
How to make the most of Facebook to boost your business
It may have had its problems in recent years, but Facebook remains the world’s biggest social media platform, with 2.4bn users. It’s the world’s fourth most valuable brand, valued at $22.4bn. More than a billion people worldwide log on every day, and Facebook is responsible for more than three-quarters (77%) of all social log-ins.
So, love it or loathe it, there’s no denying Facebook’s lingering influence, even if some younger people appear to be leaving it. Make no mistake – if you run a business, the social platform will need to be a key part of your digital marketing efforts.
Here’s what you can do to boost your organisation by making the most of Facebook, so that you engage visitors, draw them to your website and convert them into paying customers.
• Remember you’re creating a business page, not a personal profile
In fact, it actually contravenes Facebook’s Terms of Service to promote a business via a personal account. But it’s easy to create a business page, and you’ll be assigned a URL, which you can customise. Don’t forget to add a strong profile picture. You can also add new users, for example other people in the business or social media managers to access your Facebook page to post to the business page.
• Optimise your ‘About’ section
This is one of the first things visitors will see. Add brief, descriptive copy explaining what your business is all about.
• Be responsive to messages
Reply briskly to messages to earn the ‘very responsive to messages’ badge. You’ll need a 90% response rate and a replying time of 15 minutes over the previous week to earn this.
• Use the ‘Milestones’ feature
Make the most of this to highlight achievements from product releases to awards, major new hires or other big news.
• Use the Call to Action button
Facebook brought this in some five years ago, and it’s really handy. Link to your home page or contact details, or to get people to ‘Shop Now’ or ‘Book Now’.
• Use custom page tabs
The default tabs on your page will be Timeline, About, Photos, Likes etc. But you can customise these and create, for example, one saying Jobs if you’re hiring.
• Posting on your news feed
Your business Facebook posts need to be relevant, timely and helpful, and preferably accompanied by attention-grabbing, interesting videos and photos.
Post your best content, prioritising quality over quantity, and post at the time that’s best for your audience. Complete the meta description for blog posts, remove the long URL that you’re sharing from the copy in your posts, and include your most arresting visual content, including videos, with all photos properly formatted.
Schedule posts in advance, so that you’re ready for when life gets in the way, which it will do.
• Join groups
Join groups that match your target customer, and enjoy numerous chances to enhance your brand by being helpful. People will be asking questions that allow you to showcase your specialist skills and knowledge. Answer questions, share a blog post or mention your own products and services.
Finally, don’t forget to add Facebook social media buttons to your blog and website. And remember, you can use Facebook Insights to analyse and measure your Facebook presence, while signing up to Facebook’s official blog will keep you informed about future announcements from the social media giant.
And of course, you can always talk to us at Front Page with any queries on how to make the most of your business’s Facebook page in your digital marketing.