What if I told you, you can find new local businesses on Facebook right in your own backyard!?!?

I DO IT all the time.

You’re probably thinking YA RIGHT? I’ve never heard of such a thing. I thought people on Facebook are from all over the country.

Or you might be saying, I’m not interested in spending a lot of time and money on Facebook.

What I’m about to tell you will change your mind.

Did you know that there are over 2.2 billion people on Facebook and many of them live close to you and your business?

OH, and besides that Facebook is FREE and so is a business Facebook page. SCORE!

Before I tell you how you can attract new local businesses, let me show you a few of the jobs I got just from posting on my FB business page…

Here’s one of the jobs I just completed from someone who found me on FB. Cha-Ching!

They were following me and seeing all the pictures I post of my work and decided to reach out to me. These clients literally lived 8 minutes from me.

This is another project that I was commissioned to do.

This client found me because one of their friends shared my post on their page. Thank you, Jesus! and Facebook.

DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION YET!?!?!

So, you’re probably asking “Is this going to cost me money?”

The answer is YES & NO

Let’s start with NO.

• NO, you don’t have to spend money to start a Business FB page. It’s FREE
• NO, you do not have to spend money
• NO, you don’t have to have a huge following
• NO, it doesn’t take a lot of time

Now here’s the YES!

Yes, you can pay to boost your post, but you don’t have to. There are other ways to find new customers without spending a dime.

Let me explain …

Attract new, local customers on Facebook For FREE

#1 Build a Business Facebook page

1. Make sure your profile picture is a picture of you, not your building or a product. People want to see you
2. Take nice pictures of your work. Pictures speak 1000 words. The optimal size is 1,200 x 630
3. Write engaging content. Tell them a little about the picture and ask them a question to get engagement
4. Engage with people who comment on your post. At the very least LIKE their comment. This is how people will get to know, like, and trust you.
5. Ask your friend to LIKE and SHARE your posts. The more people who see your post, the better.
6. It only takes about 5-10 minutes a day.

Remember that kitchen makeover I showed you earlier. That was from a shared post.

Now I’ll address the $$ question

Yes, you can Boost your post (there is a small cost)

If you’re a local business and your income comes directly from your geographic area, it might be advantageous for you to spend a couple of dollars targeting your ideal clients in your geographic area.

Here’s how you can do that.

First tip: Don’t select the boost from FB. FB will not target your ideal customer. When you leave it up to them to boost a post it will go out to everyone. Everyone is not your ideal customer. That’s like shooting from the hip.

Here’s what I would suggest:

1. Go to your business page. At the top click on insights. You’re going to see a lot of stats, Ignore it. Scroll down to your most recent posts. It will look like this. BTW, (this is not mine) Look and see what posts had the most engagement.
2. Click on boost post.
3. Click: Edit and select the gender and age of your ideal client
4. Click on the: X (where it says United States) and add your selected geographic area. The surrounding towns your serve
5. Click: Include people that match one of the following. (For instance, if you’re in the decorative painting business like me, I select; people who watch HGTV, DIY, etc.) Then save it

Budget and Duration

1. Put in the amount you want to spend
2. How many days do you want it to run 1 day, 7 days,14 days
3. Or put in the date you want it to run until in the box.
4. Then put in your payment options.

Facebook is a great tool for advertising your business. Not many things come free in life, so take advantage and get on the social media bandwagon

If you want to learn how to start making money with your hobby get the details HERE

If you want to learn DIY Tricks and Tips get my weekly blog HERE

Cheryl Phan