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The Best Ways to Grow Your Facebook Reach

Everyone is buzzing about the Facebook Fraud.

Real or not, paying for FB to “promote” your page is not a smart way to grow your business.

You need FANS not “Likes”. You want people who will engage and share. You want people who want to hear from you. You want people who want to see you succeed. You want people who will be your evangelists, bringing others to see you.

You cannot buy those people on Facebook. You have to earn them one at a time.

How?

Post Relevant Stuff: Tell them interesting information that is important in their lives. If you are a running shoe store, post information about training tips, upcoming events, injury prevention, etc. If you are a baby store, talk about safe sleeping, car seat installation, and potty-training. If you are an electronics store, post about innovations and upgrades and whether or not they are of value.

Post Shareworthy Stuff: Post things that no one else knows. Post things so cute and funny (while also relevant) that your current fans want others to see it. Post things that just beg to be shared. Share things to your page. If you found it Shareworthy, your fans will, too.

Post Engaging Stuff: Ask for opinions (and act on the results). Ask for thoughts and ideas. Naming contests, polls, and guessing games are engaging and fun.

Post Emotional Stuff: Speak to the heart of your customer. What is her desire in relation to your products? Sell toys? Speak to the growth and success of her child. Sell jewelry? Speak to the reaction on her face when she opens the box. Sell mattresses? Speak to the feelings of finally getting a good night’s sleep.

Nostalgia is a strong emotion for businesses that have been around the block a few decades. Post stories and pics about the olden days (if you think FB is only for the younger crowd, post a pic from the 60’s and get ready to be amazed).

Facebook, to truly be effective for your store, is not a numbers game. It is a message game. Win the message and you’ll have all the numbers you want.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS The big question is, “How often should I post?” To be most effective you should post at least once a day, but only when you have the right message and something new to say.

Redefining the Terms

You don’t sell products. You sell feelings.

The jeweler doesn’t sell diamond rings. The jeweler sells the look on her face when he opens the box and asks, “Will you marry me?”

The shoe salesman doesn’t sell shoes. The shoe salesman sells the bounce in your step and the self-confidence you have when your feet feel good.

The toy store doesn’t sell toys. The toy store sells play value and imagination and creativity.

You and I get this. Our customers don’t.

Not because they can’t, but because the big chains won’t let them. Especially the discounters. They are trying to commoditize everything you sell. Make it all about the price. It isn’t about which toys you buy, but how many. The big chains know you can outperform them on getting the right items. They want to make sure the customers don’t even think about that. They’re winning, too, because we allow them to control the conversation.

They talk about the products. We talk about the products. We’re speaking their language. We need to instead talk about the feelings.

We need to talk less about the products we sell and more about how our products make the customer feel. We need to talk about the emotions behind the products, the emotions behind the purchases, the feelings we create.

We need to bring the importance of the purchase, the reason for the purchase back to the forefront.

When you write your ad copy, whether for print, broadcast or social media, ask yourself two questions.

  1. Is this copy about the product or the feeling?
  2. How can I make it more about the feeling?

The more you do that, the more you change the conversation back to one you will win.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS For example, here are two radio ads I have run this fall to change the conversation. These are the left-brained, logical ads. The more emotional ads run next month.

We Sell Play Value
Over the next couple months a bunch of stores will start advertising to you about toys. They’re talking about the wrong thing. You don’t buy toys. You buy Play Value. You don’t buy toys; you buy creativity and imagination. You don’t buy toys, you buy engagement and fun. You can forgive them for not knowing this. They only sell toys part time. We sell Play Value all year long. That’s why you shop at Toy House and Baby Too in downtown Jackson. We’re here to make you smile.

Made Up Lists
Fortunately, you guys are smart. You know all those Hot Toy Lists are fake, phony, decided in some backroom meeting months ago. Designed to get you to buy what they want to sell. As if your kids were sheep and only happy if they got one of the “hot” toys.  That’s not you. That’s not us. We aren’t going to hype you into buying what we want to sell. We’re going to help you find what works best for you. Over twice the selection of the big chains, ten times the play value, and none of the hype. Toy House in downtown Jackson. We’re here to make you smile.

More Than a Fair Exchange of Value

You all know I follow a bunch of blogs. You’ve probably read a blog or two on my blog roll. I read them because they challenge me. They challenge my thoughts on retail. They challenge what I think I know. A few minutes ago, I read this on a blog about Customer Loyalty.

5) Deliver a “fair exchange of value”. Too often retailers want to create “delighted” customers. Many retailers spend far too large a percentage of their revenue trying to create “delighted” customers. The reality is that customers want a fair exchange of value and rarely expect a retailer to delight them. Give them a good value, provide a comfortable and efficient shopping experience, work with them through any issues, solve their problems, and they’ll become not just loyal, but committed.

Can I agree to disagree?

Yes, customers expect a fair exchange of value. I grant that. But a fair exchange of value is the minimum. It is the bar. You have to do that just to keep them from flaming you on Facebook or Yelp. Do anything less than a fair exchange of value and you’re screwed. It is the lowest level of entry into the game.

Customers expect a fair exchange of value from frickin’ Wal-Mart!

If all you give them is a fair exchange of value, then you’re no better than Wal-Mart. And in today’s retail environment, that is not good enough. It might get you a thanks, but it won’t win you loyalty.

After you give them a fair exchange of value, you have to delight them. You have to make them say WOW! You have to make them think of you not as a store, but as their new bestie. You have to delight them to the point they cannot wait to tell their friends, tell their co-workers, tell their family.

Loyalty doesn’t come from a discount or cash back. You aren’t loyal to your friends or family because of the financial kickbacks. You’re loyal because of your shared values. You’re loyal because your friends and family have your back. You’re loyal because at the end of the day, you know those people care.

If you want loyalty from your customers, you better first give them a fair exchange of value. Then you better have their backs, you better share their values, and you better care.

My own personal belief is that too often retailers don’t do anywhere near enough to delight their customers. Yet that is where the loyalty is hiding.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS This doesn’t mean I’ll stop reading that blog. There is always something to learn. The true key phrase in that passage above is, “Customers… rarely expect a retailer to delight them.” Just think how much you will stand out in the crowd when you’re the exception to that rule.

Don’t Be the Little Piggy

We all know about the little piggy. He went wee, wee, wee all the way home.

As you craft your message for your potential customers this fall, don’t be the little piggy. Take all the “we” statements out of your marketing and change them to “you” statements.

We’ve been in business since 1949.
You want a company that will be there with you for the long run.

We have great customer service.
You will never wait more than 30 seconds on hold to talk to an agent.

We are licensed.
You want a provider who not only stays current with licensing, but takes extra classes to stay ahead of the changes in your system to make sure you are never down.

We offer the best products.
You will find award-winning products like the…

We have time-saving services.
You can get your products giftwrapped for free in less time than it takes to walk in from the parking lot.

We started our business because we…
You want a business that understands your needs, who thinks like you…

The most powerfully seductive word in the English language has only three letters and none of them are an x.

Y – O – U

Make your customer the star of your web copy. Make the customer the star of your print copy. Make the customer the star of your radio copy. Make the customer the the star of your social media, your email marketing, your in-store signage.

You’re already making the customer the star of your business. Now make her the star of your marketing.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS When you talk about your customers, remember to do these three things.

  1. Tell them specifics. Specifics are more believable and lend credibility.
  2. Tell them why. People like to know why you do what you do.
  3. Speak to the heart. Emotional connections are strong. The mind will use logic to justify what the heart has already decided.
Go back and read the You statements above to see what I mean.

Two Ways to Use Facebook Better

Social media is not a new form of advertising.  But it is a new method for branding your business.

Facebook is not a new avenue to talk at your customers.  But it is a new method for talking with your customers.

The biggest mistake most businesses make with social media (heck, with all forms of advertising) is using them the wrong way.  With social media, the specific mistake is thinking it is a platform for you to talk about your business.

If you think that way, you have it backwards.  Social media is for your customers to tell you about their lives and how you fit in them.  Therefore, the best way to use social media is to help your fans and followers start the conversation and then let them do all the talking.  Ask questions.  Ask for feedback.  Tell them what you’re thinking and ask if they agree.

Groovy Girls versus Barbie Dolls

One way I like to start the conversation on Facebook for Toy House is to post pictures of two competing toys to see which one my customers prefer.  Quick Polls.  People love to give you their opinions, so let them.  One time I posted this pic of Groovy Girls vs Barbie Dolls.

You can see from the comments how my fans were doing the “selling” of Groovy Girls.  Far more powerful than me trying to “sell” my customers.

The other advantage of these quick polls was how easily it was to get a read on what my fans liked and didn’t like and why.  They told me!

Not only did I get my customers to do the selling, I got valuable information about what my customers liked and disliked.  I also got a lot of interest.  The more people commented, the more people saw the post.  We found that the number of people who “liked” us grew faster when we did stuff like this rather than just shout out “We have Groovy Girls!”

Furthering Your Brand

Another way to use Facebook successfully is to use it to further your brand.  Make sure all of your posts are consistent with your Core Values.  For instance, one of the Toy House Core Values is Nostalgia.  So I posted this…

In 1949 my grandparents, Phil & Esther Conley transformed a house on First Street into a toy store. Everyone said they were crazy. You can’t sell toys year-round in Jackson. 18 years and three expansions later they had outgrown that house. On Monday, September 18, 1967 they re-opened Toy House at 400 North Mechanic Street. Forty five years later, the store is still going strong in our current building, still making people smile. If you like what we’ve done, share this with your friends. In a world where everything is becoming more disposable, some things are still built to last.

It was one of the most popular posts ever in terms of views and shares and likes.  Nostalgia is a powerful value that resonates with a lot of people.

I didn’t tell people what to do.  I didn’t tell them where to go.  I told them what I believed in.  I tapped into their own feelings of nostalgia.  I tapped into their own belief systems.  I deepened the connection they might already have and used them, by their comments and likes and shares, for reaching out to others who might share those same values.

I love Facebook.  Not as a means of selling, but as a means of conversing, of learning, of sharing, and of building a deeper relationship.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS  Want to know more about the right and wrong ways to use all other forms of advertising? Read my FREE eBook How Ads Work Part 1.

Pinterest and Twitter and Facebook, Oh My!

The Social Media mavens tell you that you have to maximize your presence on Twitter… and Facebook… and Pinterest… and Google+… and LinkedIn… and…

I mean, they’re free, right?  Why wouldn’t you?

Of course, these are the same gurus who used to be in traditional advertising and told you to make sure you had your message on TV, Radio, Newsprint and Billboards so that you would reach everyone in multiple ways which would make the messages sink in better (it doesn’t – read page 3)

And guess what?  They are both wrong!

You don’t have to do all the social media.  You don’t really have to do any of them.  Sure, they all work in one way or another.  Sure, they all can help your business.  Sure, they all cost time instead of money.  Sure, you can still go broke investing all your time into them.

Advertising and marketing are and have always been about maximizing your ROI – return on investment.  The difference between the social media and regular advertising (besides that they are used completely differently – but you already knew that) is that one costs time, the other costs money.

But you still need to make sure you are not spending too much capital.  Your time is more valuable than you think.

The advice I give for social media is the same advice I give for regular advertising.  Pick one medium and do it to the absolute best of your ability.  Don’t worry about the other media.  You only have time/money for one, so pick one and do it better than everyone else.

It really is that simple.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS  For Toy House I picked Facebook.  I like FB for pictures and videos and conversations.  For Phils Forum I primarily use this blog.  I like the framework.  It gives me enough room to make my point.  Yes, I use Twitter, but only as a means for delivering my blog.

Tell ’em What You Stand For

(title written with apologies to all my English teachers)

If you read my free eBook Understanding Your Brand, you know that I am a firm believer of being true to your Core Values and showing them off whenever and wherever you can.

The stronger you take a stand for something you believe in, the more you may be criticized. But more importantly, the more you will attract a loyal following.

Just recently I took a stand on Facebook, posting what I felt about the big-box retail stores that are opening Thanksgiving Day and what those stores must think of their staff (not much). Not surprisingly, I got a lot of love from my fans – the people who share my values. You can read what they had to say here.

What was interesting is that our local newspaper picked up on it and wrote an online story about what I wrote on Facebook. You should read the comments there.

If you want some love, take a stand for something. Those who agree will love you even more. And they will defend you against the ones who disagree. Don’t worry about the ones who disagree. They weren’t going to be your loyal followers anyway.

If you want to know who are your real fans, take a stand. They are the ones who have your back.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Happy Thanksgiving!

How I Am Marketing the Birthday Club

Thought it might be insightful to show you all I am doing to market the launch of our Birthday Club at Toy House.

  • Facebook – This is where I did a lot of research and also where we first announced it.

  • Email – I use Constant Contact to manage my email list. This particular email was the most-opened email I have sent.

  • Press Releases – I have 80 email addresses just for press releases; newspaper contacts, radio, TV, business leaders, people who publish newsletters, local organizations, etc.

  • TV – I am the daily sponsor of the JTV Birthday Club on the Bart Hawley Show. They put up a slide on the air at the end of their Birthday Club segment telling people to sign up for our Birthday Club. Plus, I will be making a live appearance next week on the show to talk about it.

  • Local Message Boards – my wife posted the announcement on two local message boards and they both immediately had positive reactions.

  • Radio – I will be doing a couple interviews on local radio soon to talk about the Birthday Club. Part of that is because I do a lot of radio advertising. Part of that is because I have cultivated relationships with our local deejays. I might run a radio ad later, but only if I think I need the extra publicity.

  • Website – Our web guy put it up on our website in conjunction with the launch. Thanks Steve!

  • In-Store Signs – We have signs all throughout the store advertising the Birthday Club.

  • This Blog – Sure, it’s more of a backdoor way of marketing, but I have customers and local people who read this blog and have learned about the Birthday Club from it.

  • Word-of-Mouth – The buzz both online and in person has been huge.

Sure, that might seem like a lot of work. But much of it is simple enough to do. And all it really cost was time.

Results? Over 150 sign-ups in the first three days.

You don’t need a big advertising budget to market your business. You need some time, some ingenuity, and a great message.

Phil
www.PhilsForum.com

PS To learn other affordable ways to market your business, check out my three free eBooks
Main Street Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
Baby Store Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
Non-Profit Marketing on a Shoestring Budget.

Just For Baby Stores (and Anyone Interested in Marketing)

Last week I gave a couple presentations at the All Baby & Child (ABC) Spring Educational Conference in Fort Worth, TX.

Once again, Pricing for Profit was one of the biggest hits of the show. Many vendors were asking, “Who’s Phil?” as retailer after retailer showed them better ways to price their goods for more profit because,“Phil said…” (Love that people talk about it that way! That never grows old for me:-)

The other presentation was Baby Store Marketing on a Shoestring Budget. Unlike most retailers who rely on repeat customers, there aren’t a lot of repeat visits in the baby world. Stores that sell cribs and dressers have to constantly seek out new clientele.

Similar to Main Street Marketing on a Shoestring Budget, the Baby Store presentation covers eight affordable ways specific to baby stores that they can market themselves without spending a ton or giving away the profits.

And the Stork has arrived!

Everything in the presentation is now available in a newly published eBook. Download it for free. Share it with your friends. More importantly, use it as a guide to get more traffic in your store. (The smart ones among you will easily adapt it to your specific product mix.)

-Phil

Measuring ROI (or in other words… Did it Work?)

John Wanamaker of Wanamaker’s Department Stores in Philadelphia is credited with the famous quote decades ago,

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is I don’t know which half.”

Since that quote marketers have spent billions of dollars trying to measure the ROI (return on investment) of their marketing and advertising efforts. Do not follow in their footsteps.

I repeat, Do Not Follow In Their Footsteps!

Trying to calculate the ROI on your advertising is like trying to decide which butterfly in Mexico caused the tornado in Texas. The variables would make a meteorologist’s head spin.

Oh, but the experts say measuring ROI for an event or coupon is easy. Oh yeah?

Cause of Success
Was the success of your last event because you posted it on Facebook?
Or was it because you posted on FB at the optimal time; two hours earlier or two hours later and no one of any influence would have seen it.
Or was it because you ran into a friend at the gas station and mentioned the event to her while she was heading to lunch with her very influential girlfriends?
Or was it because you put up the in-store signs just in time for the newspaper reporter who happened to be out shopping on her lunch hour to see them?
Or was it because the road two blocks over was closed for temporary repair and all the traffic came down your street all three days the tent-sign was out on your sidewalk?
Or was it… you get the idea.

(Look, you can come up with a list of excuses twice that long for why you failed, why are you so willing to credit your success to one thing?)

(Note: I didn’t address coupons because I don’t believe in them, but a similar list of variables can come into play making one coupon offer work while a similar offer fails.)

Marketing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Nor should it.

Cover Your Bases
If you are hosting an event at your store, you need to be plying every avenue you can muster to draw your crowd. Facebook, Twitter, email, in-store signs, and press releases at a minimum (because they are basically free). Radio, TV, newsprint, direct mail as the budget allows. And networking, networking, networking. Get your butt out in public and talk. The more you do, the more success you’ll see. And the harder it will be to determine which method made the most difference.

So don’t worry about figuring out which method worked best.

First, you never really know. I have on my sign-up-to-win forms a question, “How did you hear about this event?” At one event 30% circled newsprint – even though there wasn’t a single mention in any newspaper!

Second, it doesn’t really matter, because you can’t fully factor all those variables listed above. So anything you learn above and beyond the simple lessons that have already smacked you in your face is no guarantee to move the needle the next time.

Third, you don’t have the budget to properly test your ROI.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
Let the MBA’s falsify their stats to prove whether one form of marketing works better than another. The reality is that if you use your chosen media right, they all work. And if you use them wrong, they all fail. And the best laid plans can be derailed by a snowstorm, an orange cone, a bad news day, or a butterfly in Mexico.

Don’t waste too much time trying to calculate ROI. If you’re hosting an event, pick the marketing where you feel most comfortable. Put your energies there with all your conviction and the results will follow.

Then get out there and sell the dickens out of the crowd you draw!

Merry Christmas!

-Phil

PS Some of you might think this runs counter to my discussion of mixed media. That discussion was geared towards long-term branding. This is about short-term event marketing. Different beasts requiring different methods.