Building an ample subscriber base should be a main priority for every digital marketing strategist and business owner. Yes – even those who focus their marketing strategy primarily on social media exposure.
While social media’s rapid evolution into a powerful marketing channel rightly gets a lot of press, email marketing is far from old hat. A large email database is an indispensable tool when it comes to creating engagement and keeping potential leads tuned in to your marketing message.
So what does your business’s email database have to do with Facebook, the social media juggernaut that boasts 1.59 billion active users?
While the amount of reach that Facebook can yield is undeniable, it is important to supplement its ability to create awareness with tangible leads. Facebook page likes, while extremely important to the success and exposure of small businesses, are owned by Facebook – not small business owners.
You own your business’ subscriber list, and the information on it is for you to use (responsibly and ethically; pyramid schemes and “potential business opportunities” notwithstanding). It contains valuable information that you can use to get more leads, and subsequently turn more leads into buyers.
Facebook can help!
The first step in this process is identifying your ideal audience to help you build your database. Keep in mind that the quality of your subscribers is extremely important – a database full of bad leads will only lead to bounces and unsubscribes. An ideal lead is one that actually has potential to purchase what you have to offer. Facebook has tools that you can use to build an ideal customer profile. This algorithm is capable of targeting specifics such as ideal age range, income, and common interests.
The next step is to create an incentive for your lookalike audience. This incentive could be a discount, or a free item from your business. It is important not to go too overboard with the offer, as you are trying to attract customers that are willing to pay for your product, not just people who like a good hand-out every now and then. Why would they buy the cow…etcetera, etcetera.
Now you must create a landing page that prompts the lead to opt in to receiving more news and offers from your business. Your landing page should be visually appealing, but first and foremost, overwhelmingly simple. All of the contents on your landing page should direct the user’s attention to the email form.
An autoresponder is also a necessary piece of this puzzle, as it will ensure that this subscriber is in fact interested in your products (this is accomplished by including a “confirm” and “unsubscribe” option), and is an affirmation to the subscriber that they will be hearing from you in the near future.
Once you have yielded a respectable amount of new subscribers, you can create a Facebook ad campaign targeted at high-frequency visitors. These ad campaigns will allow you to monitor your results in a precise manner and adjust your strategies accordingly. These results will also allow you to zero in on even more specific characteristics that can be used to identify new leads in the future.
The best marketing tactics are those that work together to strengthen each other. Facebook’s rise has been a boon to small-business owners, but it’s important to remember that while reach and likes are important, leads are your ticket to sales.
Lucky for you, Facebook let’s you have both.
