“I hate Facebook. I don’t care what people had for breakfast.”

“I hate Facebook. I don’t care what people had for breakfast.”

This is a quote I heard last week from a local business owner. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this.

I get it. I don’t love Facebook either.

But if you want to market and advertise your business, you have to understand that social media isn’t going away. If Facebook someday folds, it’ll be because something else took its place. Business owners will have something even newer to learn, and even more foreign to them.

Here’s the dilemma: Advertising today is seriously fragmented. You can show ads on the golf channel, or on Spotify, or other very specific audiences. Only Google search and Facebook get significant traffic from the general public every day. People still check Facebook all day long.

If you want to advertise and get a lot of “eyes” on your product or service, you need to be seen on Google and social media. There’s no way around it.

Many business owners have reluctantly agreed with this. So they asked their administrative staff or their high school niece to manage Facebook. They don’t treat Facebook (and other social media) with respect. They think they can just post anything and “get leads” and then get frustrated when no leads come. Maybe it’s because the staff is posting what they had for breakfast and silly memes – more of what the owners “hated” in the beginning!

Here’s the good news: If you hire a professional to manage your social media presence, you WILL get activity, fans and leads. Professionals know, for instance, that Facebook advertising is not just “boosting a post” where Facebook sets all the parameters. Professionals know you can set very specific demographics in your ads. For instance, for a classic rock and roll radio show, Stock of Rock, jSinger Marketing recently posted an ad specifically for Stevie Nicks fans. Yes, you can be that specific. The ad received over 1,300 “likes” – all from people who were NOT already fans of the page.

All that said, not every social media outlet is fit for every business. The more “fun” or “conversational” your business is, the easier it will be. It’s easy for a radio show. It’s difficult if you manufacture screws. Still, I would assert that even a screw manufacturer has potential clients checking them out on the web, and a healthy and vibrant social media presence will result in lots of business that is otherwise lost.

If your company is struggling with social media, consider a social media evaluation from jSinger Marketing. With no obligation we will share feedback and a few tips to get you thinking.