, but as a means to introduce prospective customers to the personality of your business.
Explore Available Tools
Both Facebook and third party app developers are constantly adding new tools and tricks that small business Facebook pages can use to improve their presence. Restaurants can include their menus and highest traffic hours. Retail companies can include a shopping widget at the top of their timeline. You can add tabs like you would to your regular website, or even develop your own app or game to gain users’ attention.
If you really want to wow your Facebook audience and stand out from the crowd, look into what options you have to go beyond the obvious with your page!
Pay to Play
Because Facebook primarily makes a profit through advertising, one challenge of marketing your business on Facebook might be that it’s difficult to get your page seen by new customers without paying for sponsored posts or banner ads.
The good news, though, is that Facebook might be one of the smartest places you can spend your advertising budget. Because of the social network’s highly selective demographic criteria, you can choose to target a very specific base of likely customers—getting more bang for your buck than through other advertising channels.
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Once you’re feeling confident about the look of your small business’s Facebook page, consider investing in a few promoted posts and banner ads to gain the attention of new followers. For as little as a few dollars, you can start testing different posts and target markets to see what will be the best fit for your business.
While the small business Facebook pages above are certainly stellar, they don’t have to be out of reach for your business. Employ some of these tips on your business’s Facebook page, and who knows? You might be featured in our next round-up of awesome brands!
The post 21 of the Best Small Business Facebook Pages appeared first on Fundera Ledger.
from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/2016/03/03/business-facebook-pages/
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