Facebooking small business

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     Facebook is a fantastic promotional tool for small business. It is almost effortless from the standpoint of your time. And it can be free.

     Example: Franklin is an attorney. He regularly volunteers to be a speaker at public events--club meetings, senior centers, organizational gatherings, etc. He talks about elder care concerns, what to do with traffic tickets, business organization, wills, and he answers all questions from the audience. He gets an agreement to take and use pictures of the meeting on social media. The pictures go on Facebook, looking like a news item. People see themselves, pass the pictures around, and subsequently, calls come in to Franklin's office for an appointment.

     Example: Leonetta is a therapist specializing in Reiki. Her client base is growing, and then she got certified for Reiki for pets. She regularly snaps pictures of dogs and puppies and posts them on her Facebook page. These pictures are exchanged among groups of friends--and calls come in. To speed up appointments, Leonetta posts Facebook pictures almost daily. To slow it down, she posts only once a week.

     Example: Sara runs a gift shop. She snaps a picture of every new item--giving her a record of her inventory. Many items in her shop are from artists and artisans who produce one-of-a-kind pieces--jewelry, ceramics, photographs, paintings and the like. She selects from the pictures those that she knows will attract attention and posts them on Facebook. It stirs interest and brings new people to her shop.

     Example: Robert uses Facebook to promote his garden center. He posts close-ups of blooming plants to attract attention. If he captures a butterfly, so much the better. In autumn, he posts pictures of asters and chrysanthemums, along with cornstalks and pumpkins. In spring, it's daffodils and tulips. He avoids people's faces but shows a hand now and then. Close-ups of flowers attract viewers, and they pass the pictures to their friends.

     Facebook can work in any business. The trick is to keep on snappin' and postin' as often as you need to. Nothing triggers interest more. 

     Don't know how to use Facebook? Ask any teenager. Go to the Facebook site and follow the simple directions.