With more than a quarter of the world’s population using Facebook, there is so much potential to gain new customers by using the platform effectively. Throughout this blog we will show you how, as a business, you can use Facebook to generate leads and find new customers. So make yourself a brew, sit back and learn everything that you need to know about how Facebook can give your business a real boost.
Founded in 2004 in the Harvard dorm room of Mark Zuckerberg (watch ‘The Social Network’) the platform has only gone from strength to strength, becoming the third most visited website on the internet. The platform allows you to connect online with friends and acquaintances, as well as meet fellow business professionals. The website is an online social networking site which, if used correctly, can be hugely beneficial to your business.
Firstly, you can create a Facebook Page for your business, which differs from a personal Facebook profile in several ways. Many users have a personal profile for connecting with family and friends however, a business page is run solely for the benefit of your business and connecting with customers and potential clients. A personal profile is much more casual, whereas a business page needs to remain professional and add value to your audience. Put simply, a personal profile can be for updating your family and friends about your life, whereas a business page is for updating your audience about your business.
Having a business page means that you can be found on the platform when people look you up or when people search for a business similar to yours online. For example, if you ran a coffee shop in Leeds and someone were to search ‘Leeds Coffee Shop’, just by having a Facebook page, your business would likely show up. By having a presence on Facebook, your business is far more likely to be seen by potential customers.
To make running your social media accounts even easier, you should use Facebook Business Suite and Creator Studio.
Business Suite can be used across a number of different devices, including mobile so you can work on the go. Business Suite includes useful features such as posting, messaging, insights and advertising capabilities. You are able to manage all of your business features on one application, viewing any activity on Facebook from the home screen. You can save personalised replies, so if you can’t be on your device, your customers aren’t kept waiting. The insights feature can be especially useful because it lets you see what is working and what needs tweaking to get it right. You can also boost a post so that it will reach even more people who can engage with your content.
Facebook Creator Studio offers similar services and allows you to post and manage all of your content on your Facebook pages, as well as monetise the ones that you are eligible for. The monetisation overview means that you can understand your posts performance and explore additional opportunities. This tool is especially useful for social media marketers and can help you to understand which content is the most popular and what needs tweaking to attract more customers.
You can use any of the three types of Facebook groups; public, closed and secret. Public groups mean that anybody can join and view the group without gaining approval to do so. These are completely open to anybody who wants to join. The second type is closed groups, which come with a few restrictions. Everyone on Facebook can see the name and description of this group however, they can’t join without the permission of an admin. You will have to send a request to join a closed group and see all of the content on offer.
There are also secret groups which cannot be found in search or requested to be joined by anybody. This is the group with the highest level of security and you would need to be invited by a member to gain access. The content in these groups can only be seen by its exclusive members. You could create a closed group for customers with a certain package that you offer. It could be a perk that they get to see exclusive content before the rest of your customers.
Facebook Marketplace is a tool which lets businesses sell their products and services like an online shop. You can upload all of your products and advertise them to your customers, giving them a direct option to purchase them. If users see content that they like on your Facebook page, they can choose to purchase one of your products directly from Facebook, making the whole process quick and easy. This makes it especially important that you have a compelling call to action, as a customer could be only a few clicks away from making a purchase. Be sure to use an international payment system such as PayPal for your online shop. If you do sell internationally, users from other countries will be able to buy your product seamlessly.
You can converse with other accounts using Facebook Messenger, a feature which allows you to send messages and receive them. This can be perfect for solving customer queries, networking and interacting with your customers. Facebook Messenger also has a mobile app which means that you can respond to messages from anywhere. This is a useful way to ensure that a customer is never delayed with a query. By replying to them within 10 minutes, they are more likely to continue their custom with your business.
On Facebook you share written posts which can include media such as images or videos. You could use this to share announcements, offers and as a way of interacting with your audience. There is an option for “live video” which allows you to stream live to your followers. This can be a really engaging way to make announcements or to interact with your followers and build your community. If you can live stream regularly, more people will see your business and it will make them take notice.
It is important that you engage with your followers in a timely fashion, making sure not to keep them waiting. Think how frustrating it can be when you ring a business up and you are placed on hold. Don’t let your audience become frustrated with your brand by promptly and politely replying to their queries.
For even more engagement, there is a Page Feed which you can use for more B2B engagement with customers. You can access the Page Feed to see content posted by the page and its visitors. This can give you a better understanding of your community and help to develop relationships with your customers. It can be a great feeling to have a positive relationship with a business and will keep customers returning.
Use company branding on your Facebook page to personalise it and make you stand out. Keep your branding consistent with your company website so that it is easily recognisable and makes consumers more familiar with your brand. Upload your company logo as a profile picture because this image will accompany every post that you make. This will build a familiarity between the customer and your image which helps to cement your brand in their memory.
Facebook pages have a section labelled ‘about’ in which you should explain information about your business. Use this to explain how you add value to your audience and how you are the solution to their problems. You should use the about section to write a short bio about yourself and your business. Keep it short, relevant and engaging so that the reader will want to read more and visit your website. Include a call to action, which tells the reader exactly what it is you want them to do next.
You should upload a cover photo to make your page really standout. Whilst it is crucial that your profile picture is a company logo, you have more room for creativity with a cover photo, as this is only seen on your Facebook page. You could upload an image of your shop, your product, you at work or satisfied customers. Be sure to stick to company branding so that the cover photo is consistent with the rest of your profile.
You should brand your Facebook Page with your business name so that it shows up frequently in searches. This is critical as it means that people looking for the service that you provide will be able to see you in search. With people consciously choosing to shop more locally, your Facebook page could be the difference between you making a sale, or the customer choosing a more social media savvy competitor. Top Tip – try to keep this the same as any other handles on social – this forms part of your URL.
The key to creating fun and engaging Facebook content is to recognise what your customers want to see. Always include some form of media with your posts as it is proven that these posts see better engagement. Share content which is relevant to what you do to keep your audience engaged and hungry for more. It is important to have video content because it is sure to increase engagement. Keep your videos between 15 and 90 seconds in length, we want them to be relevant, short and engaging to really grab the viewer’s attention. If there is any speaking in your video, you should ensure that there are subtitles, because your page needs to be accessible to everyone.
You can also use analytics to understand what content your audience responds to. This will help you to make better choices for the type of posts you share. By understanding which of your posts get the most engagement, you can curate content that is tailored to your audience. This will ensure that they come back to your Facebook page regularly.
Make sure that any image being used is your own branding – top tip – use Canva to create your images in line with your branding. Being consistent is crucial.
You should ask your audience questions to really get them to engage with your business. This opens up a dialogue with the customer and helps to establish a bond with them. Asking questions can also help you to get feedback from your audience, as the comments can serve as a virtual suggestion box of what they want to see. You could even ask something really simple just to get people talking such as “What are you listening to today?”. You should interact with the replies about music and podcasts. This will generate a spike in engagement and takes up very little time. It also goes a long way towards building a rapport with customers.
Another idea would be to share behind-the-scenes pictures or videos of how your business works. You could use the Facebook story feature to share live behind the scenes content, which is always a hit. You could even have your employees introduce themselves and a little bit about what they do. This humanises your business by showing the great people who are behind what you do. You could also share images of products or that new graphic you have been working on. This is a chance to convey your personality through Facebook so customers can recognise what you are all about.
Include a case study so that customers can see how you have helped somebody else with the same problem as them. Doing so will showcase how skilled you are with your work and demonstrate that you are dependable. A brief written post about how your services have added value to your customers’ lives can go a long way to attracting new business and giving you a favourable image. Facebook allows you to brand your business, make sure that it is done positively.
You could also interact with topics that are currently trending to really drive your engagement up. Popular topics on social media are a great way to make your page appear in search. Everyone remembers the debate around whether the dress is blue or gold right? By adding your comment onto a massive social media trend, your business can be seen by a new audience.
So, now that you know what you can do with Facebook, it’s time to test it out. If you want to make sure that you’re launching onto the site with solid foundations, here’s how you can do it.
Do you want to make the most of all the amazing advantages that come with social media marketing on Facebook? Perhaps this all sounds too time consuming and exhausting? At Chroma Marketing, our solution is to provide a digital review of your business and also determine a targeted marketing strategy that will grow your business. For more information and to claim your free digital review, contact us at:
info@chromamarketing.co.uk
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