On Facebook

These FB changes are definitely a bummer, and they have a huge impact on who gets seen where, and how often.  I read an article the other day that only something like 14% of the people who've liked our business pages see anything we post.  14 percent.  Seriously.  That means that if you have 100 likes on your page, 14 people will see your post.  To get 100 people to see your post, you would need over 700 likes.

So, we can still use FB for free, but we have to work exponentially harder for the same returns.  That's not always possible, I mean, we're small businesses, and we have lives offline.  But there are a few things you can do to get back some of your reach on Facebook.

1) Post relevant content often. 

• That doesn't mean fill people's news feeds with spamy pointless posts, it just means posting a few times a day.  Each time you post, a different percentage of your followers has a chance to see you pop up in their news feed.  Pictures are eye catching, questions are engaging, and status updates are informative.  This kind of posting engages your fan base, and keeps your name in their mind, which can translate to sales.

2) Be sure to link to your Etsy shop often to drive traffic that way. 

• Announce new listings each time you post one (unless your listing more than 3 things at a time, then announce sparingly).  Consider including a link to an item in the photo caption.  Promote sales and coupon codes.  Even if you just include a link to your shop in an occasional regular status update, that could potentially translate to traffic for your shop.

3) Consider running "referral" contests. 

• Encourage followers to share you photos and updates.  Be active daily on FB.  And the same rules apply--the more people who like your page, the more people see you.  It's totally worth it to work for those likes.  If you haven't yet, consider taking advantage of FB Ads that are free for first time users (up to $50 I think).  That will boost your page likes quickly, and help you reach more people.

It may be a lot more work to get seen on FB these days, but social media is still one of the best ways to connect to customers, and potential customers.  The changes they've made definitely make things harder on us, but not impossible.  It's not like they're charging us to even sign up for Facebook.  At least not yet...