Does my business need to be on Facebook?

[BobaFut]

So I'm starting a new side business, which I'm envisioning as more of a media company than strictly a real estate photography business. So like, real estate, events, selling prints, making artwork for shirts and stickers, etc...I haven't launched it yet, but I do have a domain and I'm working on a website to handle all this.

Anyway, I HATE Facebook. I won't rant about it further, but let's just say I would rather not use it to promote my business. BUT, I will if it offers a material benefit. Given the market I'm focusing on, I imagine that, at least initially, most of my work will be gotten through direct outreach (calling realtors, organizers, etc...), but I'm curious what peoples' experience is with Facebook and if it actually provides any benefits for your business, particularly the work vs reward gain of having to deal with yet another platform.

 

[GFields]

I have found that social media is an excellent avenue for advertising.

 

[RoarRoar]

If you are not on social media you are doing your business a tremendous disservice.

Be on as many platforms as possible. I’ve gotten a fair amount of business on Facebook on local town groups regarding my photography pop ups.

As far as social media goes. Older people who use social media tend to use Facebook the most and almost exclusively as opposed to other demographics who use Tik Tok, instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube more.

 

[FLDave]

Social media is not a requirement. First, establish a good local business with a web page. Next, advertise where you expect to find your primary client base. You are the only one who knows your business and your target audience, which may not be on any social media sites. Word of mouth may be your best advertising. If for local customers, direct mail can work.
It all depends on your business an your knowledge of your planned client base. There are many options.
Don't forget the check out the competition: the businesses which already market the same type of product that your propose.

 

[SmilingOgre]

I despise facebook as well but for the business I work with it provides a good bit of income. Folks will comment on the service we provided and make recommendation to others. We also get good response to specials that we run. It really is an extension of word of mouth. We are 99.9% word of mouth.

 

[Ralph thompson]

I've found social media very little substantial benefit, a big time waster and time is money.
Your best advertising is your clients telling other people what a great job you did, how reliable you are (never late, no excuses), how easy it is to work with you, how you go over and above the requirements etc etc.
I haven't advertised for 10 years, stopped making and sending out promo cards, stopped ads in publications etc.
I've mainly had a full agenda until I recently started reducing my schedule and turning down opportunities.

 

[BobaFut]

Interesting diversity of comments here! I think my takeaway is that I will use my limited time, at least initially, to focus on my website and direct outreach, and then maybe think about putting some time and effort into Facebook if/when I get a little more established.

 

[Deleted member 170519]

Just my 2 cents.
I don’t have Facebook, never will, so won’t see any of those ads. Basically, any social media ads will never get to me. Word of mouth, local paper, local website ads… that works for me. I’m old school. Yellow pages and local newspapers with the exception of sears catalog and jcpenny catalogs. Even this site was passed along as word of mouth. Never saw an ad for it online

 

[BobaFut]

Just my 2 cents.
I don’t have Facebook, never will, so won’t see any of those ads. Basically, any social media ads will never get to me. Word of mouth, local paper, local website ads… that works for me. I’m old school. Yellow pages and local newspapers with the exception of sears catalog and jcpenny catalogs. Even this site was passed along as word of mouth. Never saw an ad for it online

At least for me, it's not about ads, it's about maximizing the online presence and expanding word of mouth to the digital space. So people can follow the business on Facebook (or whatever social media), see my work, share with others, etc...where they may be less inclined to spend much time on a traditional website.

So if you work with a realtor, for example, and they follow you or friend you, your business is now going to potentially show up amongst their friends. Or they might see your work on their newsfeed and share it on their own. Granted, this is all sort of "in a perfect world" type of stuff, and it takes a lot of work to maximize the value...and perhaps, in reality, there isn't much value, so the work/reward calculus is the big question for me.

 

[anotherlab]

If you look at it be the numbers, 71% of the US population has a Facebook account, For each person who declares "I'm not on Facebook", there are two to three more people that do have Facebook accounts. Even if you don't buy the ads, if you create a page for your service and post images and videos to it, people can share them and it provides some free of cheap exposure. It's no substitute for actually going out there and contacting potential customers and building up a business by references, but it doesn't take much time to slap a page up on Facebook and upload some imagery.

 

[ericole]

So I'm starting a new side business, which I'm envisioning as more of a media company than strictly a real estate photography business. So like, real estate, events, selling prints, making artwork for shirts and stickers, etc...I haven't launched it yet, but I do have a domain and I'm working on a website to handle all this.

Anyway, I HATE Facebook. I won't rant about it further, but let's just say I would rather not use it to promote my business. BUT, I will if it offers a material benefit. Given the market I'm focusing on, I imagine that, at least initially, most of my work will be gotten through direct outreach (calling realtors, organizers, etc...), but I'm curious what peoples' experience is with Facebook and if it actually provides any benefits for your business, particularly the work vs reward gain of having to deal with yet another platform.

I never use Facebook to look for businesses. Too often they are placeholder pages for a real website.

 

[Sir Maxwell Greene]

Having a Verified Business on Google maps is a good one and gaining alot of traction for me. I do not have a FB page.

I rely mostly on IG and Craigslist. Word of mouth as well, but there are alot of us all vying for the same business out here. The more you have, the more time you have to spend tending to them.

 

[Big Ransom Studio]

At least for me, it's not about ads, it's about maximizing the online presence and expanding word of mouth to the digital space. So people can follow the business on Facebook (or whatever social media), see my work, share with others, etc...where they may be less inclined to spend much time on a traditional website.

So if you work with a realtor, for example, and they follow you or friend you, your business is now going to potentially show up amongst their friends. Or they might see your work on their newsfeed and share it on their own. Granted, this is all sort of "in a perfect world" type of stuff, and it takes a lot of work to maximize the value...and perhaps, in reality, there isn't much value, so the work/reward calculus is the big question for me.

Start with something less oppressive, work wise, like instagram. It’s easy, tag and meta to you and your local market and clients; and tag locals from your work. It’ll showcase your work, easily. This is after you have a complete, kick-*** website. Modern and tech driven so prospective clients can see you’re up to date technologically in your field, and related others (websites).

Just another prospective to view the social media aspect from.