A Facebook business page can keep your auto repair shop on your customers’ minds during the off times when they aren’t dealing with flying gravel or falling tree limbs. Success is all about the content you put on the page: Your posts should have a lot of variety, appear frequently, give the impression that your service is excellent and your people friendly and offer some deals. You should also encourage your customers to jump in with their own posts, particularly if they want to recommend your business.

We took a look at successful Facebook pages for auto glass and windshield repair shops from Victory Auto Service & Glass (four locations near  Minneapolis, Minn.), Expert Auto Glass (Midvale, Utah) and 20/20 Auto Glass (Greenville, S.C.) and came up with these 15 Facebook content suggestions for auto glass and window repair shops.

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

1. Thank your customers and promote their businesses at the same time

2. Thank customers for milestones



3. Give thanks to corporate accounts



4. Ask customers to contribute funny stories about glass breaks or other driving mishaps



5. Use the built-in Facebook polling application



6. Use the Facebook reviews page

Facebook business sites include a page for users to leave reviews, including star ratings. Victory’s review page is loaded with generally positive comments (collected with the help of a marketing company, Demandforce). One negative review has an extensive answer from the business.

7. Put a human face on your business – introduce customers to your staff



8. Show off unusual jobs to showcase your expertise



9. Have some fun with crazy jobs that come into the shop



10. Promote your blog posts on your Facebook page

Here’s a useful blogging tip: Make a note of the questions your customers ask or the problems they bring into your shop and post a message to your blog giving an answer. See this example from Victory: “3 Dashboard Lights That Drive You Crazy and What They Mean”.  If you’re not a blog writer, post links to relevant news stories or blog posts you find on the web and add your own comment.

11. Make a video

To create some buzz, 20/20 Glass shot video of a fastball pitcher trying to break a windshield. Take a look.

12. Make time-sensitive offers during slow periods



13. Create a special landing page for coupons or promotional giveaways

Expert Auto Glass created a professionally designed page for a $1,000 cash giveaway; users enter the contest by clicking the “Like” button at the top of the page.  A second screen pops up and asks for contact information. You’ll probably want to go to a web development firm to create a promotion such as this. You’ll also want to be careful about following Facebook’s rules for promotions. Victory’s web firm created a coupon page for Facebook — click on the $40 coupon and a form pops up to make a service appointment online for a “check engine light diagnostic.”

14. Create a Welcome tab

You can set up your Facebook page so that first-time visitors will land on a special page that showcases your business. 20/20 Auto Glass used its Welcome tab to display a video message from owner Matt Bailey. The page was created with a self-service design firm called Pagemodo.

15. Support a local charity

It’s as as easy as posting a link to their website.

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

The funeral home Facebook pages are Ralph Meyer & Deters Funeral Home (Cincinnati, Ohio), Burnam & Son Mortuary and Cremation Services (Bowling Green, Kentucky), Ruschmeier Funeral Homes (Milan, Green City, and Browning, Missouri), Geib Funeral Homes & Crematories (Dover and New Philadelphia, Ohio) and Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium (Manchester, New Hampshire).

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

1. Show faces

Images of the owners or staff’s faces on the page help to humanize the business and encourage conversation on a Facebook page. You can display a photo in the upper left of the page by selecting it as the profile image and more images will appear as a strip at the top of the page. Those images are pulled randomly from the other images you upload to a Facebook album. Read more about how to place images on a Facebook page.

2. Show your facilities

Group your facilities photos in a Facebook album and users can click to see them in a larger size.

3.Link death notices to your Facebook page

A Facebook page can serve the basic function of announcing funerals by posting death notices, but they are also an opportunity to link to the online memorial pages for the deceased on your website. And on those memorial pages you can add a Facebook icon with the message, “Let the family know you care by sharing.” Users who click will repost your original Facebook post to their personal Facebook pages, further spreading word about your business.

4.  Encourage comments on funeral notices

A few Facebook pages for funeral homes have developed as online tribute pages themselves, where friends and relatives use the Comment, Like or Share functions to express their feelings. Facebook users can be encouraged by messages in the post inviting them to “Write a comment with your memory of (the deceased person’s name)” or “Show you care by sharing this post.” To see an active page, look at Ruschmeier Funeral Homes.

5.  Always answer user comments, particularly thank you’s

Be sure to answer in a personal way every Facebook user who comments about your funeral business on your page — it encourages more comments.

6.  Show special services or new products

They may elicit Likes, Comments or Shares.

7. Post links to news or resources on grief, dying, funeral preplanning or other issues of deep concern to your clients

8. Ask a question that’s a conversation-starter

9. Show your community spirit

Posting notices or photos marking your charitable contributions or support for community events emphasizes that you’re a connected local business. See Geib Funeral Homes for many examples.

10. Announce outreach events, such as open houses or appearances at senior centers

You can post a simple notice on your page or use Facebook’s events function.

11. Mark the passing of well-known people

It’s an opportunity for Facebook users to add their thoughts.

12. Use Facebook’s poll function

This do-it-yourself feature is an easy way to engage users.

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

The doors and windows Facebook pages we surveyed: Astor Impact Windows and Doors (Miami, Florida), Family Windows & Doors (Sydney, Nova Scotia), Fusion Windows & Doors (Glendale, California), Keystone Windows & Doors (Seattle, Washington), Lifetime Windows and Doors Inc. (Portland, Oregon), McDaniel Window & Door (Florence, Alabama), Puget Sound Window & Door Inc. (Sumner, Washington), Today’s Windows and Doors (Orange, California) and Windows, Doors & More (Seattle, Washington).

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

1. Show off a beautiful installation

2. Promote a new product

3. Show off a job with Before and After images

4. Announce a big contract

5. Show off unusual jobs

6. Create a special Welcome tab

“Tabs” is Facebook-speak for other pages besides the Wall where you can create a customized look that resembles a page on a website. Take a look at this Welcome tab from Family Windows & Doors  and this special offer tab from McDaniel Window & Door . You can set your Facebook page so that first-time visitors will land on a tab instead of the Wall. Often, Welcome tabs promise an offer (for instance, a discount coupon) to first-time visitors. When the user clicks the Like button, a second version of the tab displays the offer. Welcome tabs are also a good way to display links to your website. You can only publish these tabs through a Facebook-approved application, but many companies offer the apps for free or a low cost.

7. Show an image of a coupon with a link to your website to print it

Or you can run a coupon campaign directly on Facebook – learn how.

8. Offer a chance at a prize for Liking your page

Check Facebook’s rules on promotions before you run a contest. Facebook does permit Liking a page as a requirement for entry.

9. Give your customers money-saving tips or news

10. Announce a home show appearance or other event

11. Present some fun information or news

12. Announce awards or certifications

13. Do a public service

14. Always answer customers’ concerns

15. Always answer customers’ endorsements

16. Copy and paste a good review from Yelp

17. Post a complimentary letter as an image

18. Ask customers to help you make a business decision

19. Play a radio commercial

20. Play a TV commercial

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

Anderson Audiology (Hurst, Texas), A&E Audiology and Hearing Aid Center (Lititz, Pennsylvania), Advanced Hearing Aid Center (Fort Worth, Texas), Hearing Rehab Center (Denver, Colorado), Audiology Concepts (Edina, Minnesota), East Valley Hearing Center (Mesa, Arizona), Hear on Earth Hearing Aid Center (El Paso, Texas) and Hearing Aid Express (Bellaire, Texas).

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

1. Promote a sale

2. Announce a new product

3. Be a source of news and information

4. Post a video of a customer endorsement

A&E Audiology videotaped a simple but very effective interview and posted it directly to Facebook (here are the instructions). Take a look at the the video.

5. Post a how-to video

6. Welcome a new employee

7. Show that your employees are friendly, approachable folks

8. Show unusual work and expertise

With the parent’s permission, A&E posted this image of a 7-week-old fitted with a hearing aid.

9. Announce awards and thank clients

10. Support a charity

11. Promote your community outreach efforts

Use Facebooks events feature (with the RSVP button) or just post an announcement.

12. Show how you appreciate your customers

13. Ask clients to post a recommendation on your Facebook page

They can directly comment on your page or use the Recommendations box at the top right.

14. Turn your Welcome tab into an ad

Take a look at how Hearing Aid Express uses its Welcome tab as an ad. Facebook Welcome tabs can display images that are pulled in from other websites as a “frame”; Hearing Aid Express used a free app, iframehost.com, but there are many other options. You might want to hire a Facebook page developer to do the job right. Your Facebook page can be set so that a first-time visitor lands on the Welcome tab.

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

The companies are Berea Moving, Storage & Logistics Company in Cleveland, Ohio, All Reasons Moving & Storage in San Jose, California, Amwat Movers in Tallahassee, Florida, Two Men and a Truck in Tampa, Florida, BD Movers in Manahawkin, New Jersey, and Allied Van Lines.

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

1. Show off difficult jobs

You can display images on your Wall and group as a photo gallery on your Facebook Photos tab.

2. Let people know how busy you are

3. Trade Facebook recommendations with other local businesses

4. Ask clients to use the Recommendations box

The box keeps recommendations in view at the upper right of your Facebook pages.

5. Give short tips about moving

6. Thank customers for referrals

7.  Show your community spirit

8. Show your support for the team

9. Showcase your achievements and honors (and thank your customers)

10. Use Facebook’s do-it-yourself polls to start a conversation

11. Throw out a funny thought as a conversation starter

12. Recognize your staff — and let customers see they’re friendly and hard working

13. Turn your Welcome tab into an advertisement

You can set your Facebook page so that first-time visitors always land on the Welcome tab and see a display designed to look like a full-page advertisement, including images, videos and links to your website. Take a look at these examples from BD Movers and All Reasons Moving & Storage. You’ll need some professional help to put together this look (basically, it’s pulling in a web page to Facebook). There are online services and local Facebook developers who can do the job.

14. Show some love to Realtors

Real estate agents can be great lead generators, so make your Facebook page of interest to them. Allied Van Lines uses a Sign Up tab to offer a restaurant gift card just for Realtors;  first-time visitors land on the Sign Up page.

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

The vet practices are:  The Veterinary Clinic at Gloria Switch (Lafayette, Louisiana), PetLuv Spay Neuter Clinic (Brooksville, Florida), Ask The Veterinarian – Dr. Boaz Man (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), Elliott Bay Animal Hospital (Seattle, Washington), Banfield Pet Hospital (national chain), Tiara Rado Animal Hospital (Grand Junction, Colorado), Housecall Veterinarian, LLC (Windsor, Colorado), Austin Urban Vet Center (Austin, Texas) and The Village Veterinarian (New York, New York).

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

1. Show your expertise

2. Give advice

Our survey of vet clinic pages found that it’s surprisingly rare for users to ask medical questions on Facebook. But Dr. Boaz Man of Fort Lauderdale maintains a busy Ask The Veterinarian page that’s nothing but questions and answers (and overwhelmingly from people outside his practice area). He’s careful to always advise questioners to go see a veterinarian.

3. Support a cause

The PetLuv Spay & Neuter Clinic’s Facebook page began publishing bulletins about its efforts to save the life of Dexter, a cat found near death after a savage case of animal abuse. Thousands of Facebook users began following Dexter’s situation and the page became an information center for “Team Dexter,” a group pushing to toughen laws against animal abuse in Florida.

4. Be a source of veterinary news that your clients will share and comment on

5. Be a bulletin board for notices of lost pets or pets up for adoption

6. Use images to show that your clinic is a friendly place with a caring staff

See Elliott Bay Animal Hospital for a great use of images throughout, from happy dogs in the exercise area to funny lobby pictures to Pet of the Week shots. Pictures of smiling staffers elicit lots of Likes and comments.

 7. Handle customer complaints

Be prepared: Facebook users will use your page to complain about your animal clinic. Answer immediately, refer them to a phone number or email address to settle the dispute and do not engage in public back and forth debate. See our 6 Tips to Handle Customer Service and Complaints on Facebook.

8. Encourage clients to share their grief or relief

We’ve seen pet owners post memorial photos and messages about their deceased pets, along with words of thanks to the animal vet clinic for the care it gave. Clients also post photos of their pets recovering from a surgery as a kind of report to the doctor. Facebook pages that have this kind of activity tend to have a lot of it – Facebook users will join in once they see it’s welcomed. These kinds of heartfelt recommendations for a vet practice are the best kind of word of mouth. If clients do post this kind of content, it’s a great idea to have the attending DVM answer immediately and personally. We have also seen hospitals proactively post memorial notices.

9. Run a sale or a promotion

Examples: Like us on Facebook to win a gift card, post a photo on our page in a “cutest pet photo contest” or “best dog summer vacation photo” to win a free nail trim.

10. Create a Welcome tab or other special tabs for a website look

“Tabs” is Facebook-speak for other pages besides the Wall that you can create to display a customized look that resembles a page on a website.  Take a look at this tab from Banfield . The Welcome tab comes as a standard item on your Facebook business page and you can create tabs with any name. You can also set your Facebook page so that first-time visitors will land on a tab instead of the Wall. Often, Welcome tabs appear on the first viewing, promising an offer (for instance, a discount coupon). When the user clicks the Like button, a second version of the tab appears displaying the offer. These customized tabs are a good way to display links to your website, as in the Banfield example. In order to get this look on your Facebook page, you’ll need to use an app that grabs a web page and displays it in the Facebook frame. There are many free or low-cost apps available to do this (some popular ones are from Pagemodo, SocialAppsHQ, Wildfire, Static HTML and Tradable Bits) or you can hire a local Facebook developer.

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

The preschools and day care centers are: Bergamo Academy (Denver, Colorado), Bright Horizons (national chain), Cholla Montessori Preschool (Mesa, Arizona), Christian Day Nursery School (Collingswood, New Jersey), The Goddard School  (national chain), Growing God’s Children Preschool  (Mustang, Oklahoma), Loving & Learning Family Daycare  (North Branch, Michigan), St. Vincent’s Day Care Center (Evansville, Indiana), Stepping Stone School (Austin, Texas) and Sunrise Preschool (Tempe, Arizona).

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

1. Show activities with images

Here are some tips on posting images to Facebook.

2. Show activities with video

You can post videos directly on Facebook. Here are the instructions.

3. Be a source of news about child-raising

4. Be a source of recipes or activities parents can use at home

5. Ask for donations

6. Ask questions as conversation starters

7. Make time-sensitive offers or announcements

8. Answer client questions

9. Give parents opportunities to say “thanks”

10. Show and explain your teaching style

11. Show your facilities

12. Create a special Welcome tab

“Tabs” is Facebook-speak for other pages besides the Wall that you can create to display a customized look that resembles a page on a website. Take a look at this tab from Bright Horizons. The Welcome tab comes as a standard item on your Facebook business page and you can create tabs with any name. You can also set your Facebook page so that first-time visitors will land on a tab instead of the Wall. Often, Welcome tabs appear on first viewing, promising an offer (for instance, a discount coupon). When the user clicks the Like button, a second version of the tab displays the offer. These customized tabs are a good way to display links to your website, as in the Bright Horizons example. In order to get this look on your Facebook page, you’ll need to use an app that grabs a web page and displays it in the Facebook frame. There are many free or low-cost apps available to do this (some popular ones are from Pagemodo, SocialAppsHQ, Wildfire, Static HTML and Tradable Bits) or you can hire a local Facebook developer.

13. Get a signed media consent form

If you plan to show children’s faces or their artwork or mention their names on a Facebook page (or any other publication for your center), you should create a media consent form that specifies your policies (here’s an example). Give parents a chance to sign off on a range of choices for how their children can be shown (for instance, individually or in a group only, or not at all) or identified (such as by first name only or not at all). Two Facebook rules to know: 1) The parent or guardian of a child under 13 may request the site to remove an image of the child. 2) No child under 13 may have a Facebook account.

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

The dentist practices are: Big Horn Dental Clinic (Gillette, Wyoming), Dental Elements (Denver, Colorado), Edward Zuckerberg, D.D.S.,F.A.G.D. (Dobbs Ferry, New York), Gentle Dental Care (Lansing, Michigan), Marlette Family Dentistry (Florence, Kentucky), New Jersey Cosmetic Dentist (Advanced Cosmetic and General Dentistry, Somers Point, New Jersey) and The Super Dentists (Chula Vista, California).

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

1. Show your work with before and after photos

2. Show new equipment or techniques

3. Let patients know about your ongoing training

4. Promote new products

5. Be a source of news, tips and education on dentistry by sharing links

6. Ask for endorsements from dental patients

7. Promote a contest

8. Answer patients’ questions on dental health

9. Ask open-ended questions as conversation-starters

10. Survey your patients about new directions for your dental practice

11. Show that your office is a fun place — snap photos of fun moments

12. Show that your staff is experienced and friendly

13. Create a well-designed Welcome tab

You can set your Facebook page so that all first-time visitors land on the Welcome tab and design the tab so that it looks like an advertisement for your practice. Take a look at these examples from Dr. Zuckerberg , The Super Dentists and Dental Elements. There are many free or low-cost apps available to create this effect (some popular ones are from Pagemodo, SocialAppsHQ, Wildfire, Static HTML and Tradable Bits) or you can hire a local Facebook developer.

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

We recently covered what social media platforms local businesses should consider using. Now we’re discussing how you use them. Here are the best practices:

Complete all of your profiles

Fill out all relevant online profiles — not doing this is the fastest way to send buyers to your competitors. The best way to keep track of all your profiles is to use a tool that tracks all of your business listings, such as Dex One’s Reputation Management product.

Log in to all social media accounts — for example, Facebook, DexKnows, Yelp — and make sure your profiles are complete. They should include:

• Business name, address, telephone numbers and fax numbers, professional email address
• Web and blog addresses, Facebook profile link, Twitter handle, YouTube channel link, Pinterest link
• Type of business, areas of expertise, industry, size of your company, your name and title
• Write a brief biography of 150 characters or less and save it to a Word file on your desktop. Now you’re ready to copy and paste a basic bio whenever a business profile asks for one.
• Have a photo you’ve chosen to represent your business — it can be of you, your product or your logo. Use it for all social medial outlets.

Plan realistic social media goals

Create goals for your social media campaign. Keep the SMART acronym in mind. Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

For example, you might set a goal of earning 100 five-star reviews on Yelp this year. Broken into achievable chunks, that’s about eight per month or two per week. Other goals could include:

• Statistical: Specific number of fans and followers, number of times your video was viewed, number of times your links on Twitter were clicked, traffic to your blog or website.
• Conversion: Number of times social media connections generate a sale.
• Thought leadership: Specific number of likes to your Facebook posts, number of times your blog post was re-tweeted by Twitter followers or pinned by Pinterest users, number of times your readers comment on blog posts you’ve written.

Set a time commitment

If you’re not Nike or Coca-Cola and you don’t have a multimillion-dollar marketing budget, social media is a relatively cheap way to build a following. It does take some time. If feasible, plan to spend 15 to 30 minutes per day steadily building your base with timely, useful and relevant information. If that’s not possible, determine a schedule that will work for you — maybe three times a week. Growing your audience may go slower, but at least your followers will know they can regularly expect to hear from you. Setting a schedule will decrease the chances that you push the task off. Decide which social platforms would most benefit you and concentrate your efforts on those — our overview of social media platforms should help you decide.

Setting aside a specific amount of time may also help you from committing too much time to social media. It’s a useful tool, but you need to keep it from becoming a distraction.

Create a schedule (also called an “editorial calendar”)

Social media just looks spontaneous. The best campaigns are planned and executed on a schedule. Pinpoint holidays and seasons important to your business. Determine how much time in advance you need to make a push for your product in conjunction with those days. Posting last-minute holiday ideas can be helpful to those still on the hunt, but holiday-appropriate posts that start well in advance will be even more helpful to your customers — and you. Have at least a loose idea of what you want to post. For example, a gourmet shop might want to post 14 days of Valentine’s gift ideas leading up to Feb. 14.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep posts lean. People skim when they read online. If you make the skimming too challenging, they’ll click elsewhere.
• Always ask permission to post photos of employees, customers and job sites. Blur address and license plate numbers on images when posting photos from private events or homes. Maintaining your customers’ privacy is important.
• Posting too much can cause followers and friends to hide your posts or unfollow you. Be considerate of followers’ time when on social media channels.
• Videos shared on YouTube work well for businesses that execute projects with a strong visual element.
• Tamp down the urge to post “Buy! Buy! Buy!” messages. Messages should be relevant to your followers and valuable.

So remember: Social media is about developing — and keeping — great relationships. The key is to share information that’s relevant to your target audience, provides value and leads to an action or sale.

•  A Facebook page for a doctor’s office, medical group or clinic can be a great way to reach out to patients, as well as to show potential patients or referring docs the personality and expertise of your practice. But…

•  A Facebook page could put a doctor at risk of violating legal and professional rules against disclosing patient medical information or practicing medicine on non-patients.

We took a look at 12 active Facebook pages for medical practices to see just what kind of content they post to keep patients engaged without crossing any lines. We came up with this list of 16 ideas that any doctor’s office could start posting today.

The medical office Facebook pages are:

Ahwatukee Kachina Family Practice (Phoenix, Arizona), Cole Family Practice (Old Hickory, Tennessee), Doctors Express Seattle (Seattle, Washington), Dr. Lee S. Cohen, Philadelphia Sports Podiatrist (Cherry Hill, New Jersey), Family Practice Associates of Lexington (Lexington, Kentucky)  Kids Plus Pediatrics (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Milestones Pediatrics (Franklin Lakes, New Jersey), Optima Women’s Healthcare, PLLC  (Parker, Colorado), Palmetto Primary Care Physicians – Daniel Island Location (Charleston, South Carolina), Piedmont OB/GYN (Greenville, South Carolina), Qliance Medical Group (Seattle, Washington) and ZoomCare (Portland, Oregon).

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.

1. Be a source of health tips or medical news

2. Answer a medical question in general terms, suggest an appointment

3. Answer common questions coming in to the office

4. Answer a patient billing complaint

5. Always thank patients for endorsements (it encourages more)

6. Show benefits and answer questions about a therapy

7. Show a specific expertise

8. Show a new or improved piece of technology

9. Show an educational video

10. Introduce or recognize doctors and staff

11. Show some personality of your office

12. Offer an educational or inspirational contest on Facebook

13. Ask a question with Facebook’s polling function

14. Make a seasonal or short-time offer

15. Promote your patient portal or blog

16. Show community spirit — let your page be a neighborhood bulletin board

For more tips on Facebook for local businesses, join our webinar on March 7. Get the details.