Workshops give businesses Facebook marketing advice

Some 128 million people around the world spend time on Facebook daily — 101 million of them via a mobile device — and 72 percent of active monthly users access the social network every day.

That’s a lot of eyeballs.

A slightly smaller number of eyeballs, belonging to representatives of roughly 500 Hawaii businesses, attended a free workshop at the Hawai‘i Convention Center on Tuesday focused on marketing their companies via Facebook.

Representatives of Hokulani Bake Shop, Martin & MacArthur and the nonprofit Pacific Aviation Museum shared their social media stories and practices for the Oahu gathering during a panel discussion and question-and-answer session. Each has a social media presence on multiple platforms including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Much of the presentation by Bess Yount, Facebook’s small-medium business associate, was about paid advertising on the social network, but it also focused on free marketing strategies.

Yount offered statistics for business growth and some mainland small businesses’ success stories.

Some of those strategies are as basic as making sure a business is signing up for a page versus a personal profile and then filling out the business’ details completely, such as its address, hours of operation, phone number and website.

"You’d be surprised" at how many business owners leave much of that information blank, Yount said.

The more complete a business page’s profile information is, the more likely it is the page will appear in Facebook users’ search results, she said.

A business’s cover photo should be the business’ storefront, if there is one, a recognizable product that the business sells, or an image that unmistakably represents the business or organization, Yount said.

Martin & MacArthur’s page features not just koa, but various types of wooden cases for electronic tablets. The Hokulani Bake Shop page displays cupcakes and its four locations, and the Pacific Aviation Museum’s page shows a picture of fighter jets with Hawaii emblazoned on the tails and prominently displays its familiar logo.

Getting the word out about a company’s Facebook page is easily done first through family and friends, but if a business already has collected customer email addresses, messages sent to those customers can encourage folks who are already on Facebook to navigate to and "like" the company’s page, Yount said.

Company owners or their marketing or social media managers should create content that appeals to customers, which can be determined through experimentation or by developing through questions to which customers may post answers. The company must then respond to that customer feedback, she said.

Posting sneak peeks or special access to upcoming news can be compelling and can boost engagement with the company and potentially drive customers to its website.

Business owners can agree to cross-promote each other’s businesses via the social network, given the adage about rising tides lifting all boats. Business A will be exposed to the fans and customers of Business B and vice versa, said Yount.

Plus, it is proven that businesses that are so focused on self-promotion that they don’t engage with the broader community on Facebook are viewed less favorably than businesses that are earnestly engaged and responsive.

Most best practices for individual Facebook users, including "being human and authentic, work for businesses as well," Yount said.

Rules for staging promotions and contests on Facebook have changed from the days when third parties were required to handle them, Yount said.

Now businesses can freely execute contests and giveaways via their own pages, engaging directly with fans.

The only no-nos are requiring a Facebook user to take some action involving his or her own timeline or the publication of his or her personal information, such as an email address or phone number, for the public to see. Businesses must protect users’ private information, Yount said.

Organizers expected 300 people at the Oahu event, but the overflow crowd spilled into another room and the two-hour session also was live-streamed online. The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii was Facebook’s local partner in organizing the Hono­lulu event, while the Maui Economic Development Board helped stage the workshop on Maui over the weekend; that event was attended by roughly 300 people.

Six companies, three at each presentation, won $500 in advertising credits on Facebook: Maui Sunseeker LGBT Resort, Aloha Trunk and Green Realty Group on the Valley Isle, and improvhi, the Hawaiian Humane Society and Roy’s Hawaii on Oahu.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz attended both events and briefly addressed attendees, citing the importance of small businesses to the Hawaii economy and noting increasing numbers of consumers shopping online and incorporating social media in making purchase decisions.

Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.