Facebook Helps a Small Business Get Customers

Many small businesses don't use Facebook (FB) because they are not sure if can help them. Here is an example of how FB is helping a small business.

Dickinson Cottage Rentals (DCR) is a small business, and as the name implies they rent cottages. The cottages are located on Maine's coast, near Small Point.

DCR created a Facebook page for their business and have received bookings from new customers, who found them through FB.

Getting Started

Sue, DCR's business manager, did some research, but not a lot, before setting up the business's page. She attended a free social media seminar through Listen Up, read articles, but had only set up her person page on Facebook before creating the business page.

She saw the video Social Media Revolution 2 and it motivated her to create a page for the company.

The process was simple but "nerve wracking", according to Sue. She was still new to Facebook, and was concerned with privacy and issues related to mixing business with her person online world.

What did she do?

1. Set Up the Facebook page in June of 2010
2. Ask a few friends to "Like" her page.
3. Added Content (photos and video were added after the page was created.)
4. Occasionally posted status messages.

Just Try It

When she first create the FB page, she had no expectations. "There was no bar set to measure success." She wanted to try social media and see what the results were. Many people at DCR were skeptical and didn't see how Facebook would help the company rent cottages.

About a month and a half after the page was set up she received a booking through the site. Sue was hooked.

Since then the FB page  has led to legitimate rental inquiries every month and several additional bookings.

When asked if she would she do anything differently Sue answered:

• Post pictures right away.
• Make more of a push to get friends to "Like" the page
• Try to get related business to "Like" DCR's page and link to pages related to tourism in Maine as favorites.

What Works

Looking at the Facebook page you will notice that it includes the name of the town near the cottages (Small Point). This is a good SEO strategy for DCR. When someone does a search in FB for Small Point, this is the first page that shows up in the results.

Clicking on the "Photo" tab the photos of all the cottages and their interiors help let people know what they are getting. This is important since that is what is being sold.

Unfortunately Facebook arranges photo albums in the order they were created and the cabin photos show up on page 2.

What I'd Change

Here are some minor alterations I'd suggest, but I'm going to keep my suggestions simple.

• Alter the profile picture.
  Pick a picture(s) that highlights the cottages more than the aerial photo. Include images that show "life at the cottages": people enjoying the sunset from the deck, walking in the woods, fishing or what ever people do who stay at the cottages. (Forty Putney B and B uses images well on their profile picture. )
• Make it easier for people to find the phone number.
  Add the phone number to the profile image (using an image editing program like Photoshop), place it under the photograph(s). Add text (in a different color or large/bold type so it stands out) near the phone number and make it a call to action. The text could be something like "Reserve Your Week: 440-655-2720" or "Check Availability: 440-655-2720"
• Upload a picture to the cabin's album.
  That way FB will display that album on the first page of the photos.

You Can Do It

If you have a small business you can easily get started using FB to market your company.  It doesn't have to be a complicated page to get results.

Dickinson Cottage Rentals has created a simple marketing tool that has been successful in generating new business. They started without a marketing budget, added a bit of research, invested time and are reaping the rewards.