Some of the most common questions we get are tied in to marketing on Facebook. Should I be using Facebook to promote my business? Why isn’t Facebook working for me? I’ve never seen results on Facebook, what am I doing wrong?” Sound familiar? Facebook has changed as of lately, wondering where all your organic traffic is in 2015? Facebook updates killed organic traffic. It wiped out promotional post from being posted in news feeds and many have yet to recover. And a number of other changes that hurt those of us on very small budgets. Here we’re mid 2015, how are you doing on Facebook? If you’re continuing to struggle with Facebook marketing or you’re wondering if the investment is worth it, I advise you to read on and learn a few things that can help.
Facebook In 2016
There’s a lot of new features on Facebook for 2016. Make sure you’re aware of them because some of these are going to be awesome new features to help you grow and monitor your business on Facebook.
Marketing On Facebook And The Opportunity
I still see and read recent articles saying that Facebook marketing is a waste of time. It will never work for your business and here’s why… as they list a bunch of nonsense that is exactly that, it makes no sense. Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world, not to mention the unbelievable amount of users spending at least 30 minutes or more on the platform. Facebook has over 1 billion users and growing, sounds like opportunity to me. But how do you make headway on Facebook in a crowded niche? A tough market? Is it even possible?
Plenty Of Market Space On Facebook For All
Should I have a Facebook page for my business? Absolutely! Not just a page, but everyone should be using Facebook to market their business. Facebook has a billion plus users, there’s plenty of market space for everyone. Sure, there’s a lot of different factors that I could mention in regards to the type of business you have, the type of services you offer or the types of products you sale. And yes, some businesses are going to have an easier time building their Facebook page because there’s more traffic reach in specific niches. But all of that aside for the moment, there’s still a lot of opportunity to build, grow and develop on Facebook.
Even if you you’re not planning marketing on Facebook, it gives you direct access to your customers, potential customers, it’s great for customer service. Promoting the business is not the only perk. Facebook can be used to build brand awareness also. There’s a ton of great things about being on Facebook and you can take advantage of that very fact. Every little bit of positive exposure you can get is going to be a benefit. Having an established Facebook platform will be key as your business grows.
Paid Ads On Facebook Are Crucial To Development
Free things are always great, but if you’re serious about growing your business on Facebook, you’re going to need a paid budget for Facebook. The great thing about paid ads on Facebook is the fact that you can customize them and target your customer profiles and market. Facebook has hundreds of custom options that allow you to market precise targets. And on top of all of those options, Facebook is much better with their analytics and data.
How much should you be spending on Facebook marketing? Of course, its going to depend on your budget, but I feel the investment always pays for itself. We’ve helped several businesses promote on Facebook. In those case studies, and keep in mind they do vary, but we always saw a positive return on investment for the client. Your ROI is going to be based on what you value. How much do you value a lead? A new subscriber? A sale? You’re going to have to determine that in order to figure out your own ROI.
Back to your Facebook marketing budget, even if you’re on the tightest of budgets, you should spend a few dollars a week to get started. No, you’re not going to see great results with this type of budget but you will see results. And take it from me, I’ve seen dollar budgets pay off big, especially when you know the exact customer profile you need to target. Case and point, we had a client that was on a $5 budget a day for Facebook ads. The company was a big winner because they invested the time, money and effort to build a customer profile. All of the hard work was done, we just made a few custom changes and we ended up selling over 46 software packages at $69.99 a piece in the first month. The second month, we sold over 90. All of this on $25 a week, we didn’t run ads on the weekends.
Can you achieve the same success marketing on Facebook? Absolutely, but you have to find what works, you need to know exactly who will buy your service or product. How does it help them? Why would they buy this? All of these are important questions to ask and you need to know the answers.
How Can I Be Successful Marketing On Facebook
I’ve spent years marketing on Facebook and I’ve spent just as long learning Facebook. I’ve learned what I know today by our own case studies but by also learning from the experts. My passion is search engine optimization, I love a challenge, perhaps some of you do also. But to be the best, you have to learn from the best and there’s plenty of big companies out there making millions from Facebook alone. You can learn a lot watching your competition, so do it!
Have you ever heard of the CMO Council? If not, you have to check them out. They give some awesome marketing insights that are really helpful. Here’s what CMO Council had to say about marketing ads in social media.
“Worldwide social network ad spending reached $16.10 billion in 2014, a 45.3% increase from 2013 that pushed social’s share of overall digital ad investment to 11.5%. Combined social network ad dollars from North America, Western Europe and Asia-Pacific represented 93.7% of global expenditure. January 2015”
Who do companies spend $16 billion dollars on social media ads? Simple, because it works!
Keys To Facebook Marketing Success
There’s a number of important keys to have success marketing on Facebook. Please keep in mind, there’s no way we can write for every niche or market, so we do our best to write for everyone. Every business is going to have unique circumstances they must deal with. Before I get to your keys to success, the best thing you can do is A/B testing. We use this in development, optimization and marketing. Test and test again. Small changes can make the biggest difference.
Your Content Needs To Be Great
When it come to your Facebook post, your content means everything. In order to gain likes, share and grow your Facebook page for your business, your post has to be great. Not just good, they need to be great and carefully planned. Most of the Facebook consulting that I’ve done over the years boils down to the same common mistake, “promotional content.” This is a huge mistake. Developed Facebook pages can promote more, new Facebook pages don’t have that luxury.
You need to think of useful content that others will find interesting. For example, if you’re a web designer, you could share blog articles or videos building websites. Offering your help to others. People on Facebook are usually not looking to buy things, so remember that. While this is true, it doesn’t mean that you can’t profit, you just have to know how to build your community.
Engaging Content And Action
Publishing content that impacts your reader, makes them feel, or to cause an action, this is what you need. Have the content be engaging with the goal in mind to create an interaction. Engagement is key, a like is great, but a comment is better. Always focus on what value you can bring to your audience. This goes for Facebook and any other type of social platform you market on.
If the reader is engaged with your content, they are likely to become a regular to your Facebook page. This interaction will lead to more Facebook likes, comments and post shares. It’s important to remember to keep your content in tune with your business, keep it related.
Visual Content On Facebook Scores The Best
Visual content such as infographics, images and videos are among the best performing content for Facebook marketing. While I still suggest a good mix of post of all types, visual content often gets the best results. I see this true with conversions also, most of us connect with visual content compared to text content. If you’re promoting on YouTube, you can share your videos on Facebook, that’s a win-win. Images are more likely to be shared. If you’re a photographer, you’re going to want to share your work. Facebook is the perfect platform for all walks.
Create Groups Related To Your Niche
Creating groups related to your niche is a very effective strategy to help you grow your Facebook page and business. You can also take the time to join other groups. Be sincere about the relationships you make ladies and gentlemen. You never know who you can meet, it could be the one that takes you to the next level. Building these relationships are not only important for social media marketing, but for your business in general also.
Hashtags Are Still Important For Success
Just like on most social media platforms, hashtags on your post help your content be found. It’s important to make sure all your hashtags are related to your content. Hashtags will help users find your page and post. There’s no right or wrong amount of hashtags to use on your post. My suggestion, test them. Learn which hashtags are the best to bring in potential leads and buyers to your page. Again, record your data, use A/B testing to learn what works best for your audience.
Encourage Your Audience To Like, Share And Engage
There’s nothing wrong with asking your audience to like, share and comment, as long as you don’t overdo it. Now, Facebook does have rules when it comes to openly asking for likes. However, from what I’ve seen, I don’t think this is enforced as much as others think. Another key is being helpful. And if you helped someone solve a problem, be sure to ask them to like your page.
Be Sure Your Personal Profile Is Up And Being Used
Counting on your family and friends to help you share content is an effective strategy. Especially true when you first start your business page. Ask friends and family to like your page, ask them to share and comment. Make sure your profile page is complete also. Be detailed as possible.
Closing Remarks On Facebook Marketing
We’ve discussed a variety of different techniques and strategies in this article to help you succeed on Facebook. It’s your job to find what works best for your business. Some people feel that you have to be on Facebook seven days a week but that’s not the case. You can have success on Facebook with just a few post a week. More post doesn’t always mean more engagement and reach.
I hope this article on Facebook marketing has helped you. If anyone has any questions, suggestions or you want to add your own techniques used for marketing on Facebook, please feel free to comment. We appreciate your comments and feedback.
