Craft Focus - Dec/Jan (Issue 70)

84 craft focus Michael O’Connor explains how to turn Facebook users into customers Social media is a must for small businesses, which now have more power than ever to market themselves to potentially millions of people, as well as the ability to finetune their online marketing efforts. The social media giant Facebook has an array of tools for small companies, including Audience Insights, which enables users to know more about their followers’ habits, where they are from and what kind of lifestyle they lead. Market research After clicking on Audience Insights, the first step is to choose your market. If this is your first time using the tool, it will make life very easy for you. It’s a good idea to know who your audience is, so you can determine what they need from you. As a small business, you require a specific focus according to your niche in order to convert site visitors into customers. You may think more is better when it comes to spreading the word. That may be true if you have oodles of money for your ad campaign or you don’t care about return on investment. However, if neither of these is true for you, customising your target market is more practical. Put simply, when you have a more targeted audience, you reduce your risks and increase your chances of conversion because you are reaching the right people. There are different processes you can undertake to better understand your target audience. It is recommended that you aim for a minimum of 10,000 people, but a little under is fine as long as you know you can get a fairly reliable answer. Assessing the options Targeting options provided by Facebook include location, which could be anything from a country to a postcode, as well as demographics, which typically focuses on age and gender, but can also specify relationship status, occupation and education. Also useful is interests, based on liked pages and behaviours, which allows you to collect information around buying behaviour, travel preferences and device usage. The advanced option enables you to narrow your audience based on information you have already collected, as well as ‘lookalike’ users, which means people who share similar characteristics to your existing customers. Pay special attention to interest-based targeting, which lets you focus on a particular subject that’s related to your product to draw people in. This could be a specific aspect of your niche or a product that has characteristics that will resonate with your audience. Also useful, behaviour targeting is based on purchase history and intent. This allows you to learn more about the psychology of your target audience so you can better cater to their needs. Exploring your data After a week of activity, Facebook Audience Insights will provide a wealth of useful information, with tabs that cover the following areas: Demographics collates information such as age, gender, education, job title and relationship status. If your audience is in the US, you will also see their lifestyle. Page likes lists particular areas on Facebook that your audience is likely to favour. Location gives you an idea of where your customers are and what languages they speak. This can help you tailor products, services and promotions. Activity tells you more about what your audience has been engaged in over the last 30 days. It can also help you find out if it’s worth paying for Facebook ads. Household will provide additional details about your audience based on estimates and survey responses, including income, size, home market value and spending methods. Purchase gives you some key information on buying habits based on initial purchases made offsite. This is gathered by third parties affiliated with Facebook. The data categories include retail spending, online purchases and shopping behaviour. using social media to drive sales Michael O’Connor Grey Sergeant michael.oconnor@greysergeant.com