Majority of Facebook fans not local

So much for local marketing through social media. Only 15% of the average local business’s fans are in the city where the business is located, reports Roost.com, a social-media advisory company.

The finding came from Roost’s Local Scorecards, which analyze audience distributions and other marketing metrics. The report was generated over the past month by tracking “likes” on the Facebook pages of 800 non-Roost and Roost users. On average, each business had 344 fans.

“We thought 50% would be the number [for the local fan base] and when we got the 800 scores, we were stunned,” says Chris Brubaker, vice president of marketing at Roost, of the study. “That means small businesses have to try a little harder to target local fans.”

Surveys have shown that only about half of small-business owners use social media tools.  But those who do hope that it will excite clients and patrons.

Brubaker notes that any “like” is a good “like.” But to ensure social-media fans are local, businesses should post content that is of more interest to the community.

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