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Social media novice - quick question!

11 replies

stirling · 26/05/2021 08:55

Hi all,
I've just about managed to get to learn how to use Facebook for support via a health group. But I don't have Instagram or anything.
My question is, what is the best social media platform for me to advertise my business? I run a successful educational business which operates entirely on word of mouth. Sounds great, the snag is that most of my clients are my friends and they never pay me on time. I'm gradually receiving a few "unknown" clients through recs, and finding it's a breeze working with them. They pay upfront and it's all very professional.
Am I allowed to promote myself on Facebook - if so, how? How do I reach my target audience? Or should I use Instagram? Or something else?
Or would you recommend I pay someone to advertise for me on social media?
I don't even have a website Shock

Thank you for any advice.

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BunnyRuddington · 05/06/2021 19:49

I don't think that one platform of SM is better than any other, think it's just a case of trying them and seeing which one works for you

We've found that FB brings in personal clients and Twitter brings in business clients but for us, Insta is full of CFers who want something for nothing, it may be entirely different for you though, just try them and see what happens.

If you haven't got a website, Iset up a FB business page first. It's free and looks more professional than using your own profile.

Once you've done that, you can start adding posts and invite all of your friends and family to like and share your page.

You can also find groups on FB that might contain potential customers. Some groups allow advertisers. One of our local FB groups allows you to advertise your business with no charge but only on a Tuesday. It's just a case of finding which Groups work for you.

Square Space website maker is very easy to use and I really don't think that you'd have to pay someone to build it for you. Just set aside some time to work on it so it's exactly how you want it.

The added bonus of doing it yourself is that you can edit it as many times as you like without having to keep paying someone else to do alterations for you.

If you do want to put some money into your advertising, rather than paying someone to do your website it might be worth paying a decent local photographer to do some stock photos for you to use in advertising, both on your SM and on your website Smile

BunnyRuddington · 06/06/2021 16:06

Forgot to say that if you had a look in the "work" section of MN, you'll find "Business Founders/Entrepreneurs", just thought it might be useful to talk to other business owners in there Smile

stirling · 14/07/2021 20:16

Hi BunnyRuddington, sorry for the very delayed response! I hadn't heard anything for a few days after I posted this thread and then forgot about it. That's incredibly helpful advice. I've heard about square space and was planning on roping my son into helping me, but perhaps I'll try it on my own.

You've inspired me! I'll also go for the fb business page. I don't have many friends on there though. Also very useful to know about the business board on mumsnet. Thank you once again

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BunnyRuddington · 20/07/2021 15:58

How are you getting on now @stirling?

Have you managed to get anything set up?

stirling · 24/07/2021 18:45

Hi BunnyRuddington,
Thank you for asking. I'm halfway through setting up my website on square space!
My son started me off and I've been adding to it over the past few days.
Do you happen to know what the general cost of having a website is? Square space would require a subscription of around £110 per year or something like that. Does that sound right?
I've yet to set up a Facebook page!

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fallfallfall · 24/07/2021 19:30

my husband and i run a small bee keeping business, sell honey.
we have found our neighborhood FB page ideal for our needs (we sell 300-800 jars a year).
our neighborhood consists of about 2000+ homes.
i'll be checking out the concept of the FB business page since FB seems to be working well for us.
we also have a small presence at the local farmers market and offer home delivery.
payment wise setting up auto deposits and taking e-transfers works well as does using square for payment.

if you're having a problem with getting paid, i'd be looking at these options and being firm with payment at point of service.

stirling · 24/07/2021 21:45

fallfallfall thanks for this! I have no idea what an e transfer is or square.. Must look into it because extracting payment from clients is a big headache!

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fallfallfall · 24/07/2021 22:16

e-transfer and auto deposit. that's how small businesses here in canada accept payments. square charges a small fee for their service (very small) and ours allows our cell phone to act as a contactless reader (accepts bank and credit card payment).
both of this payment types is instant (2 minutes max).

fallfallfall · 24/07/2021 22:18

squareup.com/ca/en/payments/in-person-payments

fallfallfall · 24/07/2021 22:19

squareup.com/gb/en/press/square-comes-to-the-uk

stirling · 24/07/2021 23:45

Brilliant thanks again! Sounds like a good option

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