Facebook started as a way for college students to stay in touch. It’s exploded into a world-wide social media phenomenon connecting consumers with businesses. In fact, it’s among the most important digital marketing tools available. It has literally billions of users, all of whom could potentially access your content – even if they live nowhere near you.
Admittedly, Facebook often finds itself facing controversy in the media, but it remains a powerful marketing tool. Here are some ways you can use this popular platform to reach your current and future customers.
Marketing on Facebook encompasses the use of organic posts and paid Facebook ads to engage current and potential customers. Its advantages include access to a potentially global audience on a platform that many of your customers are already using. It can also be a conduit to enhanced customer service and increased web traffic.
You can use the following tools and methods for powerful marketing and advertising on Facebook:
Below are some key tips to marketing effectively on Facebook:
What do you expect to gain from a presence on Facebook? Do you want to spark more sales, increase visibility or engage with users? Once you’ve nailed down what you want to achieve you can start planning and posting. Examples of goals might be to:
A sloppy, unattractive or incomplete Facebook page can sink your efforts before you get going. Important elements include a strong profile image, a solid company description and posts that are short, sweet and to the point. You should also make sure your cover photo is exciting enough to engage page visitors from the jump, and you should complete every section of your profile. A dull initial appearance and a lack of info are both ways to discourage customers from sticking around before they even get to know your brand.
The Facebook Ads platform is a great way to reach more of the right kind of people. It’s not a complex process but takes some getting used to. It also costs some money – as with traditional ads, Facebook promotion isn’t free. However, Facebook advertising can fit your budget more easily than can many other digital marketing methods. The social media experts at Hootsuite share tips and tricks to easily set up a Facebook ad campaign: How to Create the Perfect Facebook Ad in Minutes.
Here are examples of top-performing Facebook ads. Take a look at the visuals and copy from successful large and small businesses: Best Facebook Ad Examples. Big businesses like PayPal use simple icons to get their story across while a smaller company may have success simply promoting a sale or new product.
Organic posts (as opposed to paid ads) are a great opportunity to shine! Put on your creative hat to write clever copy and post images that pop. Promote a special sale, profile a customer, share behind-the-scenes photos and capitalize on hashtags that are trending (think #kissaredheadday or #postapuppypic). Use Facebook Insights to determine the best time to post depending on the day of the week.
Don’t throw up a page and ignore it. You’ll need to create and post content on a regular basis to keep your audience engaged and keep your business top of mind. If you get a nice comment, thank them. Address negative comments immediately and take them offline if possible through a phone call or Facebook’s private messenger). Learn more via the SmartBiz Loans blog: How to Respond to Negative Reviews.
There are specific measurements you should track to see if your Facebook page is performing. You’ll want to look at likes, shares, clicks, and other forms of engagement. Here’s an article outlining the important metrics you should track to keep your content on point: The Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Analytics. Key Performance Indicators are related to your overall goals so be sure to align with the numbers that count.
Organic Social Media activity is pretty simple to manage. You post, you respond, and you track performance – or so you think. Posting isn’t always a conduit to engagement and sales, and working with an expert can help you close any gaps preventing you from performing your best. If you want to elevate your game, you might want to hire an outside social media strategist to handle strategy and day-to-day activity. Learn how to hire one here: How to Hire a Social Media Strategist.
A stilted, business-like voice does no favors for your social media marketing strategy. Your Facebook audience is more likely to feel something when it sees posts that sound like an actual person could have written them. Memorable content is more important than sounding professional – talk to your audience, not at it.
Facebook users go to the platform to see what their friends are up to or get basic information about businesses in their area. They don’t go there to see aggressive ads. That’s why Facebook ads set low maximum character counts for your text, and it’s why you shouldn’t circumvent these limits with posts full of sales language. Avoid hard-sell tactics in favor of content that speaks organically to your target audience’s interests.
No, you don’t need to post every second of every day, but a few posts per day is generally good practice. As you devise a strategy for posting consistently, use analytics to determine the times of day at which your audience is most responsive. Then, stick to posting at only those times. Social media scheduling tools can help on this front.
Facebook Audience Insights is great for more than determining when your audience is most engaged. It can also tell you who’s in your audience – where they live, what age brackets they belong to, what types of content they like. You can use this information to tweak your content accordingly. As you position your content to meet your audience’s wants and needs, you might see more engagement.
As you get to know your audience and build a posting schedule, you might be tempted to flood your page with overtly promotional content. Doing so is a mistake. Experts suggest that one-third of your content focus on ideas and stories, one-third on direct follower interactions, and the remainder on explicit promotion. Stick to this division as you implement your content strategy.
Helping potential and current customers find and follow your Facebook page is as important to marketing as your actual content. Include obvious links to your Facebook page in your blog posts, email newsletters, and other communications. Keep newly arrived followers on the page with a compelling profile picture and cover image that catch their attention. This foundation helps attract followers who may then spend time learning about your business.
Ads and insights are the foundation of an effective Facebook marketing strategy rather than the nexus of a strong approach. You should instead build on this foundation with the below tools:
Facebook has more than 2 billion daily active users worldwide. Of course, only a minuscule amount of those users will be good targets for your goods or services. Launching a social media strategy can take time, energy and a bit of expertise. Before you dive in, find out where your customers hang out online. You can do this by emailing a short survey, creating an old fashioned questionnaire if you have a bricks and mortar location or simply asking current customers. Determine if a Facebook presence makes sense for your brand.
The SmartBiz Small Business Blog has an article that gives a good overview of digital marketing strategies you can use outside of Facebook. Take a look and pick the options that work for you: Digital Marketing for Your Small Business.