On June 6, I presented a webinar about Facebook, more precisely how to use it as a marketing tool in order to expand your translation business. The webinar was offered through Proz.com and a video recording of the live presentation is now available for purchase here.
We covered the following topics during the live session:
- How to use these three components to promote your business:
- a personal profile
- a professional page
- a professional group
- How to engage your audience through your professional page
- How to engage peers through your professional group
- How to make the most of audiovisual content
- Videos
- Photo gallery
- Our Story
- How to create on-line and off-line events
- How to take advantage of Facebook paid advertisement
- Post boosting
- Sponsored campaigns
Below you'll find questions that were asked during the webinar, as well as some other comments that were sent to me by email. If you purchase access to the video, have questions after watching the material, and don't see your concerns addressed here, feel free to contact me and contribute to this Q&A list.
How can I promote my professional Facebook page without paying for post boosts?
If you don't have a marketing budget, the best thing you can do is to consistently develop content and post it to your page, so other people may see it, like it, and keep you in mind for future opportunities. It's the so-called word-of-mouth strategy, but with a modern twist ;-) Nowadays, it's called "organic engagement" because you'll be attracting members of your target audience without paying to advertise your business.
How often should I post to my professional page on Facebook?
Once a week, at least. Once a day, if at all possible! If you cannot generate content on a constant basis―because you're hopefully too busy with translation projects or interpretation assignments―you can share interesting content from other sources to keep the conversation going and show that yours is a dynamic page with curated information about interesting topics within our industry. It can be a time-consuming task at times, because it's as if your page is hungry and you must keep feeding it content to keep it alive. However, as you see your engagement growing, you'll start seeing some return on your efforts.
Is it okay to post professional-related subjects to my personal profile?
Yes, it's totally fine. After all, we never know where your next client could come from. Maybe a friend, relative, or neighbor knows someone who needs translations, and they'll recommend your services. However, you must focus more on your professional page and keep it updated, then sometimes share highlights from your professional page to your personal profile to raise this kind of awareness among friends, family, and peers.
How about asking friends to like or share my page?
It is okay, too, but there's a fine line between asking, "Hey, could you help my page become popular?" and being annoying about it. Ultimately, promoting your page is YOUR responsibility―not your family's or friend's. You definitely do not want to engage people the wrong way and have your strategy backfire.
What kind of content should I share to my page?
Audiovisual elements always gets more eyeballs, so be creative and brainstorm ideas for attractive multimedia content. You can post videos, images, memes, etc. that are related to the subject of your page. Make sure you use royalty-free audiovisual elements if you're not making videos or taking pictures yourself. Here are some websites you can browse for copyright-free images: Public Domain Archive, Unsplash, MorgueFile, ISO Republic, PixaBay, Death to Stock Photo, New Old Stock, Super Famous Studios, PicJumbo, Gratisography, Free Refe, ImCreator, Jay Mantri, Magdeleine, Foodie's Feed, Picography, and Raumrot.
Based on your experience, is it worth it to boost your professional page on Facebook in order to get more views and likes?
It all depends on your goals and your budget. I personally boost posts from my page when they have something to do with an event, like a Proz webinar, and I want to engage the respective target audience in order to make people aware of when it will take place. That gives me a better idea of my return on the investment―that is, how much I pay to boost the post and how many people sign up for the webinar as a result of that.
If you'll be boosting your own page, you'll definitely make more people aware of the services you have to offer and get many likes, but there will hardly be a concrete return on your investment in the short term. Still, it's a long-term kind of strategy, because people who see your boosted post now may need your services down the road.