Facebook question??

[Former_Member]

I was wondering how many of you all have a facebook page for your shop, and how you use it to advertise. I have over 700 fans but I'm always struggling to come up with relevant posts so I'm not just constantly bombarding everybody with my new listings and sales promotions. I probably only post 4-5 times a week so I don't annoy anyone and fill up their page, but most of them are still my new listings. I know some business get lots of sales through fb, but I rarely do, and with most of my fan base being my perfect customer base (most are moms of girls - I know this because lots of my fans came through blog giveaways and such) I'm not sure what I should be doing differently, if anything. So my question is, what do you use your facebook page for, if anything other than posting new listings? I'd love to hear your thoughts/suggestions!

[Former_Member]

I don't have a lot of Likes on my business facebook page, and not a lot of friends on my personal page, so i don't get a ton of traffic from facebook. HOWEVER a close friend of mine owns a storefront and she postst maybe 3-5 times a DAY and after 2-1/2 years she has over 5,000 likes to her business page. She said that it was a lot of work and she had to post her sales a lot, and keep people posted about all the items.

Her statement was most people friends a lot of people they are not really daily friends with, so they get a lot of wall posts daily that get buried in with everything else. If you are only posting 4-5 times a week your posts may be getting lost all together.

As I personally do not have a lot of cross traffic i am merely relaying the success of my friend!

[Former_Member]

I do. I use it but I try not to spam. Facebook is already very... cluttered already. haha

I usually try to keep repetitive listing promo at a minimum but I do link my blog updates.

[Former_Member]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the input!

[poisonpear]

I will sometimes post inspiration or a song that I'm playing on repeat in my studio. But I find what get's the most interaction is when I post sneak peeks for new product or prints. Gets people excited for new things.

[Former_Member]

That's a good idea, Poisonpear. Do you get many sales from facebook?

[Former_Member]

Hi! I have about 260 fans so far.... but no sales coming through... i am trying to build my base. I try to post daily, i will post new items and i just post chatty banter. :)
I am also getting myself on twitter... hoping between the two i can start to get my sales going.
Thinking about doing a promo through a blog and ideally that will get things moving.
good luck!

[Former_Member]

I am trying to figure out how to use Facebook as a marketing tool also (without annoying my friends). When I have a new gallery, show or exhibit coming up, I post it as an announcement. (I paint furniture and home accessories.) In my plans: Post before and after pictures of a garage sale find that's been done over. Share pictures of my home and decorating, how to work a painted piece in a room. Thought about taking a survey -- what is their favorite color, what colors have they decorated with or what colors are on their walls. I also read a lot so I share book titles. Every time I post, I include my website at the end of the message. It's so hard to give advice that fits what each individual is selling. This is what I am going to try. Maybe it will help you think of ideas for your product.

[Former_Member]

All of these ideas and tips are wonderful. I think the biggest thing I'm struggling with is finding ways to get my listings/shop out there without annoying all my fans, I don't want them hiding y posts or "unliking" my page because I post too much. Thanks everybody!