LIVE from the Facebook Community Boost - Day Two
Westminster's Millbank Tower is hosting a two-day event aimed at small and medium-sized businesses
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Your support makes all the difference.Globalisation and technology have made business borderless. A decade ago exporting required capital and labour. Now businesses need only knowledge and technology. As Facebook Northern Europe vice-president Steve Hatch put it: “Technology has democratised marketing. It has put the customer in charge and levelled the playing field for all businesses.”
And that was the defining theme of today’s Facebook Community Boost event at the Millbank Tower in Westminster. The programme has helped thousands of entrepreneurs across Europe grow their network, expand their business both at home and abroad, and hone their digital skills.
Delegates heard that 900 million people have international connections on social media and 360 million made a cross-border-purchase in 2016. “These global citizens are taking their purchasing power wherever they go and are seeking out goods and services when they go abroad,” said Olly Sewell, Facebook’s head of agencies, small businesses in the UK and Ireland.
Watch this space for more insight throughout today.
Davies Roberts, the founder and CEO of loudspeaker and earphone-maker Flare Audio, told attendees how Facebook’s powerful marketing platform helped him build a business operating in 176 countries. Flare Audio’s sales surged by 300% to £5.9 million last year compared with 2016 — and 75% of sales came from Facebook. “We grow our company through the amazing tools that Facebook has,” he said.
Hatch added that such stories are precisely why Facebook created Community Boost. “When small businesses grow communities grow because of the job creation that comes hand in hand with that success,” he said.
Delegates have heard today how technology is transforming global trade. But many businesses are held back from exporting by a lack of time, confidence or resources.
So, the Department for International Trade established an E-exporting Programme. Over the past four years it has helped more than 4,000 firms to export via advice.
DTI deputy head of UK marketing and campaigns Umair Ahmad said: “Every day UK businesses are seizing opportunities in overseas markets, yet only a quarter of UK business say they exported in the past 12 months. We want more UK business to feel inspired and encouraged.”
Maxwell Scott Bags, a York-based retailer, grew its business by 300% over three years through online exporting and marketplaces, the conference was told.
Global B2C e-commerce sales are forecast to hit $3.2 trillion by 2021, attendees heard.
Judith McElhinney, DIT senior e-commerce adviser, explained how to tap into this vast virtual market.
First, identify geographies via customer behaviour and e-commerce penetration rates. McElhinney said 40% of ecommerce globally is transacted through marketplaces including Amazon. To pick one, use data sources such as Terapeak to see which products are selling well on what platforms in which countries.
Then consider delivery, returns and payments. Online platforms can manage international returns for you for a small fee, such as ReBOUND. Payment methods vary by country, so you’ll need to tailor your offering. In the Middle East, 80% of all e-commerce transactions are paid for by cash on delivery.
Many businesses use Instagram for marketing — and attendees were given a host of new tricks that they can use to engage with customers on the social media platform.
Ayah Sharif, partner manager at Facebook, said: “Feed is a way to give people a brief glimpse into your business. Stories is for sharing casual behind the scenes moments every day. IG Live is a moment to get people excited or connect in real-time with customers and answer questions. IGTV is a place to share more conversational material that can’t fit into the Stories timeframe.”
Polling stickers and Shopping Tags are also great ways to help customers engage with your business and they can drive results, the conference heard. In fact, 80% of Instagrammers follow a business and 60% learn about products via the platform.
