By Grant Miller, salon consultant

Social media has been without question one of the most popular methods to promote and market your tanning business. Facebook is still the largest and most popular social media site for business purposes. Like all media though, it is inherently neither good nor bad. It’s important that the media be used correctly. It is a tool, and like any tool, you need to know the proper way to use it effectively.

One of the biggest misconceptions about Facebook is that you need as many “likes” and followers as possible in order to brand your business and build awareness. Having many “likes” is nice, but you need to understand what to do with them once you have them. It is very difficult to deposit “likes” at the bank.

The best formula that I found to make Facebook profitable:

• Drive new leads to Facebook
• Get those new leads to opt-in to your email list via an irresistible offer
• Market it to them via email
• Continue to market to them on Facebook as well
• Get them into your tanning business so they can buy from you

The best way to drive leads to Facebook is actually the same way that you should drive new customers to your business in the first place is by using an irresistible offer.

Your irresistible offer needs to be something of such great value that they would be absolutely foolish not to take you up on it. This could be $10 off their first purchase, their first spray tan for only 99 cents, a Free Tan Weekend offer, the opportunity to try every bed level for only $5, etc.

An irresistible offer essentially acts as an ethical bribe to get the prospect from your Facebook fan page onto your email list. Once you have that email address, you “own” that contact information and are free to market to them at a very low cost. Most Facebook fan pages that I see have no offer and no call to action.

Now your marketing sequence begins. I’m a big believer in the school of thought that thinks, “Market to them until they die or buy.” I don’t give up until they either make a purchase or opt out.

Facebook is a great tool for finding new customers. Once they like you, don’t make the mistake of making every post a sales pitch. Treat Facebook as more of a cocktail party and not a shopping mall. You want to engage them, and then eventually nudge them from the cocktail party over to your website and your email opt-in. From there your online marketing does the role of selling.