According to Nielsen, 80% of NZ’s internet users are visiting Facebook. Making it the third most visited website in New Zealand. (Data from Alexa.) Given the popularity of the social network, it is no doubt why NZ businesses would be interested in Facebook Marketing. However, before you decide to spend money with Facebook, take a moment to read the following points.
 

1. Your audience is not your customer.

The platform is not under your control, so you need to realise that the list of fans and followers you are building are actually Facebook’s customers. Sure, they follow your business, but, Facebook has the complete control of the content visible to them. Relying on this platform for promotion alone might lead to a sudden downfall in sales.
 
Instead of trying to build your Facebook following, you want to use the platform to drive people to your website and perhaps sign up for your email list. Once you get those leads to your website, you will have the opportunity to offer them your services and create a life-long business relationship with them. 
 

2. Frustrating decrease on organic reach. 

As Facebook urges businesses to spend on advertising, organic reach has declined to 6% according to a study conducted last December. So your followers will see less and less of your page's posts on their timeline.

What does it mean to businesses?

Gone are the "glory days" of free engagement with your followers. Organic reach is the content you post to your page. However, with the recent change on FB’s algorithm the post you worked so hard on will only be visible to about 6% or less of your followers. If you want to reach more audience, then you will need to pay Facebook for ads.
 

3. Do fake fans really exist?

In July, BBC News released a negative report about Facebook. According to their investigation, businesses have wasted so much money on advertisements to gain “likes” from Facebook users who are not interested in their products. The same report also stated that early in 2012, Facebook admitted that up to 54 million profiles are fake. 
 

4. Be prepared for change! 

Facebook are aware of the power they have to show followers posts. Like Google, another big player in the online world, Facebook continuously change their algorithms, so certain types of posts get displayed more or less. For example, sometimes a post with photos is more engaging, and then the algorithm changes and posts with text and links are shown more. However, you still only will get about 6% reach through these organic methods. 
 

5. You can be more successful with diverse strategy

Facebook is the social media king, considering that it has a billion users around the globe. However, it’s not wise to put all of your eggs in one basket.

Using diverse strategy will provide your business with more success. you should think about website optimisation, SEO,  Google AdWords, email marketing, and other social media channels. So people who are genuinely interested in your business, see you everywhere as an expert in your industry.

If you are interested in including Facebook advertising in your overall marketing strategy, we can help you, click here to talk to us>>

The Christmas holidays are just around the corner, but, for retailers, this holiday period is by no means a time of relaxation with the annual shopping rush providing more business challenges and opportunities. 

To try and gain a boost in sales before the pre-Christmas rush, many notable New Zealand retailers are following trends in the US, by holding sales on "Cyber Monday" or "Click Monday" on 23 November. You can get involved with the official site, or promote your own sale.

But what does December hold for retailers this year? We can look at the December 2014 Online Retail Sales Report released by BNZ, which shows how Kiwi’s love to shop online. See the infographic below.