Why Facebook business page makes for good business!

By Stephanie Lindquist, CWCC Member

Small businesses often come to Firebrand with the misconception that Facebook is not important because they are small, or they don’t understand Facebook so they ignore it.  We are continually educating our clients on why Facebook is good business.

According to a recent article by Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land, retailers are seeing huge gains by using Facebook to promote their products, and we aren’t just talking about unicorns and rainbows. Here are some recent statistics as reported by Facebook:

• Levi’s saw a 40 times increase in referral traffic from Facebook after implementing the Like button in April 2010 and has maintained those levels since.
• Outdoor sporting goods retailer Giantnerd.com saw a 100% increase revenue from Facebook within two weeks of adding the Like button.
•   American Eagle added the Like button next to every product on their site and found Facebook referred visitors spent an average of 57% more money than non-Facebook referred visitors
• Children’s clothing retailer Tea Collection added the Like button to sale merchandise and saw daily revenues increase 10 times.
• ShoeDazzle added the Like button to all of the products on its site and within the first month had thousands of likes for its top products.
• ShoeDazzle also lets people login to its site using Facebook, and Facebook-connected users were 50% more likely to make repeat purchases every month than average shoppers.

When we analyzed these numbers, we were elated to see that what we have been teaching is clearly backed up by real and impressive statistics.

Furthermore, Facebook claims that “like” buttons translate to website visitors staying on your site longer. Many publishers are reporting increases in traffic since adding social plugins, including ABC News (+190%), Gawker (+200%), TypePad (+200%), Sporting News (+500%), and  NBA.com (#2 referral source).

However, just adding the “like” button isn’t enough.  Facebook claims that buttons get 3 to 5 times more clicks if:

• Versions that show thumbnails of friends are used.
• They allow people to add comments.
• If they appear at both the top and bottom of articles.
• If they appear near visual content like videos or graphics.

So why are these statistics so impressive?  It’s not just that they stand-alone. There is a great example of pre and post-like button usage that Levi’s and Facebook have confirmed. Levi’s received less than 1% of its overall traffic from Facebook in March 2010. After adding the buttons, over 40% of its overall traffic came from Facebook in May 2010. Yes, I’ve double-checked that and Facebook reconfirmed that over 40% of Levi’s traffic from all sources came from Facebook.

Firebrand specializes in Marketing & Social Media Strategy, SEO and Website design services. Your online presence should be a complete package and we can get you there. Firebrand can help you either get started with Facebook or dial in your strategy so you are not spinning your wheels.

Stephanie Lindquist has an MBA in Marketing from the University of Denver and has been helping top Colorado brands with their marketing strategy since 2009.  Stephanie has been working in marketing as a strategist since 2002.  Stephanie is beginning a new Do-it-yourself Social Media hands on workshop starting in July.  Click Here for more information. We will be offering discounts for Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce members.