Facebook is the king of social networks and as such, almost doesn’t need an introduction. With over a billion users, it’s the biggest social network with a user base that is still growing. Facebook is on three of every four smartphones, and more than half of people on Facebook visit the site every day.
You may have a personal page where you share your life events, cooking triumphs (and disasters) and photos of your well manicured toes on a sun lounger somewhere warm. But this is probably not the image or message you wish to convey to potential referrers or clients. Therefore having a page for your business is important. This page can be followed by case managers, others SLTs and potential clients and referrers. Facebook allows your speech and language therapy business to build a community with the potential of turning a proportion of those community members into customers. ASLTIP also has its own profile on Facebook. It is a great channel for us to develop our relationship with our existing and potential members.
By clearly showcasing a combination of the attractiveness of your speech and language services and your brand personality, you can use Facebook to attract new clients to you and foster loyalty in your existing clients.
Facebook page has many potential benefits for your business. While some of these benefits are similar to having a website, a number are unique to Facebook. Combined, the benefits listed below may lead to increased profits for your speech and language therapy practice:
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Social visibility
Each time someone likes, comments, or shares a post, their friends will see it. These simple interactions, which may seem small when they happen, are actually helping to amplify your message. Facebook will also help you to reach all the people who matter most to you. e.g. If you are sharing a photo of you at the ASLTIP conference, other SLTs who follow your page, may like it. This then shares it to other people who follow that person’s page.
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Raise your business awareness and promote positive word-of-mouth
You can increase your business’s profile on Facebook by encouraging and existing and potential clients to click the ‘Like’ button on your Facebook page. In this way you can build awareness of your business, and to associate your followers with your brand. e.g. Include a button on your website to allow visitors to the page to follow your business on Facebook. By doing this, they’ll see regular information about your service without having to go back to the website.
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Share basic information about your independent practice
Your Facebook page is a place where you can publicise your business name, address and contact details, and briefly describe your speech and language services. You can also talk about your staff, history, or any other aspect of your business that is likely to attract other Facebook users and create interest in what you do. e.g. Providing this information on your business Facebook page is useful, as it may be the first point of call for a potential referrer.
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Share pictures and videos from your independent practice
As well as allowing you to post text, Facebook lets you upload pictures and videos from your activities. This can be a powerful way to communicate with existing and potential clients. e.g. Post photos of your clinic space; your team or photos at an event.
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Facebook is a low-cost marketing strategy
Marketing activities that would cost thousands of pounds through other channels can be used on Facebook for a fraction of the cost.
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Facebook can steer traffic to your website
You can include a link to your website on your Facebook page. Indeed, many businesses report that the greatest benefit of Facebook is the extra traffic that it steers to their site.
As you can see there are many benefits of having your own Facebook page. If you would like to set up your profile today follow the instructions on this page: https://www.facebook.com/about/pages
