By Noor Abdel-Raziq, Altitude Accelerator Communications Intern
If you’re a startup asking yourself whether you should be building your startup’s presence on Facebook or not, then you have come to the right post. Let’s get straight to it; here are 3 reasons why your startup should be on Facebook:
1. Wide Reach
Compared to other social media platforms, Facebook has the most users and the highest user activity. As of this year, Facebook has 1.49 BILLION monthly active users. What does this mean to your startup? Well, with such a large amount of users, your startup can reach a very wide network. Of course, your target customer may well be a very small, niche market, but even then, Facebook will allow you to find and target that niche market.
Back in 2013, when Facebook had 1.15 billion users, an infographic was created. This infographic shows that more than 70% of US Facebook users are connected with a local business and that 50% of Facebook users under 35 pursue their friend’s product recommendations. This is a good sign that your startup should be on Facebook so that users can follow the startups progress, updates, and innovations.
2. Increase Sales
As a startup, you know how hard it is to get sales and a Facebook presence is one way you could generate leads and ultimately increase sales. Going back to the 2013 infographic, 47% of Americans said that the influence of Facebook on their purchasing is much higher than any other platform. To add to that, 33% of millennials said they are more likely to buy a product from a company that has a Facebook page and 67% of B2C marketers said that FB created leads for their business.
3. Build a Personal Connection
Aside from it being the biggest platform, what differentiates Facebook from many of the other networks out there is its user behaviour. Facebook is seen as a more personal platform than say Twitter or LinkedIn. Users connect with friends and family and they post personal photos, videos, and thoughts. This translates to the business side of Facebook as well. Businesses on Facebook connect with users on a more personal level than a professional one. This connection is important as it strengthens the influence the brand has on the user and increases brand recognition and awareness.
Now that I gave you the reasons, I want to help get you started. Here is one piece of advice from Róisín Bonner, Social Media Lead at Microsoft, on what to do to improve your startup’s page. For Facebook, she says, “Share video content. It’s easy to create short, informative or fun videos using your smartphone – and videos are the most-shared post format on Facebook.”
It’s hard to include everything there is to know in one post, however, if you’re interested in knowing more about social media and small businesses, check out the other posts on the Altitude Accelerator blog on why you should be on LinkedIn, and Twitter. Also, don’t forget to read Altitude Accelerator’s 5 Social Media Tips for Startups!
