Our Founder Alison Battisby recently visited Facebook’s European Headquarters in Dublin to gain official #SheMeansBusiness Accreditation. What does this mean? What did she learn? Find out in our latest blog… Facebook and Enterprise Nation recently launched the #SheMeansBusiness initiative in the UK, after identifying the need for more women to upskill in areas such as digital marketing in order to start and grow their own businesses. That’s where I come in, as one of the eight chosen UK experts to offer support and practical training to a large (but achievable) target of 10,000 women over the next year. In order to do this, I first had to get my official accreditation from Facebook which involved two days in the Dublin office hearing key learnings and trends from the “horse’s mouth” as it were.  Being at Facebook was absolutely fantastic, not just because of the free food, but the atmosphere within the building is very exciting. The position of power Facebook has across the world is amazing, and there are some very clever brains whirring away on inspiring initiatives and projects constantly. It’s certainly an exciting place to be!

Check out the rest of our pictures from our Facebook trip here.

Here are some of the key things we learnt:
    • The Facebook algorithm is completely unpredictable – and it doesn’t necessarily favour the big brands. There is every chance your small business posts are appearing in the newsfeed for your target audience.
    • This all hangs on how relevant you are being. The more relevant your updates to your target audience, the most engagement they will get. You should be looking to tell engaging stories to gain a personal connection with your audience.
    • Setting up your Page correctly (using Audience Optimisation on your Page, utilising the free tools available such as scheduling posts and instant replies).
    • Video and Carousel posts are extremely popular and using this kind of rich media can grab your desired audience’s attention.
    • It doesn’t have to be high budget content – there are plenty of apps and tools available to help you to create incredible graphics within needing to hire an agency or graphic designer.
    • One of the most popular questions I get asked is “How often should I be posting to Facebook?” and the official answer is that it really depends on your customers. Facebook advised to put yourself in your customers shoes and to ask ‘Are you being useful or annoying?’
    • Facebook’s darling brand Instagram was also a key focus of the training – with key advice being to keep it as simple as possible.  Try to avoid text if possible as the majority of users don’t use this – the focus is on amazing authentic “thumb-stopping”.
There are so many other hints and tips I have to share, and so look out for many events over the rest of the year. To start with, I’m presenting an evening on Facebook for Business with Enterprise Nation in London on Thursday 23rd February. Tickets are available here, but be quick as they’re selling fast!