What's the attraction with Facebook?

[Pop Bumper Pete]

Yes, but does internet traffic equal an increase in people through the door?

[pinnies4me]

Yes, but does internet traffic equal an increase in people through the door?

Exactly the thrust of what I am doing. If there are no bums on seats as a result we'll have some good information on just this topic.

[Caveoftreasures]

YES it does equal more people thru your front door for a few reasons.

Any successful marketing requires people to talk about your business in some way shape or form. Facebook is the biggest chat room on the planet, and if people are talking about your business/a business and saying good things, it will mean more bums on seats/or people thru the front door (front door can be via telephone or literal walk ins).

Referrals and word of mouth is paramount in any business and thats why the internet and facebook works for a business. Just look at Sterns www.acdcpinball.com site.
I found that from looking at facebook. All target marketing can have a positive result.

I had a job today (Alarm sale and install) worth a few grand to me. I never met the bloke, but he said I installed an alarm into his friends house, and his friend posted on facebook that he had got a great deal from me, so this guy got my details from a facebook post. It happens regulary. People tell people who tell people who tell people and so on. The phone rings because of it. Facebook is good for business. 

p.s - For Pete,If I had a cakeshop/pie shop, I would start a post on facebook saying anyone who comes into my store and mentions my facebook page, u get xyz off percentage wise, or a free drink with every xyz. See how many people tell their friends about your business. Post regular updates about your business. People like to read anything and everything on facebook, espescially those addicted (thats apx 95 percent.lol) 

[Pop Bumper Pete]

p.s - For Pete,If I had a cakeshop/pie shop, I would start a post on facebook saying anyone who comes into my store and mentions my facebook page, u get xyz off percentage wise, or a free drink with every xyz. See how many people tell their friends about your business. Post regular updates about your business. People like to read anything and everything on facebook, espescially those addicted (thats apx 95 percent.lol) 

Would work great if most of my facebook friends did not live in the USA

[Caveoftreasures]

everyone is your friend on facebook if they have money in their pockets.    randoms will ask to be your friend if you post some photos of ya self and ya business with regular updates.    incl a wi-fi "hotspot" at your businessa as well if u have table n chairs.  people then email their friends, "oh I am down at xyz business having coffee n cake etc". people then go to that business  etc.    give it a go. cant hurt. extra sales is extra $$ for pinballs.         

[Olivia_jason]

they dont have to be mates to like your page,you want randoms. its not like your personal page where you have friends and what not and invite people or they invite you. no
you have "likes" instead and people just click like.
how many friends that person that clicked like on your page has just appeared on all those peoples pages, for example- one person likes your page who has 100 friends then there is a possibility 100 people have just seen that person has liked your page, that is good advertising.
and mate it does put bums on seats. mate i post something new on facebook the next day i have a tonne of people coming in asking for it. best advertising ever. and the more clever you are with your page the better the result. this is no different for paying for an add on tv or in the paper for advertising,its still advertising. however this way its more interactive. also remember people use facebook like google, eg they want to come to Our town for a day trip they search Landsborough it will comes up with all these businesses at landsborough. if they visit the store and they click "check in" at our store, then again all there friends see that person is at landsborough at our shop. and being a cafe people are sitting there using their phone and good chances of adding your shop if they like it. make sure you advertise the fact you have a facebook page and a webpage. best part about it, its free.


people hate facebook as mentioned but they are minority, even though those who hate facebook have a very valid points as to wh ythey hate it, its crazy not to use it for your buisness, as many of the reason they hate it is the reason it works for buisness. but you do cater for the none facebook users in other ways like webpages phone book and all that, but you always run fascebook with those forms of advertising also, and mantion you have it so fans of your shop will help promote it, its just like word of mouth however it can reach more people. also the page gives you feedback like weekly views and howmany people your page has reached. so always post in prime time, so it has a better chance of reaching more people. thats a good trick also

[Olivia_jason]

facebook is no different from word of mouth from say this forum, say you got a good deal on your pinball and you post here saying this guy was good to me, and then other people use your feedback, difference is there are allot more people using facebook. at the end of the day when you pay to put your business on tv you are using that media to reach people, facebook is just using a different media to do the same thing. also i need to remember being a cafe in a tourist area, if i just target just local audience then im falling behind, i could reach some one in sydney who is coming up my way, thats how this works. i do everything to target a wide range of people i use free food rating places like "menu mate" which also use facebook. you need to be ontop of the internet thing.

as for people not being able to explain why its effective, thats strange, because its not hard to explain why advertising works and this is just advertising using a different medium that millions of people use daily, at the end of the day you have no problem saying you enjoyed a meal at a certain shop to a friend, you are virtually advertising by word of mouth, now seeing facebook is how people communicate these days they still have no problem telling their mates they enjoyed that meal, they dont have to tell it 100 times to tell 100 people now. lol

if you want to learn how to create a business page just feel free to ask.

popbumper you have a pie shop was itnt it? whats the name of it? i might search facebook and see if any one has liked your shop, you might actually have people checking in without knowing you are even on facebook lol, especially if you had a customer eating sitting there saying they are at your place, lol if so your buisness is already there, might also be worth your while searching for your business on websites like "menu mate" and see if your shop is there.

you also need to think, if you want to contact a shop these days, do you go through a big old heavy phone book, or do you jump on your phone or pc and search???  one takes 30 seconds max the other takes allot longer. you can search from your phone from your pocket most people dont Carry a phone book in their pocket.

[Homepin]

So all of this tells me that people don't have a life..............FFS

[Olivia_jason]

So all of this tells me that people don't have a life..............FFS

exactly lol, and thats why business is crazy not to utilize it. people sit in front of a tv all night long so business pays for tv adds. people sit in front of facebook all night long so same thing and when out and about on their phones, different medium but the same principle, taking advantage of people sitting there staring  at your business drilling it into their heads.

[Caveoftreasures]

Mike(homepin) u cracked me up.lol   On a personal basis, i think facebook sux, but as a businessman, I like it $$$ 

People post when they went to the toilet, how they feel, all this random weirdo stuff, I sit n think FFSake, why are u telling the world what u had for dinner etc, who gives 3 hoots, but billions of people do it.    except me personally.

Funny Story.
A friend did a facebook page for me, without me wanting it.lol   ...all of a sudden, I had thousands of random weird people incl young kids wanting to be my friend, WTF, I dont want a website with 60 kids aged 10 yrs being my friends, it doesnt look good ! and then I had 40 people with the same exact name wanting to be my friends, what is it now, a parrallell universe like Stargate.WTF ! so after my 11 yr old daughter, let these 2 thousand random nut jobs become my friends one night, I had to go on there, and create a holocaust and kill everyone by hitting the unfriend or kill button or some dam thing, then i had randoms asking me why i didnt want to be their friends. another WTF, so i killed them all in hyperspace and am now floating alone on a empty asteroid. HOW LOVELY.  Life without facebook    but its still good for a business site, which is different. lol  .

[Olivia_jason]

Mike(homepin) u cracked me up.lol   On a personal basis, i think facebook sux, but as a businessman, I like it $$$  

People post when they went to the toilet, how they feel, all this random weirdo stuff, I sit n think FFSake, why are u telling the world what u had for dinner etc, who gives 3 hoots, but billions of people do it.    except me personally.

Funny Story.
A friend did a facebook page for me, without me wanting it.lol   ...all of a sudden, I had thousands of random weird people incl young kids wanting to be my friend, WTF, I dont want a website with 60 kids aged 10 yrs being my friends, it doesnt look good ! and then I had 40 people with the same exact name wanting to be my friends, what is it now, a parrallell universe like Stargate.WTF ! so after my 11 yr old daughter, let these 2 thousand random nut jobs become my friends one night, I had to go on there, and create a holocaust and kill everyone by hitting the unfriend or kill button or some dam thing, then i had randoms asking me why i didnt want to be their friends. another WTF, so i killed them all in hyperspace and am now floating alone on a empty asteroid. HOW LOVELY.  Life without facebook    but its still good for a business site, which is different. lol   .

i couldn't agree more. lol on a personal level every negative point that has been made here is valid, lol, its crazy, but yer on the business side its a good thing and a very very very useful tool. also on the business part its good to connect with your customers and it is satisfying people want to join your page and promote your business, so its good like that and its good to reward peoples loyalty and keep them upto date on things, people do like taking interest in your business if they like it which is cool.

[Pop Bumper Pete]

Oh well, might give it a go
Took lots of pictures of pasties during production, should go well witg the pictures of pies i took when i got my phone

[Homepin]

Oh well, might give it a go
Took lots of pictures of pasties during production, should go well witg the pictures of pies i took when i got my phone

Now THAT's the kind of thing that would actually interest me - I couldn't give a stuff about getting $1 off or meeting Billy Bloggs at your shop BUT seeing how stuff is made/works interests me.….that's one reason I always LOVE visiting factories in China to see how stuff is done. Good luck with it.

[Olivia_jason]

Oh well, might give it a go
Took lots of pictures of pasties during production, should go well witg the pictures of pies i took when i got my phone

Now THAT's the kind of thing that would actually interest me - I couldn't give a stuff about getting $1 off or meeting Billy Bloggs at your shop BUT seeing how stuff is made/works interests me.….that's one reason I always LOVE visiting factories in China to see how stuff is done. Good luck with it.

i agree thats a good thing to post up, those sort of things are of interest to people. they like to see how their food is made, and its very interact9ive with your customers, just advertise the fact you are on facebook,in your shop to get the first few people joining and checking it out, and tell some of your regulars, some might not be interested some might be, thats how i started getting people to join, then before long it starts to grow quickly, make sure you fill in all your buisness details and get your staff involved. the more intereaction the better and it will seperate you from other boring shops. lol, and it actually reminds people you actually bake in house and you arent one of those buy in style shops lol where you arent buying cheap prebaked garbage from a factory some where, make sure you promote things like that. are you on menumate.com.au ?? search that shop to see if you are and if you are listed you can claim it, also add your facebook like to it, its free also, i get good buisness from that site, its a place where you can read reviews on all sorts of food outlets.

[Olivia_jason]

for any one wanting to create a buisness fb page. here is the link http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php?ref_type=sitefooter