Storbie is passionate about people finding and buying local products and services. In our Shop Local article series, we talk to retailers, town centre managers and passionate people about what makes their local area unique and how they’re spreading the word within and beyond their community.

This excerpt is from the May 2016 edition of the FYI Magazine. Thanks to Business North Harbour for sharing. Read the full article and watch the video below!

Boosting Local Business With Facebook

In the cluttered world of social media how do you make your business stand out and ensure it leads to growth?

It was a real coup for Business North Harbour, when in April they partnered with Facebook to host a free information seminar so members could interact with experts from Facebook and learn about Facebook’s best practice for businesses.

This was the first ever New Zealand Facebook Boost Your Business event and Facebook approached Business North Harbour with the idea.

In New Zealand more than 80% of all people on Facebook are connected to at least one small business and globally more than one billion people are connected to at least one small business. So how do you make sure they want to hear from you? Speaking on the topic were Facebook experts, along with a panel of four small business owners who are active on Facebook.

“You only have three seconds to capture users’ attention so to do so you need to use eye-catching visuals… your message should also be authentic to your brand… you need to speak to your audience and consider your tone of voice as a reflection of your business’ personality… tell a story with your brand — humanise your brand, give customers and employees a voice to spread the word about what makes you special”.

Read more of their advice and learnings in the full FYI Magazine article below on page 8.