If used effectively, Facebook can be one of the most powerful marketing tools for your small business with very little financial investment, if any. In this article, we’ll share some simple ways to turn your business page into a customer-engaging, sales-boosting machine.
Optimize Your Page
There is no excuse for having a Facebook page with missing or incomplete details. Your hours of business, street address, contact information and website should always be up to date. It’s easy to update and takes very little time. Your profile picture should be an appropriately sized version of your current logo, and your cover image should be eye-catching and on-brand. Missing or incorrect information can and will lose you customers, since many customers use Facebook as their main source when searching for a business, and failure to share information locks certain features. Businesses without a street address listed do not get a reviews page, for example.
Once you have all of your information in place, consider adding one of Facebook’s Call To Action buttons to your top bar, linked to a destination URL of your choice. This is a great way to drive traffic to your website. Savvy marketers can even integrate it with their cover image.
Post Regularly
Too little, and you miss out on the benefits of connecting with your audience. Too often, and you risk being seen as spammy. While strategies vary, most large companies post about once or twice a day. Facebook’s Page Composer tool allows you to create posts in advance and share them automatically at a pre-scheduled time, so you don’t have to be at your computer at 10am every weekday. Third party programs like Hootsuite let you do the same thing, with the added benefit of coordinating campaigns across multiple social media platforms
Posting high-quality content regularly is the simplest way to engage with your customers, and it doesn’t cost anything at all.
Vary Your Content
Sharing the same sales pitch over and over again will make your followers tune out. Small businesses that market themselves successfully on Facebook aim to share value and build engagement. Try using updates to ask questions of your audience and get them talking in the comments. For example: “We’re now offering an extra 15% off all merchandise on sale. How will you use your savings?”
Use pictures and video as well as text: these types of multimedia content get more attention. Native video (that is, video shared directly through Facebook instead of a link to another video sharing site) gets a useful boost in the platform’s algorithm as well, keeping it at the top of people’s feeds for longer.
Use Facebook’s Paid Options
One of the biggest advantages for small businesses of using Facebook as a marketing platform is its low cost. Running a business page is free. However, strategic use of their paid options can achieve great results for a very low price. The Boost Post feature launches a post higher up the Newsfeed. Automatic optimization ensures that it targets the people most likely to engage with it through shares and clicks.
You can also use paid Facebook ads to promote your Facebook page or your business directly. These are optimized to reach as many people in your local area as possible, and you can also target them based on age and gender to really hone in on your target audience. With these ads, you can set a budget as low as $1 US per day.
Analyze And Learn
Your audience is unique. Just because certain content works for another Facebook page, does not mean it will necessarily engage your audience. The built-in Facebook Insights tool allows you to track people’s engagement with your business page and with specific posts. You can find out how different demographics interact with your page, discover when your fans are most likely to be online and see the performance of other businesses similar to yours. Use this suite of features to find out what your audience enjoys most, and then give them more of it.
Facebook also gives page owners access to Ads Manager, which shows performance data for your page and business promotions. It also allows you to readjust your campaigns on the fly, changing their targets or altering their content. Like with Facebook Insights, you can find out what works and then do more of it. Use these tools to maximize the impact of your social media marketing efforts.
