It seems like everyone is on Facebook these days. No matter the age, the occupation, even the country, millions of people are on the social media giant’s platform. That means your potential customers may be there as well. But how do you make the most of Facebook marketing? Where do you even start? Don’t worry. This quick guide will help you get started with Facebook marketing and help you drive your business onward and upward.
Are Your Customers on Facebook?
The first question you have to answer is simple. Are your customers on Facebook? Probably.
In this research data from Pew, you can see that most Americans are engaged on at least one social media platform, with a pretty even split for men and women, with the most popular network being Facebook. This data makes it clear that someone from almost any market segment is on social media. Simply put, you should be marketing on Facebook.
Setting Up Your Business Page
One of the simplest, and easiest, tools for your Facebook marketing is to build a page for your business. It’s so basic that you have to do it. Still, there are some important points to remember when building your business page on Facebook.
Profile Photo
Your profile photo should always be your logo. This is the image that people associate with your business, it’s what they will search for, and what they need to see when they are searching for you on the platform. But your profile doesn’t need to feel boring because of this hard and fast rule. Use your cover photo as a place for something more. A picture of employees, products, artwork, event announcements, or any other type of image that reinforces your brand will work well here.
About
This section should be clean and simple. Keep it basic. Let us know who you are, what you do, and why you do it, but be direct and to the point. Storytelling is important, but this isn’t the place to go in-depth on it.
Posting on Your Timeline
Your timeline is one of the first impressions of your business people will see. As people like and follow your business, items from your timeline will be present in their feeds. It’s your means of communication. So what information do you want in your timeline? Try these suggestions:
- Links to your blog posts or videos
- Special offers or promotions
- New product or service announcements
- Links to articles or content relevant to your business
- Links to tools or anything you think your customers might find useful
Above all avoid spam. It’s a great way to lose engagement, followers, and customers. Make sure what you post is valuable for your customers. Paying attention to your data from posts and engaging with the conversation with your followers is a great way to stay relevant and valuable.
Facebook Ads
If you’ve been working your business for any length of time on Facebook then you have probably seen Facebook ads. Honestly, you’ve seen them even if you just engage as a person on the platform. So how do they work and what do you need to know?
Targeted Advertising
Facebook collects an incredible amount of demographic data on its users. It’s one of the largest stores of such data in the world. As a result, they have a powerful ability to help you target ads towards specific ages, education levels, devices used, and geographic areas. The platform also allows users to hide ads they don’t want or “Like” pages with quick options underneath ads.
There are a number of ways to use these ads, videos, boosting posts, offers, just about anything you can imagine. With all of these options, and the powerful targeting behind the platform, it can be easy to get very excited. Just remember that these ads do cost money, and it’s easy to run an ad that generates no return. So test out different ad strategies and pay close attention to your budget to make the most of it.
Customize Your Ads
One of the interesting options available with Facebook ads is the ability to specifically customize the experience to a chosen demographic. If, for example, a major part of your customer base is military veterans, then make sure to customize the experience with content and offers that specifically apply to them. Again, there is a cost with all of this, so watch the budget while experimenting and pay attention to your return from the investment.
Facebook marketing is an important piece for your business, but it can be very nuanced. As with anything, if it’s not in your skillset, or you just don’t have time to do it, don’t be afraid to contact a professional in the area of digital marketing. These amazing teams can help you engage in the most effective way and take away what just might be your biggest headache.