Craigslist has been around since time immemorial.
It's like a relic of the ancient Internet past, right down to its old-school no-frills web design.
How it's persisted is somewhat of a mystery.
After all, how can you tell who's legit and who's not?
Back in 2016, Facebook introduced its own take on the Craigslist concept, called Facebook Marketplace.
This little-used sales platform can be a surprisingly profitable tool for entrepreneurs, and if you're not taking advantage of its world-class reach and high levels of consumer trust, you should be.
One of the biggest applications of Facebook Marketplace for entrepreneurs is good old fashioned brand awareness.
Having a presence on the platform is a great way to make your brand more easily discoverable for potential customers, and over time, this can pay off big time.
In a recent blog post from AdEspresso, the author explains how you can promote even a brand new business by using Facebook Marketplace to reach the right people.
Increase awareness & ‘discoverability’
Trick question: What is the easiest way for new businesses to increase sales?
It has nothing to do with closing methods. It has nothing to do with a green button vs. a blue one on your landing page.
Instead, it has everything to do with branding.
Increasing brand awareness is the fastest, easiest way to increase sales. Because people won’t buy if they don’t know or trust you.
That means you need to increase the number of people who know who you are.
You need more people to recognize your name.
And you need to make it easy for them to discover you when they’ve never heard of you before.
Facebook Marketplace is an excellent place to do just that.
Don’t take my word for it, though. Take AdWeek’s:
“Facebook added that the buying and selling experiences triggered by Marketplace have led to a growth of 77 percent in users who may not have otherwise connected.”
You know what that means?
The Marketplace gives you an easy way to almost double the number of interactions you have with potential customers right now.
But how?
Like any other platform, channel, or medium. With an offer they can’t refuse.
Here’s Exhibit A:
[image source: AdEspresso]
This product listing contains the following:
- Focus on the products, not the company
- Date and time availability
- And a local address
If you’re looking in the Marketplace under “Tools,” it’s safe to assume you’re interested in tools. The offer is designed to pull people in, focusing on what they want.
And then you use that momentary attention to expose them to your business for the first time.
Exhibit B is an even better example:
[image source: AdEspresso]
First, the remodel picture. It’s showing the work-in-progress so you can see the quality.
It’s transforming an intangible service into a tangible finished product.
Next, is the phone number straight in the description. That helps build trust.
But the best part is saved for last.
Notice the ‘price’? It’s listed as free.
Their goal here is to show up to the most people possible. Of course, you know the actual service isn’t free. The service estimate is.
However, this isn’t the point.
Instead, they’re capitalizing on how “Free” products inside the Marketplace will get extra visibility.
You can find more smart advice for using Facebook Marketplace to promote your business over at AdEspresso.
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