I don't use facebook. I deleted my accounts after the fiasco concerning Trump and their censorship. Let's not even mention the privacy concerns. However, I'm considering making a deal with the devil and using them to advertise my business. I've been told a lot of new business is generated via business pages on facebook and my scheduling app uses facebook to manage contacts and reviews.

I feel dirty. What's the general consensus on using them but limiting my exposure to their filthy wiles?

Can't help you with that. Personally, as a consumer, I don't use Facebook at all for such things. I check Yelp.

Does your business have its own web site?

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Can't help you with that. Personally, as a consumer, I don't use Facebook at all for such things. I check Yelp.

Yeah, I completely understand but the whippersnappers all use it and many rely on it for suggestions. I am a bit disappointed in myself for going this route.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Does your business have its own web site?

I do maintain a website. However, I'm considering shopping around for someone to design a more modern looking site. I can do the programming but the design stuff is way out of my wheelhouse.

quote:

I do maintain a website. However, I'm considering shopping around for someone to design a more modern looking site. I can do the programming but the design stuff is way out of my wheelhouse.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Upgrade your website. Before you look at other webisites and decide the features you want. Not a facebook user. Think about your target audience.

I do use FB to verify a contractors worthiness, along with google ratings and info found on Secretary of States office

Here is a friend of mine FB site

https://www.facebook.com/fennscapes

Start a page and then get your local friends on FB to follow your page for more exposure

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
I do use FB to verify a contractors worthiness, along with google ratings and info found on Secretary of States office

Here is a friend of mine FB site

https://www.facebook.com/fennscapes

Start a page and then get your local friends on FB to follow your page for more exposure

Thanks, that's a nice profile page. I may swipe some ideas from it.

Never been a user. It has limited my ability to find a piece of equip. I need to buy as their market place has taken a lot of for sale stuff off of craigslist.

I do not think anyone that hates what it is would find fault if your business needs a boost and you think it will get one from using.

Good luck Mark

Many local communities have a Facebook group that allow businesses to join and can advertise. It's usually limited to once or twice a month but it could help. On my local group I frequently see people asking for recommendations for various businesses.

Create business page. No cost.
Tell your story there with pictures and testimonials if you can.

Sign up at Nextdoor (assuming there's on for your area) You can do ads there fairly inexpensively which reach only people in your local area.

You can buy adds on Facebook, but I not quite sure how they work and if they are restricted to a local area. You don't want to paying for ads that go to California etc.

I've used FB ads for my real estate business. You can set it all up manually or use FB's automated ads that craft the ad based on the type of business. You can select the territory that you want to advertise to so you're not sending ads across the country. Assuming you're not a business, such as real estate that's bound by fair housing and other laws you can tailor the ad audience down to individual zip codes if you'd like.

They're cheap too, you can spend as little as a couple bucks a day on ads if you'd like.

It helps to have a FB page that posts fairly regularly. You can use a website called Later that allows you to schedule posts so that you don't have to hover over FB every day.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
I've been told a lot of new business is generated via business pages on facebook and my scheduling app uses facebook to manage contacts and reviews.

I feel dirty.

What's the general consensus on using them but limiting my exposure to their filthy wiles?

I don't blame you for the resistance.
If I was much younger and not in the era of retirement, I would have to go heavy and smart with all of the social media presence.
It is just how technology progressed ~ no more full page newspaper ads or yellow page listings although there is still some benefit from traditional advertising albeit diminished.
Sad that the more you use the useful part of them ~ the more they use it against you to dominate you.
Luckily I don't need to be a part of that circle-jerk.
Good Luck.

I vote you should consider doing it.

Facebook is used by a lot of people for different things, if you can get more exposure and thus pick up new clients it's a win for you.

Quite a few businesses use FB and Instagram to promote their companies. If people are going there to get information it makes no sense not to take advantage of the access.

You can easily update content, upload images and video, get customer feedback and referrals, you don't need to pay a web developer and host to keep up that information on a web site.

Taking pictures with your phone of a nicely finished yard, before and after and posting them from the front seat of your truck between jobs is easy, and the more content you post more often means more eyeballs.

Capitalism is king. If possible I'd hire a social media manager who does all that crap for you and figure that the cost is a way to exponentially increase your income without having to bend the knee directly.


We all purchase from and rely on companies that don't share our personal and political values. I don't see why that should change when you're trying to advertise your business. If you do it right you should have more business you can handle. Taking care of yourself and your family matters most, not who you solicit along the way.

quote:

Originally posted by ryan81986:
You can select the territory that you want to advertise to so you're not sending ads across the country. Assuming you're not a business, such as real estate that's bound by fair housing and other laws you can tailor the ad audience down to individual zip codes if you'd like.

^^ THIS ^^

I’ve blocked a lot of Facebook ads and their tool tells me why I received it. I’m shocked at the number of people who don’t spend time narrowing down their location and customer demographics. This results in pissing away money on advertising to people who have a 0% chance of using your company.

I despise FB, but I had to create an account again to see videos of my son's football games that the coach posts. I also use FB marketplace.

Look at Nextdoor too. See if you can find an existing customer of yours to post a positive review for you. Free advertising. Some people post things on Nextdoor...Hey, I just had my lawn mowed and fertilizer spread, and this guy did a great job, I highly recommend. Something like that.

quote:

Originally posted by Hildur:
Capitalism is king.

If possible I'd hire a social media manager who does all that crap for you and figure that the cost is a way to exponentially increase your income without having to bend the knee directly.

I agree, I would look for some kid that is into it and supervise them from a business standpoint.
You could grow at your own pace without higher someone for big $$ without the income to justify it.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Can't help you with that. Personally, as a consumer, I don't use Facebook at all for such things. I check Yelp.

Yeah, I completely understand but the whippersnappers all use it and many rely on it for suggestions. I am a bit disappointed in myself for going this route.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Ya gotta do what ya gotta do for your business.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Does your business have its own web site?

I do maintain a website.

Good. Businesses that use Facebook as a web site substitute tend not to get my business.

I would ask who is your target audience and what is their age group?

quote:

Originally posted by Bytes:
I would ask who is your target audience and what is their age group?

people with lawns, 18-99.

How many young people hire you? Just curious.