Facebook is a very popular site. People go there to chat with friends, share pictures, talk about their day, and so much more. But did you know Facebook is good for so much more than simply socializing with your friends. You can also use the site to help market your business.
The key to all marketing is to understand why you’re doing it. What is your end goal? Once you have that figured out, you can more easily create a plan to bring in exactly who you want to turn from Facebook like into customer. So start brainstorming today – what are you marketing?
If you’re marketing your business on Facebook, you should be professional about it at all times. Although social media is relaxed, you should never post anything that could be deemed unprofessional. When you use a professional tone on Facebook, people will trust you and your company.
Do not hesitate to share links to other sites on Facebook. If you come across an article or a video your audience will be interested in, think about sharing it on Facebook. It is best to avoid sharing links to website you are in competition against or you could lose customers.
Offer something in exchange for signing up on your Facebook page. Having visitors register on your page lets you engage them in ongoing dialogue about your business. Offering them something, such as an entry in a sweepstakes, makes them more likely to register on your page and provide your business with valuable leads.
Do not build any apps on Facebook that require more than three or fours steps to get started. The more complicated something is, the less likely people are to want to deal with it. If someone can use one of your apps right away, they will be more likely to sign up.
Put together a Facebook contest. People love fun things like contests and quizzes on Facebook. It’s one of the things that makes the social media site so very special. It’s not that hard for your company or brand to put together a contest, and it can really open up the engagement level of your community.
It is possible to send out messages to all of your subscribers at once. While you certainly do not want to overuse this feature, as it will annoy people, it could come in very handy if you have a big announcement or you are running a contest. Save it for only your most important announcements, however.
Integrate your campaign across multiple platforms. You want your branding, your site’s look and feel, to be consistent across your Facebook page, your website, your Twitter page, your YouTube channel, and so on. Consistent branding will make visitors feel more at home on all your business’s advertising platform, and therefore encourage more use of all the platforms.
You may hit a few stumbling blocks when you first start into your Facebook marketing forays. One thing to do when you’re starting out is adding a button that leads to Facebook on your website. This helps visitors and customers connect with the business and isn’t as intrusive as other marketing forms. If they like you on Facebook, you can notify them quickly about what is going on with your company.
Take advantage of the Facebook Places feature. This will allow people to let others know when they are at your place of business. If you don’t link your places page with your main page, people will be sent to a generic page. You want them to end up on the page that has the correct branding, so link the pages as soon as possible.
Keep track of how many sales you generate thanks to your Facebook campaign. Count how many customers purchase products with the coupon codes you share on Facebook. You can also use a visitor counter to keep track of how many people follow links to product pages you share on your Facebook page.
You should post videos regularly on Facebook. A video should be much easier to notice than a text update and can be used to share a lot of information with your audience. If you cannot find quality videos your audience will be interested in, consider launching your own video blog.
Figure out the best time for your Facebook posts. You will get more attention for your updates if you post them when your subscribers are checking Facebook. You could for instance share updates around noon if your subscribers are likely to check Facebook during their lunch break or share your updates during the evening.
Encourage two-way communication with your customers. If a customer posts a great photo of your product or service, share it with everyone. Also take advantage of the Reply feature getting rolled out to respond directly to particular comments on an individual basis. Facebook allows for both group and individual communication simultaneously.
Hold contests to keep your page exciting and fun. For instance, have them post a photo of themselves with your product in use. Give a prize to the most appealing or creative entry in the contest.
Do not overspend on ads. Some businesses do well paying for ads that are placed on Facebook while others do not see any return from it at all. Run a few test ads before spending a lot of money on a full ad campaign. Pay attention to learn what works well for your niche and what doesn’t.
Use Facebook “likes” to your advantage on your profile page. Whatever incentive you have to offer to get them, the more “likes” you have, the better your business will be perceived by onlookers. This will increase your overall popularity on Facebook and make any campaign you hold that much more effective.
You can do so much on Facebook. It is more than just a place to hang out and see what is going on with your friends. If you use it right, and use the tips shared here, you can use Facebook to market your business. Why not give these tips a try and grow your business?