Why Facebook™ is the perfect platform for a successful Mumpreneneur in 2020, and how to make the most of it.

B Y S U E P R E N T I C E

I am both proud and excited about beinghere to support the Mumpreneurmovement.

I grew up on a remote farm, thousands ofkilometres from anywhere, in war tornZimbabwe. It was back in the day wheretechnological advances were colour TV,Walkman’s and CD rom drives ... I’m sureyou remember the days when you went to avideo store to hire a movie.

We even used a rotary dial telephone thatrequired an operator to connect the call.These are now back in fashion as retrocollectables, by the way.

It was a world where we didn’t even havethe privacy of our own telephone landline.

But there was a thing called a “Party Line”—which was a phone where you could pickup the phone and if nobody in your regionwas already on a call, you were able to dialanother number to connect to theoperator. The downside of this though, wasthat anyone could tune in and listen toyour conversation. Privacy “on the line” wasa lot less important than online privacy isnowadays.

It was a world where men ran businessesand where the social expectation was forwomen to stay at home and run thehousehold.

It was in the 1970s and early 1980s – to getperspective – when our physical world andthe surrounding community wereeverything. It was a life without socialmedia, desktops, mobiles or the internet.

What people mastered was the art ofcommunication, planning, being creative,friendships, crafts, and finding purpose.

Things seem to have gone full circle since then. The world witnessed huge innovation in a short space of time, and now the same devices that once promised connection, all too often consume our attention, and in fact, stand in the way of human connection. This urges us to be creative and seek ways we can change that.

Smart phones, and other advances in technology have brought huge opportunities, by helping facilitate our daily lives—like high-speed internet—and give voices to the women that would otherwise have gone unheard by the masses. Right now – online – we can extend our social barriers, beyond our own friendships, and open them to the world of the internet with seemingly unlimited circumstances, locations or times. These advances in technology allow us to seek out our tribe, get support in communities, and, of course, learn from one another.

Yes. I am very happy to be a part of the Mumpreneur culture in 2020.

One of my most valuable treasures is my ever-growing online network of friends. Through my network, I can always find that special person, and always at the right time. In my view, we are experiencing a movement that goes back to our core basics: people, conversation, community, meaning, and purpose. There has never been a time like this for being able to help each other and to get help…

And, what we are also seeing with technological innovation, is a generation where ideas come to life and online businesses are blooming.

I am always meeting women who are hunting for a pathway to launch their own brand, and model their lifestyle around their family. It’s so wonderful that there are communities, as well as places to grow with like-minded women.

I for one, threw in my high-paying full-time role in 2014 and immersed myself into the world of online commerce and digital marketing. Because I wanted to grow my own global brand. And together with my business partner, we did just that: growing our brand from an idea to 7+ figures in only 2 years. This would not, and probably could not have happened without Facebook™.

When written like that it does sound easy, but it took a while for us to cotton on to the fact that it was neither the religious daily posting, liking and following, or the beautiful graphics or sexy influencers we paid that drove our wins. And it wasn't until we figured out the formula for Facebook™ advertising that our growth really took off— even moreso when we combined hypertargeted Facebook™ ads with tailored and personalised offers in Facebook™Messenger.

Using Messenger chatbots, together with some very out-the-box ideas, we were able to grow our list to over 100 000 emails. Plus, we ranked as page 1 on Amazon US, UK and Australia in the most competitive category on the platform, using that very same technique. As far as we know, we were the first in the world to do that.

Facebook™ was an amazing invention back in 2004: a social media platform designed to connect Harvard University students online. 16 years later, it now has evolved into one of the most downloaded social media application in the world.

Despite unfortunate headlines appearing from time to time, Facebook™ stands strong as a social media platform.

It boasts 2.7 billion – up from 2.6 billion in the last financial quarter of 2019 – monthly active users across its family of applications. These are Facebook™, WhatsApp™, Instagram™ and Messenger. More than 2 billion use at least one of those services every day—that’s a lot of eyeballs to get your brand in front of…

Is Facebook™ Really Good for Small Business?

As a media agency co-founder and Facebook™ expert, I am often asked – ‘Do my potential customers exist on Facebook?’

There are now 7 million brands currently advertising on Facebook™. That has grown from only 100 000 in the past 4 years. Facebook’s challenge is not the growth of advertisers –

it is in keeping the advertiser clients satisfied with results, while maintaining a good balance for its users.

The good news, as this quote from Mark Zuckerberg attests, is that –

Facebook is focusing on small business success in support of their mission to ‘Bring the world closer together.’

I hope it’s becoming evident, apart from a tiny population of people who get cold feet over privacy concerns – ironically making the switch to Instagram™ or WhatsApp™ – that just about everyone has potential customers on Facebook™. And lots of them too.

The smarter questions to ask are: Who do I serve? What problems do they have? How does my product/service solve those problems? If you can answer those questions, then Facebook™ is a golden opportunity for you to grow your business.

Here are four things you need to know to master the Facebook™ family for your growth in 2020.

1. Community and Relationships.

Arising from the Cambridge Analytical Scandal, Facebook’s focus on privacy means that 2020 is going to be about communities and groups. Facebook™ Groups can be private and hidden or public. Groups allow for relevancy and meaning. The content is specific to the audience and the group attracts and keeps people more engaged and satisfied. This makes brand experiences inside

Facebook™ Groups memorable. Facebook™ Groups also offers the opportunity to apply membership fees, which is very exciting when thinking of how this can be leveraged for your tribe. Groups also provide open forums and removing the barriers to communication that existed before. My hope is to see the evolution of Facebook™ ads targeting, allowing us to reach groups later this year.

2. Messenger Marketing.

A few facts about why we should consider chat marketing in our own businesses—

✅ Messenger is where people prefer to communicate and are most active and engaged.

✅ Messenger has been one of the top five most downloaded apps on both iOS and android smart phones for the past few years.

✅ In 2020, for the first time in history, there will be more mobile messaging app users than social network users.

✅ In line with privacy and personalisation, Messenger is private but not yet encrypted.

Perhaps the most important thing about this channel is that it enables brands to build deeper digital relationships and learn more about their customers.

So what can a chatbot do for you? Let’s get creative. Automation seem like a scary word, but it’s wonderful when you get to understand how to use it. Chatbots allow you to have a 1 to 1 conversation with your customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You get to be responsive to online enquires and make follow ups to inquiries in a cost effective manner that you could never achieve with human staff.

You can use chatbots to:Set appointments – my personal assistantProvide important event reminders so youget better show up ratesGenerate leads – the customer can ‘selfdrive’their way to the checkout on theirmobile by pushing buttons and commentswhen it works for themNurture relationships – because you’redoing a great job servicing themBuild trust – because they can interact withthe brand or serviceOffer instant customer support – thecustomer will leave and go elsewhere ifthey see a standard reply these daysIncrease conversion rate – get more salesIncrease average order value – the customerto purchase more stuffCapture user data.

With a well-crafted strategy that fits youroverall marketing objectives, what’s not to loveabout Messenger automation in yourmarketing mix? It allows businesses tocustomise high converting offers and growrepeat sales and profit in a vertical way likeeCommerce has never seen.

3. Video – Video – Video.

Remember this – Video gets priority. So whynot use it?We’ve all seen the success of Netflix™,Amazon™ Prime, Youtube™ and Apple TV.Facebook™ is on the way to being the next bigdigital streaming provider. Video is engaging.People want to know there is a real humanbehind the scenes. Consider how you canconvert your static content into video.Facebook™ has some great editing tools to

utilise, and there are many continue reading part 2 on pageClick to go to Part 2 on Page 74

templates to use too. Try them out using Facebook™ Creator Studio.

4. Leverage Stories.

In a bid to find more ad inventory for businesses, keep an eye on Instagram™ Live. According to Mari Smith who is known in the US as the ‘Queen of Facebook’: Instagram™ stories will increase Facebook™ Ad revenue by 23% this year. Don’t miss this growth opportunity.

Whether on Facebook™ or Instagram™, stories work well to engage your audience. Just in the same way that the Facebook™ ads that appear as close to a normal newsfeed, authentic posts are more relatable and convert best with stories. Fans are notified when you ‘go live’ and can sense the real person behind the story. We call these ads ‘native ads’. There’s no need to be perfect before you hop in front of the camera, just plan to use it the functions.

Here’s a few tips for getting your story on Facebook™:

Keep moving around, it’s more entertaining than sitting dead still

Allocate time to getting it done – 10 minutes a week is all you need

Outdoor settings are more engaging

No sunglasses. People will trust you less if they can’t see your eyes

Natural lighting is best or ‘white’ light

Consider what message you want to convey before you hit the ‘Live’ button

Do them as a page post so they go onto your brand page after the ‘live’.

is going and why it’s an opportunity to get into right now. Here’s how he described how AR will excite us:

Instead of having devices that take us away from the people around us, the next platform will help us be more present with each other and will help the technology get out of the way. Even though some of the early devices seem clunky, I think these will be the most human and social technology platforms anyone has built yet.The ability to be ‘present’ anywhere will also help us address some of the biggest social issues of our day – like ballooning housing costs and inequality of opportunity by geography. — Mark Zuckerberg, 2020

I must admit, I do feel lucky to have started with Facebook™ when I did. Keeping up with the pace of innovation still requires a huge investment of time, and it would be easy to dip in today and wonder where do I get started?

Ready to fuel your business growth?

If you have big goals for 2020 and your brand is set to scale, spending months understanding how to get the best from the platform yourself may NOT be the smartest way to go. When I look back on my Mumpreneruial journey, I found the most growth for my business when I could find a reliable partner to take some of the work off me. This just made more sense as I could focus on running my business as well as new opportunities getting and following more leads.

Feeling overwhelmed?There’s so much more to be said aboutleveraging Facebook™ for business. As aMumpreneur I am grateful for the family ofapps and the massive developments thatcontinue to roll out.

Example of how Facebook™ AI delivers targeted ads. The AI knows which image to serve to the right person. The Facebook™ ad shows an older woman and the packaging shows a young Mum. It is the same product. Image courtesy of Mari Smith and Ginny Adair, 2020.

We didn’t have time here to talk about how to leverage Facebook’s incredible targeting AI (artificial intelligence) or how the algorithm works, or the many ways to create engaging content and deliver it to custom audiences. There is so much more coming from Facebook™, including Voice and AR (Augmented Reality), interoperability of messaging and content sharing between the family of apps—Facebook™, Instagram™, WhatsApp™ and Messenger—on-platform purchasing, as well as Facebook’s digital currency.

Mark Zuckerberg spoke on the future of Facebook™, and described what he plans to build—which I include here to encourage each of you to realise where this

A managed service can get you far betterresults, and achieve them in a muchshorter time than a DIY strategy. A goodagency offers support and a creativestrategy that is tailored to your outcomes—while focusing on doing it profitably.

Our agency, Beyond Points, is different tomost agencies. We started out usingFacebook™ to build our own business. Thatmeans that while other agencies arefocused on increasing your advertisingspend to get more traffic, we focus onincreasing your sales and profit. We wereamong the first to use Messenger foreCommerce, the first to see huge rankinggains on Amazon, and the first to beawarded the coveted ‘MessengerMarketing Expert for eCommerce’ badge inAustralia. We now host a ManyChat™Downunder Meetup which we would loveto welcome you to on Meetup, or join us inour Facebook™ group where we gathermonthly for virtual meetings.

Sue Prentice

Beyond Points