What does the BASE (Be a Star, Advertise, Serve, Engage) strategy in action look like on a Facebook page? 

A Star on Facebook – Barkly and Meows

When a store invests in their Facebook page the results are phenomenal. Let’s look at the Facebook page for Barkly and Meows. This is an independent pet store in Canal Fulton, Ohio. 

The first thing that jumps off the page is its 5-star rating. This store has 42 reviews and each one gave this business a 5-star review! 

Not only did this business receive all 5-Star reviews but they received tons of comments as well. This starts at the business level. Clearly, this store is running an excellent operation. They value their customers. Facebook reviews are a reflection of their positive business performance. 

That’s one of the big unspoken secrets about social media success. It starts with the store and a lot of times it starts with you, the store owner. That’s why customers trust social media and online reviews. They tend to be accurate judgments of the businesses they aim to represent. 

For Barkly and Meows, they have a great business and a great owner. The owner of this store is involved in the community, committed to the area and invested in his relationship with his customers. Facebook simply reflects that.

Remember that customers are looking for businesses that show they care. The reviews section is an excellent place to do this. 

Advertise your retail store on Facebook

The most common form of Facebook advertising is boosting posts. Boosting posts is easy to do. Your Facebook post becomes the content for the ad. You choose goals and audiences. 

Concord Pet Food and Supplies does this very well. Concord boosts posts regularly to help raise awareness for sales and events. 

By boosting these posts, Concord’s promotions reach far more people than they would have organically. 

Each boosted post on Facebook can be configured to achieve certain goals. You may want to drive traffic to your website or engage your users. Retailers can encourage Facebook users to learn more about their business, like their page, sign up for their email list or start shopping. You can set the time frame for the ad to run and parameters for the audience who sees the ad. 

Boosted posts are a cost-effective method for raising awareness. Consider advertising on Facebook when you hold your next event or conduct a promotional giveaway. 

Customer Service – Facebook Messenger

How fast do you answer messages you receive on Facebook Messenger? If you’re not familiar with Facebook Messenger it is an app that lets you direct message consumers. It is a separate app from Facebook.

Facebook messenger displays information about how fast each business typically replies to messages. When you replay fast, Facebook will showcase your response time. What an excellent way to demonstrate that you pay attention to your customers’ social media!

For Barkly and Meows, the Facebook Messenger notification pops up as soon as you visit their Facebook page. At the top, a little message appears that says, “Typically replies within an hour”. Even if the customer doesn’t have a question, this bit of text is sending your customers a subtle message. It is telling your customers that you care about their questions and you’ll respond promptly.

Facebook tracks how fast you respond to customers so there is nothing you need to do to set this message. All you have to do is respond to your customers. When you do, it indicates the level of customer service you’re willing to provide on social media. 

Facebook Messenger also prompts users to message your business. The Messenger box will populate with general questions. Facebook is prompting interaction between consumers and businesses.

Right now, I am on Barkly & Meow’s Facebook page. Facebook is prompting me to ask them the following questions: 

• How much do your services cost?
• Can I learn more about a service?
• What services do you offer?
• What areas do you service?

Facebook is encouraging me to interact with this business. The app is generating leads for Barkly and Meow’s grooming and doggy daycare services.

As a business owner, be ready to capitalize. With their one hour reply time, Barkly and Meows is capitalizing on the customer service aspect of Facebook.

How to engage with retail customers on Facebook

Finally, this company knocks it out of the park when it comes to engagement with customers. We know that engagement happens when you invest in your community. Customer engagement is natural when you talk to customers about things that matter to them.

Barkly and Meows does this by showcasing community involvement and awards. As of the time of this writing, their two most recent posts are an award for excellence from the local newspaper and their booth at a festival in their town. Other posts include funny animal videos and information about flea and tick medication for cats.

One of my favorite posts on their page was simple and effective. They asked customers to post a picture and description of their pet as if they were posting it to a dating site! 

Customers responded in droves with funny pictures and captions of their pets. This is how you engage your customers!

They knock the engagement metric out of the park. Its because they talk to their customers about things that are relevant to them. That includes a mix of funny, informative, community-related and customer-specific questions. 

Conclusion

The BASE strategy for Facebook isn’t complicated but it takes work. It’s worth it. Following BASE, your page will reflect the best aspects of your business and customer relationships.