How valuable is social media to your business? Do you rely on Facebook and Twitter to convey messages to your members? Have you completely swapped out e-mail updates for free messages to your members on Facebook?
Facebook has clearly taken over the world. However, don’t toss all your eggs into one basket … yet.
You still need to get e-mail addresses from your members, and you still need to use direct snail mail to demographics surrounding your club.
Remember, Facebook wasn’t started to help out your business. It was started to help college kids get to know more people at their school.
Of course, once companies realized they could easily create pages that allowed customers to “Like” them, the game changed. However, the major use for Facebook to this day is still communication with peers.
Just like any other website, you can purchase advertising space that targets people around your club. You can also focus your ads to people that are interested in fitness or getting back in shape.
I’ve had friends in other businesses use this function and it seems to work out great — although, it seems to be greater for smaller businesses.
This is because, if the corporate club that has 40 locations in 30 cities advertises on Facebook, viewers may overlook it like they do the majority of the national ads.
However, if a small club that is in a couple of cities, or is right around the corner from a potential member’s house, pops up on their screen, they are going to react differently. Facebookers are going to see that ad and immediately think about their community. This is what you want to create with the advertisement of your club — a sense of community.
Once potential members reach the point of associating your club with their community, they will want to become a member to support their community and to have a place to interact with people they see on a regular basis.
The prices can vary on the Facebook ad space. It is based on clicks and impressions and can be as little as 10 cents or as much as you desire. It’s just like anything in life, the more you put into it the more you get out.
Tyler Montgomery is the Editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com
