Tips for using Facebook as a Small Business
Social media marketing can be a great option for any organisation but it’s particularly beneficial for smaller businesses. Although you may not have the same budget as larger companies, you can rely on Facebook marketing to engage with your target market in a cost-effective way.
However, social media marketing is about more than simply creating a Facebook page and adding a few posts now and again. Take a look at these top tips to maximise your reach and get the most out of Facebook marketing…
- Fill your page
Before you start posting marketing content, it’s important to take care of the essentials. Facebook small business pages allow you to showcase your brand at its best, so make the most of it.
When adding images as your profile pic or cover photo, take the time to crop or resize them so that they showcase your business well. This only takes a few seconds but can make a dramatic difference in how users view your Facebook page and your brand.
Furthermore, ensure your company details are accurate and present. If you’re a brick and mortar business, you’ll want to include your address and a map, so that customers can find you easily. Similarly, make sure your opening hours and contact details are clear, prominent and correct.
- Post meaningful content
As a small business, you’ll want to update your Facebook page with information about deals, offers and sales. However, if you only post promotional information, users will soon get bored with your content. In addition to this, Facebook’s algorithms will be quick to pick up on promotional posts, and this could result in fewer views.
As well as using your Facebook page to raise awareness of your promotions, create engagement by posting meaningful content too. Company and interest news will inform your fans, followers and friends, as well as raising awareness and opening up the door for discussion. Brand loyalty can be created and fostered via Facebook marketing, an,d this is incredibly valuable for your business.
When using Facebook to promote your small business, make sure you recognise the social aspect of the site and aim to cultivate two-way relationships with your existing and prospective customers.
- Vary the format of your content
Writing a text post can be the quickest way to get your message out there, but it’s easy for users to scroll past text-based content. Varying the format of your content appeals to a wider demographic and helps to catch the eye of users as the whizz down their newsfeed.
As well as posting images, you can upload original video content and create unique infographics to keep things fresh. If you come across relevant gifs and memes, you can even repost them to entertain your followers.
- Be strategic
Facebook may be a casual way to engage with family and friends when you’re using a personal account. Still, all business marketing should be clearly defined and working towards a common purpose.
As part of your overall marketing strategy, you may be running a series of smaller campaigns, for example. With a strategic approach to your marketing, you can run these campaigns across a variety of online channels and maximise the results.
However, it’s essential to plan your campaigns and this means scheduling every post. This will enable you to post a right mix of content, both in terms of format and style, and will ensure you combine promotional and non-promotional content with a good ratio.
- Monitor your results
Knowing how your marketing activity performs will enable you to streamline your campaigns, maximise results and increase your marketing ROI. Of course, you must focus on the analytics that matters.
While it’s nice to receive lots of likes on a Facebook post, these won’t have a direct impact on your bottom line. The click-through rate on your posts will give you a better indication of how your Facebook marketing content is performing and will enable you to hone future content to deliver even better results.
Whether you’re investing in paid ads on Facebook or relying on organic traffic from the social media site, you’ll need to know exactly what’s working and what isn’t, if you want to maximise your results.
Making the most of Facebook marketing
With over 2.45 billion active users, Facebook enables you to reach out to a staggering amount of people. No matter what industry you operate in, a strategic approach to Facebook marketing can transform your business and your bottom line.