Be honest: How often do you post on Facebook?
Likely, the answer is, "Not nearly as much as I should be." Furniture and lighting showrooms should be posting content to their Facebook pages daily, but some days, it feels like there's just nothing to post. You don't want to post promotional content too often — your followers won't like it — and even though you try to blog regularly, it can be difficult to find the time to write and share that content. So what's a good alternative?
Community and local news.
No matter where your showroom is located, you are part of a community, and that community will have plenty of news to share. You can play a bigger tole in your community by posting about it on Facebook. Not only do you get the word out about important local events, but you also show your followers that you're here for more than just promotional content — and that will set your business apart from the big-box retailers and other competitors.
Need a few tips? Here's how to promote your community — and by extension your brand — on Facebook.
Follow other local news sources and businesses
You might already be following your local paper or TV station on Facebook (if you aren't, start there), but you should also be following other local businesses and community groups. These sources will provide content for you to share to your own page when you don't have the time to blog.
When posting about local and community news, stick to the lighter stories. Show support for your local high school sports teams by posting about their latest wins, or update your community about local construction work. Think about the timing and imagine what people will likely click on. For example, with Halloween this week, you might want to post a link to trick-or-treat times from your local city government or news outlet's website. Around the winter holidays, people will want to donate, so post about coat drives and food drives going on around time.
You can also post about non-related events going on around town as well. If your town does fireworks on the Fourth of July or has an annual festival or car show, talk about your own enthusiasm for the event and post a link to more information. Many towns and schools have their own Facebook pages, so follow them to keep track of what's going on around you.
Support other local, non-competitive companies
Being a cheerleader for other businesses can win you support from them. Start by following other local businesses on Facebook — restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, etc. — and when they post about an event or sale happening in their store, share that post to your own Facebook page and give the other company a little shout-out.
This helps you in two ways. First, you'll position your business as a community supporter, someone who wants to raise up other local businesses. Second, other businesses will be more willing to do the same for you when you're having a sale or promotion. Of course, you can't force others to post about your business on their pages, but the more you support others, the more likely it is that they will support you right back.
Schedule your promotional posts
Facebook allows users to schedule their posts in advance, and if you get into the habit of doing this with your promotional posts, you can save yourself a lot of time during the week. Local news is often time-sensitive, so scheduling those types of posts will be difficult.
Focus instead on scheduling your own content since you will know well in advance what it's going to be and that it won't change. Take some time on Sunday evening before the week begins to schedule your more promotional posts on Facebook. Post about an upcoming event you're having or a sale that will be starting or your latest blog. Even if it happens to be a slow news week, you will still have posts going on, allowing you to focus more on your store and less on your online presence.
Posting about your community gives your followers an added benefit. Not only do they get news about your business, but also other community happenings they might not know about. As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats, so be the tide that raises others up in your community, and hopefully, they'll raise you up as well.
What types of community-centric posts are doing on social media? Share with us in the comments!
Photo: rawpixel.com from Pexels
