Will I regret closing the Business Page?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by JenniferLynn's Finds on January 31, 2012 at 9:28am

You have to do what will work for you.  If other methods are working better than the FB page, then put your energy there.  My own page does not get a lot of action, though I have nearly 400 "likes."  I keep it up, because it's something, but once I put up my website, I may rethink that.

Just make sure you are cross-promoting that blog to get even more traffic there.  (+1s, Tweeting, etc.)

Good luck!

Jen M.

JenniferLynn's Finds Vintage

Permalink Reply by CheriShops - Admin on January 31, 2012 at 9:45am

My Google analytics show I get a lot of hits from facebook and whenever I post there, the item hits go way up, so I figure it must be doing something. I don't use it as often as I should, but still feel it is worth keeping. I also have mine set to automatically Tweet whatever I post to it.

Permalink Reply by Charmed Life on January 31, 2012 at 10:07am

A facebook page can be crucial to today's online maketing. You have to work it every day. Links, pictures articles. There are also vintage groups to join and market.

Facebook is content driven. You have to do something there if not every day, then every other day. Add twitter and you get your stuff out there for others to see.

The days of "list it and they will come" are over.
if you are building your own selling website, how will you market that? How will folks find your page among the billions out there? Why is the blog more important than facebook? No matter how many hits it gets it will never reach the audience that fb reaches. All the very successful bloggers I follow have a presence on fb. Without it they can stagnate. That's where they gather new followers.

I sell on ruby lane. If I post an item to their page, it has the potential to be seen by the 40,000+ people who like their page. Free advertisiing to 40,000.

Permalink Reply by Graceful Antiques on January 31, 2012 at 10:27am

I do tons of social marketing (here, FB, Twitter etc. ) but I do not feel it carries over to sales vs traffic. 

Once upon a time I could list 3 items and sell 2. I think the social sites are actually diluting all of us. Way too many places for people to sell on and be on now. 

As a visual person I could spend days on Pinterest. I have got to get back to listing more since I found that place. 

I am sure this is where customers are as well. Hopefully as people get more comfortable with it they will use it more to shop. 

I will always park myself here on Vintage Village though.  I do need to work on my links more.

So OP, do what works for your lifestyle. 

Permalink Reply by Luv2LuvAntiques on January 31, 2012 at 4:32pm

Hello Barbara!

I think facebook is a great marketing tool...great for advertising, but it does take work! I have my profile page, business page for Luv2LuvAntiques, and my advertising page Old Fashioned Charm. If you remember...I invited everyone at the Vintage Village to post 2 vintage items daily, from the 1960's and older, on the fan page of Old Fashioned Charm. Old Fashioned Charm is a page for everyone to advertise, and I tweet everyone's item links on both my twitter sites. I have both of my fan pages set to automatically tweet my postings. Everyone else's postings I have to tweet myself!

Now 4 people have started Got Vintage, which has several pages with different categories of vintage, where you may post your vintage item links for more advertising! It comes down to 'doing the work'! I get frustrated sometimes too, as it all takes time...but I, and other people have had sales due to facebook advertising! There are various business fan pages where you may post your business fan page and/or your direct links to an item. Some allow one posting per day, while others allow 2 or 3, or some specialty pages want 5 items one day per week. One page I post on, allows one posting daily, with with the requirement that you 'tag' 4 other fan pages once a week. Once I learned how...it wasn't hard. You may also advertise on the Vintage Village facebook page! If everyone comments and 'likes' items on that page...traffic increases! Sometimes I will post a link to the Vintage Village fan page, or one of the vintage sellers' pages, that I am linked to, on all of my 3 pages, to cross promote. Other vintage sellers do it for me also. That is the way to really access facebook advertising!

It seems I mostly am 'lurking in the bushes' here! Or...I'm doing a blog-like post, as right now! LOL Personally, I think facebook has been proven a great advertising tool, as businesses all over the world have grown because of it (I recently read an article about a U.K. business that really expanded through using the facebook advertising program! I haven't put ads on facebook...I've just posted, tweeted, and networked with other vintage sellers! Advertise your page on other pages...post listings on pages where you may...and your page will grow....  It is a great idea to invite others you know, to post 2 items daily on your own business page... If people comment, and 'like' items and comments, on your page, this increases the traffic to your page! 

Do not post personal items and photos on your profile page, and leave it set for the general public, and do not have your phone number, email address, or year of your birth, available for everyone to see. I changed my birth year to 1928...the flapper era...that I luv! This is to prevent identity theft.

So...it's up to you, but I think you are making a large mistake, not utilizing facebook with a business page. And remember you are welcome to post 2 vintage items daily, from the 1960's and older, at the fb fan page of Old Fashioned Charm.

Take care, Diane :O)    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-Fashioned-Charm/193337247375608#!...

 

Permalink Reply by Another Time Antiques on January 31, 2012 at 6:30pm

You all have made such great comments and I appreciate it deeply.  I feel like still there is a missing link here.  I'm not leaving facebook.  That is never a consideration.  My problem is that people are going to my personal page which covers so much more than vintage.  Even with the new Etsy link system, they seem to be going to my personal page much more. 

My own page will stay always, that's for sure.    I do constant marketing - you can rest assured I"m not a rookie in that department.  I just can't seem to get the really clear straight answers about developing business pages over personal pages. That's my biggest issue.   (I am also an administrator for my spiritual community's page and that makes 3 that are currently in the loop at FB.) 

How do you get people to business and not personal?

Permalink Reply by Charmed Life on January 31, 2012 at 7:38pm

I only post business stuff on the business page.  I only post personal stuff on the personal page.

I use my business page when I'm doing business stuff and posting on business pages.

I keep the 2 very separate.

Permalink Reply by CheriShops - Admin on January 31, 2012 at 9:24pm

yes, I do the same that Charmed Life does and never ever use my personal page for business stuff.  I don't even post any promotion of my items anymore in groups or on pages where I may be "me" as opposed to Cherishops. I also only post promotion of my items by switching to my business page ID.

Some of my friends have chosen to "like" my business page, which is great :) but I never invite them to nor  do I ever post any business related things on my personal page. I also am very careful to only accept friend requests from family and friends, and those business associates who have become friends.  All other friend requests are politely declined with a note to please "like" my business page and I will reciprocate by liking theirs too. :)

Another Time...do you have an actual business page that people "like"? or did you set it up the same way as a personal page where you have "friends" on it? ....if the latter, then I can see where it would be a problem, but if the former, then it is easy to keep everything related to it completely separate from your own personal page

Permalink Reply by JenniferLynn's Finds on January 31, 2012 at 11:02pm

I do the same thing.  Sometimes I'll share something from my business to my personal stream, but not often.

Jen M.

Charmed Life said:

I only post business stuff on the business page.  I only post personal stuff on the personal page.

I use my business page when I'm doing business stuff and posting on business pages.

I keep the 2 very separate.

Permalink Reply by ElsiesAttic ~ CEO on February 1, 2012 at 12:34am

My take on FaceBook... :)

FaceBook is something you really have to do if you sell online.

It's the best free way to network bar none.

It's work.... :)

But if you take 1 hour a day or every other day and just post in groups related to AVC... that is how you get views.

You may not get a lot of likes on your fan page but that's okay cause the real goal is to find places on FB to post your items to lots of other people.

Permalink Reply by ElsiesAttic ~ CEO on February 1, 2012 at 12:36am

you have to create a separate page. :)

Another Time said:

You all have made such great comments and I appreciate it deeply.  I feel like still there is a missing link here.  I'm not leaving facebook.  That is never a consideration.  My problem is that people are going to my personal page which covers so much more than vintage.  Even with the new Etsy link system, they seem to be going to my personal page much more. 

My own page will stay always, that's for sure.    I do constant marketing - you can rest assured I"m not a rookie in that department.  I just can't seem to get the really clear straight answers about developing business pages over personal pages. That's my biggest issue.   (I am also an administrator for my spiritual community's page and that makes 3 that are currently in the loop at FB.) 

How do you get people to business and not personal?

Permalink Reply by Another Time Antiques on February 27, 2012 at 12:59am

So, the experiment continues.     I made a leap and deleted the ATA page.  I also jumped to FB new timeline which I am getting used to.  I know most think it's a no no, and you could prove to be right.  But I do agree with Lora's comment that posting for an hr a day in any and all related AVC pages is a strong marketing method.

Lifes always about changes.... we'll see how this one goes.  I have to admit, I feel a little sense of relief to re-focus some business direction.  :)

and I can always create something new again in FB if that feels like the perfect need ;)