Hello guys! I'm a social media manager for about 2 years now and i've always loved all my clients but recently there's this client that worries me. I've done so many things to try to increase their facebook page engagement but nothing seems to work! They have about 2,800 page likes, but the post's reach are really low (around 30 to 200 ) They don't have an online store, only the physical store. We've made a sales campaign = nobody went to the shop, we've done a giveaway = few people were interested, we tend to publish inspirational posts instead of trying selling their stuff. Do you have any idea how can i get over this situation? thank you for your attention and sorry about my english!
Well, when my wife and I buy furniture it is because we "need" something and go looking specifically for that item (online and offline.) If someone tries to get me to buy furniture when I am not in need, it is a waste of their time and money. If they try to sell me a bed when I am looking for a table, it is not likely to work (unless there is a clear tie-in to my perceived "need"). I suspect that you are seeing this "narrow market" phenomenon in your efforts which are also handicapped because you do not have an online store to promote. I would be talking about the amazing variety, only-can-be-found here, and constantly changing products that the store offers.
I briefly worked for a furniture store back in Ohio when the recession hit in 2007-08. There were three major industries that suffered during the recession more than any other and one of them happened to be the furniture business. @jrbiz is right. People buy furniture only when they need it. Furniture never sells like hot cakes to begin with (furniture businesses spring up when the economy is good and die out when it nears recession), today, because of all the economic woes it's the least desirable industry to be in and its products are hardly in demand. I am sure you're doing everything you can. It's just you're trying to revive a dying beast. They should be happy with the moderate success they do get from your efforts.
As my friends @jrbiz and @quikad.com said , People aren't going to buy a bed if they need a chair or table , so it's really hard for this type of facebook pages to go viral and be very successful when it comes to marketing .. However , I suggest you to scrape ids from pages and groups that are related to your niche ( the furniture niche ) then use the facebook ads and upload them to the "audience" section Good luck with your project pm me if you need more help .
Thank you for your replies and support ! You're right! I'll try to use a different approach. Thank you once again!
What does the store offer that is unique and different? Using sites like The Fancy, Indulgd, Crnchy, and other popular "fad sites" could give them some added exposure, but they really need to get at least a minimal online presence, with an option to buy those "special items" online. (You could even offer to do this for a commission.) Do they offer furniture cleaning and repair as part of their services? If yes, could they create a YouTube channel to share techniques and possibly get picked up by a local TV news section to do a weekly "furniture tips" piece? There is usually only one major motivating factor that prompts faster action from "not quite ready" furniture buyers...and that is of course a "HUGE SALE". I think they need to focus on expanding the reach of their market.
They would like to change that store from physical to an online, because of the problems listed above and secondly, it would be cheeper to keep it that way for sure.
Something else to consider just with the reach of the postings is time of posting, are you being sure to add videos or at least pictures. Be careful with links, as sometimes this will cause a post to not be seen -- try putting it in a comment instead. Also make sure that their page is liking other businesses, especially in their local area. If they have tvs perhaps promote with the sub shop to come watch the game at the store type of thing.
There are some great things you can do when marketing in a tough Niche, don't look at it as a tough Niche, just look at is as a speed bump, we can all get over speed bumps so I would recommend doing some list building so you have some dedicated followers, and start giving them free information, and start educating them about furniture, people need furniture everyday, they just need to educated about it, and what makes you different from other furniture places. Engage your audience, ask them what do/don't they like in furniture, things like this will grow your audience and eventually get more sells. Let me know if you have any other questions about this, I have some strategies which could help any business!
like jrbiz & quickad said, it is something that you buy when you need. One additional thought that I had is how the economy plays into this. Because it's still a very rough economic environment that we're living in, perhaps the angle to take would be to focus on furniture that is VERY durable, will last a long period of time & is much better value for the money. I've been noticing something new with many friends & family in the past couple of years & that is that many people are much more concerned about how long things will last & if they can get free repairs, etc. They are not as interested in what is trendy or looks the best, but what is going to be able to last for their lifetimes & maybe longer. If they have kids, they want to know that what they buy will last through all of the kids growing up (& are willing to spend more-even on clothes-if they have experience with the quality being better). Videos/photos on how well the furniture holds up to abuse would be fun to make & fun to watch. Showing people free cleaning services because someone spilled something on a sofa or a toddler wrote all over it with a marker would also be fun. If you have videos embedded that are quick to load & fun to watch (not just a sales pitch) there is a very real chance that you could make money. For the most part, however, people like to see & touch their furniture before buying it. Is it possible just to reduce physical store hours at first before going completely online? Once there is a good reputation established, they may be able to go completely online, but I'm not sure it would transfer well going completely online, especially if they haven't been having such good luck with online conversions up until now. Just a few thoughts...hope it helps.
When Facebook users take action on the update you shared (like, comment, share), which creates a story in their friends’ news feeds. Facebook calls this 'viral reach.' Organic reach is also important sometimes most of your fans don't see it but still generates a traffic. 1. You need to create a content strategy 2. Use insights to know when your fans are online and post updates using Facebook insights. 3. Let users post content on your Facebook page. 4. Use daily hashtags 5. Host a contest.
Perhaps you can identify people who commonly need furniture. For example, people who are new to an area or have just purchased a home are probably more likely to be looking for furniture. Can you target users who also like certain things (such as a local realtor) or target users who have recently changed information (such as their location from another place to a local city?) Perhaps you can set up valuable content based sites, such as sites that are all about the local area (where to eat, how to get around, etc.) designed for people who are new to the area. When they visit that site, they see an ad for your furniture store. Since they're new to the area, they may be in need.