Facebook Offers Tips for Small Businesses at a Local Event [IndyStar]

In an effort to encourage small businesses to use social media to engage with consumers, Facebook hosted a “Boost Your Business” event in Carmel last week.

Representatives from about 250 local companies attended the event, where Facebook analytics experts and a panel of local business owners gave tips about advertising and marketing on the social media site.

Tips for small-business owners

Here’s some advice from Facebook experts and local business owner panelists on how to use social media to grow your business:

1. Your page is your best online presence: Facebook allows businesses to make marketing personal. Engage with customers by posting business hours, sales, giveaways and upcoming events.
2. Create content that adds value: The Facebook news feed shows the most relevant and interesting content to individuals. Use it to listen and respond to customers, or feature your own stories about happenings at your business.
3. Know your audience: Facebook tools like Page, Audience and Ad Insights allow users to understand what kind of posts are performing best and at what time of day. Use them to find the best way to reach your audience.
4. Find the right people: Clean out the clutter and target the people who care about and want to invest in your business. Facebook has targeting capabilities through the use of tools such as Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences to reach people who may never have heard of your business.
5. Segment your audiences: Tailor your social media efforts to your audiences and create posts that fit their specific needs, based on their interests, behaviors and demographics.
6. Measure your results: Find out what works and what doesn’t and why. Track your progress and continue to grow your business.

Curated from “6 tips from Facebook for small-business owners [IndyStar]“