With 1.85 billion users logging on every day, Facebook continues to lead in popularity for social media platforms.
For SMEs, it’s often vital to have a Facebook presence to greet potential clients who visit the site – with two thirds of users reporting visiting a local business’ Facebook page at least once a week.
But, to maximise your page’s potential and put your brand in front of new members of your target audience, your Facebook page must also maximise its credibility, engagement and following.
Read our guide to find out how to make the most of your Facebook marketing.
Building a presence
The Facebook profile page is iconic – the visitor is taken straight to your company ‘timeline’ – where they see what you’ve recently posted.
The initial page only gives a short description of your company, with more detail given on the ‘about’ tab. With limited space, the page must convey consistent key messages that capture what you want your audience to know about your company.
What most visitors will appreciate and see day to day is regular posts that maintain an authentic relationship between you. As overly promotional content can turn people away, this should mainly distribute helpful and valuable content that your ideal client would benefit from.
Promoting content
While there is the option to post in any format, compelling visual content still performs better in the Facebook algorithm than plain text.
Videos are also incredibly popular, but they need to engage users quickly to encourage them to watch rather than scroll past. Video content can share helpful tips and explainers, but can also demonstrate your expertise with stories of recent projects or developments.
Facebook, like Instagram, now also features stories – short, 24-hour posts that sit at the top of a user’s homepage. These are a great way to share day-to-day activity or gain interest in content published on your website, such as an interesting blog or case study.
Unique features
As a varied platform for many audiences, Facebook offers many small features not found elsewhere – but ones that can make a big difference to your brand perception, such as:
- Milestones – highlight your company’s big moments like award wins, product releases or events with milestones. They post to your timeline to share current successes, but can also be found quickly by anyone looking in the future from the ‘about’ tab.
- Responsiveness – when visiting your profile, others will see how long it typically takes your company to reply to messages. An hour or less looks great to most people and increases the trust in your company.
- Customised page tabs and calls to action – personalise your customer journey with featured page tabs or a simple click from your profile to their next step. These can be used to encourage sign ups to newsletters, feature a recent case study or blog, or lead to a specific service, for example.
- Reviews – the company reviews tab on your profile can win trust with your target audience instantly. Encourage previous and existing clients to leave reviews to demonstrate how you provided for them.
Plan for success
Facebook comes with many options for types of posts and engagement. When deciding from all these options, remember to think of two main points: what your audience wants to see, and what you want to achieve.
Different regularities and formats of posting may suit different audience members better and serve your specific goals, such as increasing followers, generating more leads or improving engagement.
To track how far you’ve come in reaching your goals, ensure you regularly check and evaluate your marketing data using the Facebook Insights tool.
The tool contains lots of helpful demographic information to ensure you’re reaching the right people, as well as letting you know which types of content perform better, and when people choose to unfollow.
Facebook is a large and growing platform that is likely to contain your target audience group – making it a key place to start a social marketing strategy.
