BY NICK FORTUNA

Few companies have the power to withstand negative headlines as well as Facebook. Over the past few years, the social-media giant has come under fire for letting Russia interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and for failing to safeguard the personal information of hundreds of millions of users. Still, Facebook remains one of the main reasons many of us have our eyes glued to our smartphones.

Facebook said it had 1.59 billion daily active users and 2.41 billion monthly users at the end of June. The company clearly has its issues, but it remains a great place for small businesses of all types to tell their stories, according to Michael Brenner, Chief Executive of Marketing Insider Group, a marketing firm based in West Chester, Pa.

“For local business marketing, the secret sauce is blog posts to Facebook, for sure,” said Brenner, author of “The Content Formula.”

Brenner said total advertising spending continues to increase each year and has led to advertising saturation, which decreases the effectiveness of each ad. Consumers feel bombarded by ads from the time they wake up until they go to sleep, he said, leading many people to tune ads out completely.

In response, small businesses need to become more educational and less promotional, Brenner said. For the past few months, his firm has written four articles a week for a realtor on the West Coast, covering the local school system, the restaurant scene and just about every other topic a prospective homebuyer might be interested in. The articles appear on the realtor’s website and are then shared on her Facebook page, where they may be liked or shared by her followers, spreading her message.

The results have been impressive, Brenner said. One lead from the blog posts resulted in a big sale for the realtor, generating enough money in commission to pay for his marketing services for the entire year.

— Michael Brenner, Marketing Insider Group

“Local businesses are spending a lot of money to rank high up on search engines, and they are finding that a similar investment in content for their websites that serves local marketing search terms is a better, more effective investment,” Brenner said. “For local businesses like a car wash, there is a lot of competition. People are still searching for ‘best car wash in’ their towns, so you can pay to advertise to take that spot and spend a lot of money, or you can just create interesting articles.

“There’s a hundred different things you can write about that will help you to rank. It doesn’t cost a lot of money, it can add value for your local community, and it can create traffic for you that you wouldn’t have gotten without paying for it.”

FOCUS ON INFORMATIVE CONTENT

Brenner said lawyers, tradesman and dentists are among the many small-business owners creating YouTube videos or blogs to answer common questions from consumers and then posting them on Facebook. The informative content allows them to stand out from competitors who rely solely on traditional advertising, he said.

“Typically, local businesses have taken out a billboard at the local baseball field or put an ad in the program for the high-school graduation,” Brenner said. “It’s all really super-localized stuff, and the problem is that advertising has been on a downward trend of efficiency forever. Those things that used to generate phone calls just don’t anymore.

“It’s heavily backed by the data. Advertising investment in 2019 is up, so people are spending more to advertise in more places, and that’s exactly what’s causing the decline in effectiveness.”

Brenner said posting new content regularly is key to generating traffic, and there are any number of things car wash operators can write about to keep their websites fresh. They can tell customers about how ecofriendly their car washes are, offer tips for maintaining cars and keeping them clean, show off a new piece of equipment and explain why it’s beneficial, highlight a rare car that came in for a wash, and show that the business cares about its employees by offering benefits such as tuition assistance.

If your car wash keeps a running tally of charitable contributions made over time, then each significant milestone is an opportunity to share a positive message about your business.

“The trick is creating shareable content, not just promotional content,” Brenner said. “If you’re helpful or informative and then you share it on Facebook, your friends are more likely to share it because it’s more than just an ad.”

TOUT YOUR COMPANY’S VALUES

A recent McDonald’s commercial shows how businesses can take a creative approach to telling their stories. The ad follows a teen named Maria Ramirez from her initial job interview, her selection as employee of the month, her acceptance into college and her graduation. The narrator then touts the company’s commitment to spend $150 million in tuition assistance and education programs. It’s an unconventional way to sell hamburgers, chicken nuggets and fries.

Jim Signorelli, the founder and Chief Executive of Story-Lab, a marketing firm based in Evanston, Ill., said that effort to showcase a company’s positive message is instrumental in building brand loyalty.

“You have to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing,” said Signorelli, the author of “StoryBranding 2.0: Creating Stand-Out Brands Through the Power of Story.”

“If you’re in business just to make money, I can’t really do much for you, but if there’s another reason why you’re doing this, then that’s the story you need to tell,” he said. “Maybe you love cars and want to provide a better experience for your customers. Maybe you’re passionate about certain charities or your local community. What is the belief or the value that you subscribe to? Once you come to grips with that, then you can decide how to make that idea come to life.”

Signorelli said businesses should identify what they have in common with their customers and then highlight that common viewpoint. One of his clients, for example, is a small restaurant chain that built its brand on its eclectic menu, which featured popular dishes from all over the world. The restaurant launched a marketing campaign built around the theme “Life should be delicious” and appealing to its customers’ sense of adventure.

The theme was promoted with signage in the store, T-shirts for employees, a series of decorative cups, to-go containers and paper bags, and a blog discussing food from different countries. Each week, a different sandwich from around the world was featured, and there was a sweepstakes offering the winner a trip to a foreign country.

“The theme line was everywhere, and it was very successful,” Signorelli said. “The people who go to that restaurant are explorers. They’re the people who want to experiment and try something different, so we came up with a theme that really resonated with them. It tapped into that shared belief, a value subscribed to not just by the restaurant but by its customers.”

For car washes, a similar approach could focus on their customers’ passion for their cars and their desire to keep them clean, Signorelli said. Possible themes could include “There’s nothing like a clean car” or “Life is better when your car is clean.” Car washes also could distribute information to customers about how to properly maintain their cars and new automotive products and accessories, using email, their website or handouts given to customers, he said.

“You want to show that you’re an expert and you’re above all the rest in terms of what you do,” Signorelli said. “See yourself as a problem solver, not just someone who makes a car clean. Go beyond that to help people get the most out of their car. Once you decide who you want to be and how you want to add value to what you do, the rest is easy.”