08 Jul How to Use Facebook Successfully to Support Your Business

Many businesses, from Coca Cola to Chanel, use Facebook and other social media platforms to support their traditional marketing efforts. However, to use Facebook successfully for your own business, you have to know how the platform can best be used to leverage your company. Just like a radio ad is different than a TV ad, the type of content you create and promote on Facebook has its unique format. Keep reading to learn some helpful tips for marketing on Facebook.

How to use Facebook Successfully

Avoid a ‘Hard Sell’

Facebook is a social media platform – the key word being ‘social’. People use Facebook successfully as a social space to chat with friends and family, watch interesting videos and relax. The best way to market your business on Facebook is to join a community that is important to your business and become part of the conversation. Using aggressive hard sell tactics will come off as fake and annoying to users.

Slogans, posting lists of items for sale, or posting repeatedly about a product or service that isn’t related to what a group is talking about will only result in people unfollowing you. It may even prompt a user to write negative comments about your brand or company.

Create a Strategy

Just like a traditional marketing campaign, it’s vital that you establish a clear goal and strategy before you start. For example, a restaurant could try to increase their online bookings over Facebook by 10% over the next 6 months.

• Schedule content every day and include a special offer with a specific code to track sales.
• Encourage other users to share their photos/content with a branded hashtag.
• Post a ‘Dish of the Day’ or a photo of a guest eating a signature menu item.

Create a Persona 

Nobody wants to talk to a computer. Whoever manages your Facebook account must be able to write well and translate your brand into a particular tone of voice. You need to trust that this person knows your business or brand well enough to be able to portray your company as if it were a real person.

Keep on Posting

One of the most difficult things about promoting your business on Facebook is the amount of time and dedication it takes.

Some research shows that people check their Facebook pages more than 25 times per week. People are constantly looking for new content and information. Some social media guides recommend you post once a day, but really you should focus on quality over quantity. Post when you have something to share that can benefit your followers. 

Encourage Conversation

It’s a good idea to encourage your followers to talk about your brand on Facebook. Ask questions about what people think or feel when you post content. If they do respond, be sure to reply as quickly as possible and try to keep the conversation going. Try to get back to every comment within at least 24 hours. Not responding at all is a sure fire way to decrease people’s interest in your brand and your follower count.

Pictures and Video

To use Facebook successfully you must know that Facebook has loads of different ways to encourage your followers to interact with your content. From polls to surveys and games, your followers enjoy it more when Facebook is social and fun. Using pictures and videos are more attention-grabbing than words, so try to incorporate them whenever possible. For example, a hotel might post fabulous images of their destination; or videos of different services they offer.

Facebook Insights

Make use of the analytic features that Facebook provides. You can see where most of your followers live, their age range and other useful information. Using this information can help you tweak your marketing strategy or identify new target audiences!