You own a business but just getting started with Facebook marketing?
With 2.27 billion active users, Facebook has become the biggest social network in the world.
The idea of using Facebook for business is not new. Facebook Marketing has turned out as a must for any brand that hopes to succeed in 2020.
Are you unaware of how people are using Facebook to interact with businesses? Do you wish to take your Facebook marketing to the next level?
Here is a step-by-step guide on Facebook marketing for business.
1. Create your Facebook Business Page
You need to create a Facebook Business Page before you can start using paid as well as unpaid marketing strategies on Facebook. So, the first step of mastering how to use Facebook for business is making your Facebook Business Page.
- Go to facebook.com/pages/create. Log into your Facebook personal account to get started.
- Choose your page type: Business/brand or Community.
- Enter the details of your business.
2. Add brand images
Upload your business profile and cover photos.
Facebook Image Sizes
Profile Picture – 180 x 180
Cover Photo – 820 x 312
Timeline image – 1200 x 630
3. Complete your Business Page Info
Click on Edit Page Info and fill in the following:
- Description: 255 characters to describe who you are and what is your business.
- Contact information: Fill in your contact details so that people are able to reach you if they like your product/service.
- Extra options: Add your operating hours, price range, and privacy policy and other details of your business.
4. Create your Facebook username
Your username is your identity. It helps people find you on Facebook. Click Create Page @Username to make a username.
Facebook marketing ideas for business vanity URL:
- Choose a search-friendly Page name. This will be your brand name.
- Use a consistent username across all social media channels.
5. Add a call-to-action button in your page
A call-to-action button provides people with a quick and easy way to reach to you and engage with your business. Click Add a Button under your cover photo.
6. Organize Your Page Tabs
Do you wish to take your Business Page to the next level? Then add custom tabs to tailor what users see when they visit your Page. To change the tabs on your Business Page, go to “Settings” > “Templates and Tabs”.
7. Verify Your Page
Depending on how you categorized your Page, you are eligible for a verification badge. A blue badge means that Facebook has confirmed a genuine Page for a brand or a public figure. A grey badge means that Facebook has confirmed a genuine Page for a business or organization.
A verification badge is least necessary, but it definitely adds a sense of authority to your Page and business. This becomes particularly essential for businesses in eCommerce or online services. It is a way to build trust with potential customers and initiate transactions online.
Go to “Settings” > “General”. Then to “Page Verification”.
Types of Facebook Posts
After the creation of the Business Page, you need to focus on the kind of content you want to post on that page. Your content defines you. The content should be highly engaging.
1. Facebook Status Post
It is the most simple type of Facebook post. It includes only text. No photos, videos or link. A text-only post does not direct people to your website or drive conversions, but it can be used for engagement.
2. Facebook Photo Post
A photo post is mainly designed to build awareness or spark engagement since it has higher engagement value than a normal text post.
It can be used to show off your products, especially when they have a high visual appeal.
A photo post does not have to be a photo always. It can include any kind of image, like an infographic or illustration, or any other kind of visuals.
To post an image, click on the “Photo/Video” prompt below where it says “Write a post…”.
3. Facebook Video Post
A short video post can turn out to be compelling to your audience if your product has a strong display appeal.
Since videos start to play automatically in the News Feed, even a clip of a few seconds long can be a great way to grab someone’s attention.
Use short videos for announcements and polls.
Longer video posts are usually used for ongoing series or sharing memorable content. If you are using a video to tell a story, it is better to take at least one minute and maximum a time interval of three minutes.
4. Facebook Live Video Post
Facebook Live is a great option to explore multimedia content. Facebook Live is an inbuilt feature that allows live-streaming capabilities to users. It is a great way to give followers a behind-the-scenes look about your company, your product, or the people behind your brand.
Live is definitely the best format to share announcements in real-time and to interact with your followers directly.
5. Facebook Stories
Facebook Stories are photo or short video posts that appear when put on display and disappear after a 24 hour time period. They are displayed at the top of the News Feed. Photos appear only for five seconds, and videos can be up to twenty seconds long.
Most people surfing Facebook view Stories every day.
6. Pinned Post
A pinned post is just a regular post that you “pin” to the top of your Facebook Page.
It becomes the first thing people see at the top of your Page.
So what should you pin? You can that piece of content that soars above the rest or something that shows your potential followers exactly why they should follow and like your Page.
You can use this space to:
- share highlights
- showcase an amazing video
- raise awareness about a current campaign
You will be able to make out a pinned post when you see a little blue thumbtack icon on the top right of the post.
7. Facebook Instant Articles
Facebook Instant Articles allows publishers to post text- and photo-based content in a format that loads on mobile without leaving the Facebook app. Say, you are on your phone and clicked on an intriguing headline and at that moment the Facebook app completely freezes. This problem does not occur with instant articles.
The main benefit of Facebook Instant Articles is that it decreases the time it takes to load content on smartphone while offering a seamless user experience.
8. Facebook Virtual Reality
There is virtual reality for Facebook that offers a 360-degree video. Facebook 360 allows publishers to tell immersive stories that share places and experiences with their followers.
The 360-degree video experience works best on mobile since viewers can tilt snd turn their phone to reveal video content all around them. On a desktop, users can click and drag. This is also compatible with VR headsets like Samsung Gear VR or Oculus Rift etc.
How to choose the perfect type of post for your business
How can you figure out exactly what types of post to use for your business?
One great way to understand what resonates with your audience is to engage in social listening. This will help you learn about:
- What do your existing customers love about your company or your products?
- How will you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
- What challenges people are having that you know your product can solve?
For the best results, share your content using cross-promotion, rather than cross-posting.
How to create a strategy for Facebook marketing
Facebook marketing ideas for business to help you build a solid strategy since this is a powerful social tool.
1. Define your audience
To engage your audience effectively, you have to know who is your audience.
Collect information on the following:
- How old is your target audience?
- Where do they live?
- What do they do for a living or what kind of job they have?
- How and when does your target audience use Facebook?
- What are the challenges that your audience face?
- The pain points?
The basic thing you first need to understand is Facebook Demographics. Once you know who uses the platform then take a look at Facebook Audience Insights.
Use Audience Insights to drill down into the details about your potential customers. You can use this to find information on things like:
- Age
- Education
- Location
- Facebook usage
- Past purchasing activity
- Gender
- Language
- Relationship status
This is the most essential Facebook marketing tip: Always have a clear idea of who you are trying to reach.
2. Set goals
It can be tempting to focus on the vanity matrices like Share, Follow and Likes but for your Facebook marketing strategy to be effective, you will need to have clear goals related to business objectives.
The goals differ from business to business, but should all focus on actions that have a real impact. Like:
- Leads generation
- Increasing conversions.
- Improving customer service.
You need to make your aim much more specific and measurable.
Everything you do on Facebook like every post, every comment, each advertisement should work to support your goals.
Having a clear picture of your aims will help you make an effective Facebook Style Guide for your brand and your business.
3. Plan your content mix
Once you are done setting your goals, you need to create a plan to achieve them. The main portion of that plan is determining the right content mix. Use the 80-20 rule or the social media rule of thirds.
When you follow the 80-20 rule:
- use 80% of your Facebook posts or content to inform, educate, and entertain.
- Use the other 20% to promote your brand or your company.
Facebook for business is all about building relationships with your customers. If you provide enough value, your audience will open to learning about your products and services.
The Social Media Rule Of the Thirds is about a good mix of valuable content vs. promotional posts:
- one-third of your content must share ideas and stories
- one-third must involve personal interactions with your followers
- the remaining third can promote your business
The aim is to provide more value than promotional material to keep followers engaged.
The final part of planning the content mix is to determine when and how often to post those content.
According to research the best time to post on Facebook is:
- For B2B brands: between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
- For B2C brands: 12 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday
4. Optimize your Page for engagement
In order to achieve the Facebook marketing goals you have already set, you need to make it easy for people to find your Facebook Page.
Pro Tip: compel your audience to like your page by adding a nice cover image since it is the first thing people notice when they visit your page.
Also:
- Link to your Page your email signature, newsletter, and other channels
- Incorporate Facebook Like and Share button on your website and blog to make it easy for people to find, follow and share your Page in just one click.
REMEMBER: Creating valuable and entertaining content that followers can connect is the best way to expand your organic reach.
Your mantra should be to reply to every message and comment of your audience.
Finally, make sure your Page stays up to date always.
5. Consider using other Facebook tools
You should also consider adding some extra tools to your marketing plan.
Facebook Groups
About more than 1.4 billion people use Facebook Groups every month. Yes, huge audience.
Use Facebook Groups to showcase your expertise and provide added value to your followers, definitely a great way to build trust and loyalty.
Facebook chatbots
Facebook users exchange billions of messages with businesses every month. Using chatbots on Messenger may be the answer to this need for quick replies.
Facebook Business Manager
Facebook Business Manager is “a one-stop-shop” for managing business tools, business assets and employee access to these assets
It is a tool that allows you to manage your organic and paid Facebook posts and also allows you to work effectively with not only team members but also with outside contractors and agencies.
6. Incorporate Facebook ads and the Facebook pixel
Do you know the percentage of followers your organic posts will likely reach:
- For Pages with more than 10,000 followers: 2.59% organic reach
- For Pages with fewer than 10,000 followers: 8.18% organic reach
This is mainly because of the Facebook algorithm.
You can extend your reach by using Facebook Ads.
Like any other advertisement, a Facebook ad is content you pay to share with a specific, targeted audience.
It has advertising options designed for business goals both on and off the network. From brand awareness and engagement to app installs and store visits, literally everything.
Facebook Ads uses Pixel-
A Facebook pixel is a simple code that you place on your site to:
- remarket to people who have already visited your website once or more
- build targeted custom audiences for future ads
- track conversions
The pixel starts collecting data as soon as you place it on your site.
7. Track, measure and refine
Facebook marketing is not a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. You have to track and measure performance so that you can see what worked and what did not. This reveals how you can improve your strategy in the future.
Facebook also offers built-in audience engagement tracking through Facebook Insights. You can measure:
- likes
- reach
- engagement
- Reasons for people unliking your Page
For actions outside of Facebook, you can use tools like Google Analytics, Hootsuite Impact, Hootsuite Insights and UTM parameters.
Also Read: How to use Instagram for business
How to Advertise on Facebook
When you start with Facebook marketing for your business, you might feel like your copy is not engaging enough or you are not targeting the right people or did you spend right. DO NOT WORRY!
Facebook offers an opportunity for businesses to drive awareness on your brand and also drive highly qualified leads for your business than any other paid channel.
How to Create a Facebook Ad Campaign
In Facebook, all paid advertising is broken down into three elements:
- Campaigns: A campaign houses all of your assets
- Ads: The individual advertisement you post on Facebook, each with their own colours, copy, images, etc.
- Ad sets: Advertisement sets are groups of ads that target specific audiences. You will need separate sets for advertisements for targeting multiple audiences.
How to Target and Optimize Ad Sets
Once you select an objective or goal for your campaign, Facebook will walk you through a few steps to define the audience, budget, and schedule for your advertisement set. Make sure you specify demographic information like location, age, gender, and language.
In the “Placements” section, keep the “Automatic Placements” always selected.
Then choose your budget and schedule. Facebook offers the two options i.e either a daily budget or a lifetime budget:
- Daily Budget: If you want your advertisement to run continuously, choose Daily Budget.
- Lifetime Budget: If you are looking to run your advertisement for a specified length of time, choose Lifetime Budget.
Depending on which option you choose, you can always pick the appropriate schedule for your advertisement set.
Facebook Ad Formats
Once you are done designing your campaign and ad set, it is time to create the ad. In this section, you need to select the format, media, text, and links to create one or multiple ads. Facebook will give you two ad format options.
Once you decide how you want your ad to come out, upload your creative assets and write a clickable ad headline. For each format, Facebook provides some design recommendations, including image size, headline length, and many more.
Lastly, tweak your text and check out the preview of your ad for desktop or mobile viewing. Then, place your order.
Measuring Facebook Ad Results
Once your ads have been released into the world, you need to keep an eye on how they are actually performing. To know about the results, go back to the Facebook Ad Manager.
At the top, the dashboard highlights an estimate of how much you are spending each day on ads.
There are a lot of metrics to consider when determining the success of your advertisements, including click-through rate, impression, reach, clicks, and more. However, here a few to pay particular attention to:
- Actions: In the first step of creating a Facebook ad, you choose an objective for your campaign. Always consider your initial rationale when weighing the success of your campaign.
- Cost per action: Do not just look at the number of actions that occurred. Look at how much each action cost and then compare this between your different ads within the ad set.
- Frequency: Frequency is how often someone saw your ad. An ideal frequency should always vary depending on the type of advertisement you ran.
Facebook caters to the business who wants to form an authentic relationship with its audience. With Facebook’s analytics tools, Facebook marketing for business reaches new heights as you can now understand your target audience before you post. You can stretch the limits of your creativity with Facebook’s increasing number of multimedia content options. With Page Insights, you can easily see which content people engage.
Through a continuous loop of goal-setting, tweaking your strategies, and measuring results you can improve your performance over time. What do you feel about these Facebook marketing for business tips and tricks? Tell us in the comments below.
Manage your Facebook presence alongside your other social media channels with us. We will manage all your scheduled posts, make videos, engage your audience, to measure your business efforts but most importantly we will give you leads. What are you waiting for?
