
Over the last year, we?ve covered the topic of Facebook in a variety of different ways. Looking at how it has built a ?dislike? button, developed ?Facebook at Work? and added an increasing number of SMEs to its platform, it?s fair to say there has been a lot to write about.
But what we hadn?t done in all that time was go to the source itself ? specifically quiz Facebook about how it plans to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) attract and retain customers. Visiting Facebook?s biggest London office, based in a new development by Warren Street underground station, is as insightful as you?d imagine. Arriving at reception, you are greeted by staff not wearing a shirt and tie, but the traditional blue Facebook t-shirts. Flanked by scooters on one side allowing staff to complete errands in record time, I was asked to check-in by alerting my host though Facebook itself.Facebook overhauls offering for SMEs to suit mobile – and here's how
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Dividing it out
So what are the stages of engaging with Facebook, and how much can you expect to gain from it without spending money and simply utilising free tools? Quilty explained that it all starts with Pages ? a ?simple and easy to use? service. It provides an instant mobile presence ? making it the only company in the world to do so. Content shared is ?perfectly rendered? and ?instantly accessible?. ?It also gives you the ability to communicate. Mobile is not only a story, but is also enabling the next two waves of transformative shifts in combinations. One is video. There are already billions of views a day,? he added. ?We see the future of news as sight, sound and motion. The next thing coming is closing the circle in communications with messaging. Mobile means people are always on, and we?ve seen an an insane amount of messaging with Facebook. These free and simple tools form the bedrock of what 45m SMEs are using on a daily basis. It provides a way for effective communication with happy or aggrieved consumers, and is an easy way to launch new products, advertise promotions or simply be a voice. The next step up from that are the two million investing regularly in advertising. These range from companies committing small amounts of money such as ?5 or ?10 a week targeting local customers, to those thinking international export and dropping thousands of pounds a month.Case in point
Looking globally, Quilty used the example of Lost My Name as a business which has successfully engaged with Facebook to produce new customers. Having decided to start selling in the US, the London-based firm came into difficulty when it simply regurgitated its messaging across the pond. Its offering involves a bespoke book which integrates the names of people?s children to ?create magical, personalised experiences for kids?. ?They thought the proposition was targeting parents, but insight from data on Facebook showed that it was actually people buying it as a gift for parents and their kids,” Quilty explained. ?The company changed its targeting, going for friends of parents, altered the creative and like that CPA come down and sales went up. The founder credits 50 per cent of his sales to Facebook and says he gets 40x ROI.? So it begs the questions, for businesses like Lost My Name, is Facebook trying to create the definitive online presence ? one better than a company?s personal website could ever be? Quilty didn?t go quite that far, but did say that for mobile that is definitely the case. And with more time on digital than any other media, mobile is what is underneath powering that growth. ?Look at it more carefully. About 85 per cent of time is spent in apps ? so even having a mobile-optimised website the max you can get of the market is 15 per cent,? he explained. ?People are on mobile, but within apps ? and a huge proportion of that time is in apps like Facebook. Pages are your instantly available mobile strategy, and we are addressing the problem if you have, or don?t have, a website.?Why Facebook is treating British SME market like a military operation
The future
I came away from my afternoon at Facebook feeling more plugged in to its business tools agenda. There is no doubt that significant investment is going into the space, but it appears one of its biggest challenges comes on the education front ? one Quilty freely admitted to. To build on the 45m SMEs that are engaged with Facebook, and bolster the two million paying money to advertise, more must feel comfortable with the medium by doing exactly what I did ? speak with the source itself. Though its tutorial videos and bootcamps, plans are afoot to do this. Maybe then there will be enough critical mass for Facebook to become the most valuable platform out there for mobile engagement with consumers. By Hunter RuthvenShare this story