Talk to most small businesses about social media, and they want to know how to get more fans and followers. But what if you already have a large following? How do you turn those fans into customers?  That's the challenge Meg Faure, founder of The Baby Sense Company, and Jeremy Pepper, a Los Angeles-based social media and public relations consultant on our Small Business Panel, are taking on this month. Faure is the international bestselling author of Baby Sense, which over the past decade she has expanded into a franchise that includes several more books, a seminar series and an ecommerce business that spans three continents.  Faure and her company are a natural fit for social media: In South Africa especially, she is a well-recognized expert on child care, and the company's Facebook page and Twitter account are peppered with questions from concerned parents. With a modest marketing budget (less than $500 a month), Baby Sense has amassed more than 31,000 fans on Facebook and 2,400 followers on Twitter.  Faure, who handles both accounts herself, along with a Pinterest page and a UStream blogger profile, posts a variety of content whenever she has a spare moment. Opportunities for fans to ask questions tend to perform best: A recent question posted to Baby Sense's Facebook page, "What are your pressing baby skincare questions?" elicited 53 comments in four hours. Faure tells Mashable that for one hour once a month, she holds a "Facebook party" where fans can ask her anything, and that she'll generally receive upwards of 200 questions in that hour. Faure will also post child care tips, and promote new products and upcoming seminars.  Faure says she's pleased with the engagement she receives on social media, particularly on Facebook. With around 8,000 subscribers to her email newsletter, she feels it's the best way to get the word out about new products and events. Faure's also finding ways to monetize her presence on those platforms by mixing sponsors, including Johnson & Johnson, into the feed.  But Faure would like to use Facebook to generate more sales. She said she's had some success with Offers, but so far most of her Facebook marketing budget is spent on promoting posts and getting more Likes on Baby Sense's page — which ultimately isn't converting to many sales, she said. Faure is also looking for a tool to help her schedule, manage and respond to posts. In addition, she has started a Pinterest page but isn't sure how to optimize her presence there, and wonders if she should even be on Pinterest in the first place.  Pepper has devised a social media strategy to help Baby Sense achieve its aims — one that spans Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, UStream and email — and fits within Faure's current advertising budget and limited spare time. The primarily goal is to grow Baby Sense's online community, seeking out possible paid sponsorship opportunities. The focus will be on Facebook, where Baby Sense's community is already strongest.  First off, Pepper suggests that Faure develop an editorial calendar and schedule for Facebook and Twitter. That way she can plan and promote events and products, and the community knows when to tune in. He suggests using an app like Buffer to schedule posts.  The editorial voice of Baby Sense's online profiles also needs to change, Pepper says. Right now the voice is very corporate. Faure needs to be more "Mom to Mom" — more conversational, engaging. Posts on Facebook should be between 200-300 characters with a call to action (tell a story, share an experience, or do you agree/disagree). Faure should spend more time reading and responding to comments on both Facebook and Twitter. She should also be cross-posting and cross-promoting content from Facebook, Twitter and UStream, encouraging users of each platform to participate in live chats on the other platforms. Faure should also create a YouTube channel to index her UStream chats.  As for the newsletter, that too is an important platform for community-building. Subscribers should be alerted to all of the content that's going out on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and UStream, and be encouraged to participate on those networks.  Curious to know how it all goes? We'll check back in with Faure and Pepper next month.
Baby Sense is a small business with a large following on social media, and it wants to turn its followers into customers.