Getting the most out of your mobile storefront
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) are the heart and soul of economies in Southeast Asia (SEA). They create jobs and make up half, if not more, of the total GDP across the region. In Indonesia alone, SMBs make up more than 95 per cent of the total workforce and contribute to 58 per cent of the GDP.
People in SEA spend a large portion of their time on their mobile each day (Malaysia 3+ hours, Thailand close to 3 hours) and one in five minutes on mobile is spent on Facebook. SMBs are banking on this trend to launch their brands or expand into new markets to reach their current, past and potential customers – especially with Facebook on mobile.
To reach these consumers, brands must connect with them on mobile and they are able to easily do so with 241 million people in SEA using Facebook. That’s 241 million potential customers who want to connect with local businesses in more meaningful ways. And we see that people are engaged with businesses that matter to them. In Thailand alone, 74 per cent of people are connected to a small business Page.
SEA business owners are using Facebook pages effectively to increase their customer base, build brand love and create jobs. Dea Valencia, a 21-year-old entrepreneur from Indonesia, founded her business Batik Kultur at the age of 16. Today, she employs 66 people. When she first started, 95 per cent of her business came from her Facebook personal profile. Realising this wasn’t the best approach, she switched from using a personal profile to business Page in 2014, and saw a 60 per cent increase in her sales, a 70 per cent increase in customer base and 125X return in ad spend.
Below are some tips for businesses that are about to or have opened their mobile storefront, and want to make the most of their Facebook Page –
1) Create Page
Anyone who uses Facebook can create a business Page. Most businesses use their logo as a profile picture and this is the ‘thumbnail’ that will appear on people’s News Feed when you post something. Rule of thumb here is to not change your business Page picture. You want to be consistent in your image so in one glance, people know where this post is coming from.
Once your Page is set up, let potential customers know you are a reputable brand by verifying your page with a grey tick. It’s also helpful to let them know how quickly you will get back to their queries by updating your response rate on your business Page. Add a call to action or CTA for people to shop, book, or sign up easily.
2) Focus on content
Create content that is mobile friendly. That’s where majority of people in SEA will be viewing it. Grab attention and deliver your message quickly for the short attention spans people have on mobile.Use photos that delight or surprise customers and auto-play videos so your business stands out in News Feed.
Video is a great way to connect with your customers with sight, sound and motion. Make sure you capture their attention in the first three seconds. We call it the ‘3 second audition’ – 65 per cent of people who watch the first three seconds of a video will watch for at least ten seconds and 45 per cent continue watching for thirty seconds.
With video, make sure you have captions on. Internal research found 41 per cent of videos were meaningless without sound and a lot of people watch videos with sound off. So use captions, logos and products so your message comes across clearly even in silence.
If you have customers who live in different countries create posts in their language and schedule it for only them to see.
3) Targeting
Use your current CRM data to speak to your customers on Facebook. Match their email and phone, and engage with them on their device of choice – mobile.
You can also use your first party data to attract new customers. Simply use your current customers’ data, and find similar customers on Facebook using Lookalike Audience.
Reach out to new potential customers using interest based targeting, or targeting based on location and demographic. And don’t forget to re-target customers who didn’t complete an order reminding them of the goodies they left in their basket.
4) Measure
It’s important to know how your advertising dollars are performing and which channels are driving growth to help you better decide where to focus your efforts. Check Ads Manager to go beyond engagement and fan counts and measure business impact instead like sales, brand awareness and leads generated from your online advertising efforts.
5) Learn how
The digital landscape is constantly evolving and it’s important you evolve with it. Never stop learning. Elevate your skills with Facebook’s online courses, learn from other brands success stories and understand how to utilise tools available to you before diving in and trying them.
So now you’ve opened your mobile storefront, don’t be shy in letting people know about the great things you do. Get on the loud speaker and roll out the welcome mat as people stream through the door.
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