One of every seven people worldwide has a Facebook account. Some check Facebook the minute they get up, and it’s often the last thing they do before hitting the hay. Over half of the 900 million-plus active users access their account on a mobile device that’s with them throughout the day.

Could some of these well-connected Facebook friends be your next clients? Some farriers are saying “yes” and here’s how they’re doing it.

You Can’t Argue With Success

Esco Buff, Ph.D., APF, CF, tracks and analyzes his operation’s data and says that after he started a Facebook page in 2010, he had a noticeable increase in new business simply from people finding him there.

“I typically provide farrier treatments each year for 90 to 150 new laminitic and foundered cases,” reports the owner of Dr. Esco Buff’s Farrier and Founder Service. “In 2010 when I started my Facebook page using photo albums of cases, I had nine of 123 cases directly coming from Facebook searches, or about 7% of my business. But in 2011, I attended to 187 new cases, with 71 (38%) coming from people who found me via Facebook searches. That’s a roughly 50% increase in business, with virtually all of it attributable to being on Facebook.”

Reach Out And Tell Someone

In addition to facilitating business results, a Facebook profile or page (see sidebar “What’s The Difference?”) can fill a void when it comes to communicating with clients, potential customers and other farriers.

“A website is usually…