Facebook for Business: What You Need to Know : Ankita Mankotia

Facebook for Business is growing day by day. And Facebook is a big part of this growing revolution.

people are buying more products / services online because of the recommendations and promotions they come across on Facebook.

A trend that never fades.

Thereby, the social media giant has not fully reached Google’s position when it comes to shopping channels.

It definitely has a strong influence on purchasing habits and decisions. It’s a big plus for anyone who uses Facebook for business.

In fact, according to research, Facebook is the leading social media platform that influences people when making purchase decisions.

Even if Facebook enhances the game for business (in one or more ways).

Many people are still reluctant to maximize the power of Facebook marketing.

But by ignoring it, they only leave room for competition. With over 2.41 billion users, Facebook is the platform for your business, or any business.

Everyone hangs out here. So why shouldn’t you exclude your target audience?

The days when marketers had to rely on slowness are over.

An old school marketing method for creating connections to sell your products / services, such as printed newspapers and yellow pages.

Facebook is where the action is currently taking place.

In the following article we’ll be looking into how using Facebook for business not only makes sense.

But could prove to be the smartest marketing move you make.

Here are a few things that every entrepreneur/marketer needs to know before using Facebook for business to increase their chances of success.

Proven Tips in Using Facebook for Business to Achieve Growth

#1 Posting Frequency Matters

Posting relevant content to your Facebook page consistently can and will make a difference to the kind of response you generate.

So if there is one thing that a brand should never worry about, it has to be “posting too much”.

Keep in mind that Facebook has become overly competitive. Which means many businesses (of all kinds) are vying for attention.

Facebook on the other hand wants to serve its users in the best possible way by showing them the most relevant content.

The result? Not all that you post on your page is seen by your fans. Only a small percentage is.

This reduction in organic reach has prompted businesses to post more often.

But the ones who are the most successful with frequent posting are brands that are doing it without sacrificing quality.

So there has to be a definite balance between the quality of content you are posting with the quantity.

Now, the question is, what kind of posting frequency you should aim for?

There’s no doubt that your engagement rates improve when you post regularly. But it has to be done in a optimal manner while keeping quality in mind.

According to a study jointly conducted by Buffer and BuzzSumo, pages now are moving towards posting more content.

After analyzing 43 million posts from 20,000 popular brands using Facebook for business.

They found out that pages that posted at least 5X per day received 2,466 engagements on an average.

However, pages that posted 10X experienced 50% lower engagement.

So it could be said that posting 5 times in every 24 hours is an effective posting frequency.

Is this posting frequency definitive? No, absolutely not.

When it comes to using Facebook for business, nothing is etched in stone. Strategies are evolving as Facebook evolves.

So there can never be a perfect, one-size-fits-all approach that gives the best results to everybody.

Keep experimenting to find out how often you should be posting for higher engagement.

#2 Leveraging User Generated Content Works

When using Facebook for business, it’s important that your product looks as genuine as possible.

You cannot deny the level of reliability that originates from user-generated content or UGC.

This UGC can be any content such as text, video, images, reviews and more.

All of these are from real people who have actually tried your product or service. And sharing this type of post has proven to be very effective.

In fact, consumers say that UGC posts are 2.4 times more likely to be considered genuine than the brand’s own posts.

For this reason, we have the highest engagement on Facebook and other social media platforms. If you take a look at the Facebook marketing space, you’ll see that some of the most profitable Facebook marketing campaigns include ..UGC elements.

This shows that content created by followers, prospects, and customers is not ignored. In fact, it achieves much higher conversions.

One of the best examples of successful implementation of UGC is on Facebook’s Coke page. That was created by two avid coke fans themselves.

Much of the content shared on this page comes from real (and ordinary) people and is driving its growth.

This page was so incredibly engaged that Coca-Cola was able to continue posting natural user-created content.

Social media audiences are smart enough to differentiate relatable stories with ones that are purely made up for marketing.

UGC not only helps brands build awareness but also lets them build strong relationships in the long run.

Looking at the recent research, it’s not surprising to know that social media users consume a lot of UGC per day (in excess of five hours).

Not only that, Facebook ad campaigns that leverage UGC have around 20% higher influence on…

…purchase decisions when compared other types of promotions.

UGC is growing by leaps and bounds. The proof is in the numbers…

There are many ways to use UGC, such as promoting your product/service by showing how your customers are using it.

But again, there are ways to get creative with UGC as well, so don’t hold back.

#3 Remarketing Means Higher Conversions

There is no doubt that proper targeting plays an important role in the success of Facebook advertising campaigns.

In other words, using Facebook for your business is effective when your target audience is certain.

And the proven way to do this is to target potential customers who are already interested in your product / service.

Well, I’m talking about Facebook remarketing, which usually gets better conversions.

Remarketing is a common (and successful) tactic to advertise on Facebook …

Already visited your site in the past
Shown some kind of interest in your product/service

There’s no rocket science involved here. It’s pretty simple if you look at it…

People visit a page or pages on your website.
You segment your visitors based on the pages they visited.
Create targeted, custom ads that are displayed to these visitors on their Facebook.

Ask yourself, why does someone visit your business website in the first place? It’s usually one of the following three reasons.

They want to gain some relevant information about you, your product or your industry.
They want to get in touch with you with a query or with a suggestion.
They want to buy your product or service.

What we’re concerned about is obviously, the sales numbers.

We want more and more people to buy from us. But the thing is, buying decisions are rarely on impulse and they may take some time.

This is especially true in the B2B marketing arena where the purchases are big and the commitments are long.

However, by using Facebook remarketing, you can keep exposing them to your offer and try to remove their hesitation or doubt.

It increases the chance of them changing their mind.

Facebook remarketing actually works when executed well, and mainly helps you…

Increase your conversion rate
Lower your cost per acquisition

Now, as to why Facebook remarketing can prove to be such a great strategy is because of who is seeing your ad.

The people you remarket to are familiar with your brand and have higher interest in your product/service. This includes….

People who are not familiar with your product/service but may want to buy it.
People who have already visited your website, have viewed your product/service but haven’t hit the buy button yet.
People who have bought your product/service and have become customers.

The good thing about remarketing is that it lifts your marketing up from where you are standing.

And that too by leveraging the audience or the traffic you’ve already built.

#4 Creating Shareable Content is Important

If you are looking for it, becoming viral on Facebook can bring you a lot of traffic.

But how often do you see Facebook content going through the infamous viral marketing loop? Yes, not so often.

However, you can increase the likelihood that your content will be broader and shared by the right people.

How? By making content as shareable as possible.

Using Facebook for business becomes easier and more fruitful if you prioritize creating content that encourages people to share it with others.

Ultimately, this is a way to improve your social media content strategy.

To understand how to create such content, you need to understand why people share content in the first place.

What drives them to push the most coveted share button and spread the word?

A New York Times survey, properly titled “Psychology of Sharing,” found that people are sharing content …

… various reasons you need to take advantage of it. And motive. They share it with …

To learn something new
To inform others and influence them
To help their friends and family
To show identity and get known
To connect with people in their circle
To simply participate and spread the word
To lend support to ones who need it

So whether your Facebook post gives, inspires or amazes, it has to touch the right emotions of your target audience so that they are inclined to share it.

Give them a reason to share, and make sure it is worth it.

#5 Sharing Native Video is Better

Dropping a YouTube link works on Facebook, but it isn’t worth it in the long run from a marketing perspective.

Why? Because Facebook favors native video content over a link from YouTube or Vimeo.

They want you to upload more video content directly to your Facebook page.

So every brand using Facebook for business should understand the power of native videos.

Also, sharing native videos is much better from an engagement point of view as well.

Because the videos play automatically as your followers browse the newsfeed.

This not only helps you generate more views/clicks but also gives a positive impression to both, your fans and Facebook.

Leading to more comments on your video.

Here are three real benefits of uploading native videos…

1. Helps Create a Video Gallery

Having a separate section for your social media videos makes a lot of sense. And that’s exactly what happens when you use native videos.

Facebook creates a dedicated video gallery for your page to store all of your video content.

People who like your videos can navigate to this section and access them later on.

Which gets more exposure to your videos and boosts engagement.

2. Improves Organic Reach

They say content is king, which is true. But due to the growing popularity of visual content, video is becoming highly effective and engaging.

If you want to improve your Facebook organic reach while adding variety to your content mix, then native video is the way to go.

Facebook’s algorithm has changed over the years and continues to evolve.

And since Facebook is trying to become bigger than YouTube in terms of video views/engagement, their algorithm is clearly favoring native video.

In a case study it was discovered that native video content lead to a 135% boost in organic reach when compared to links and photos.

In a different case study conducted by Quinty.

They found that native videos on Facebook got 4 times more interactions than video links from other sites.

3. Gives Access to Better Analytics

Your social media campaign success depends on how well you read into your success and failures.

One of the perks of using native videos is that it helps you gain access to better social analytics.

Which you can use to improve your results.

For instance, if you look into Facebook Page Insights, you’ll see how many people viewed your video for ten seconds or more.

Not only that, you also get to learn how your top videos are performing in terms of engagement.

#6 Using Facebook Live Improves Reach

Are you working with a limited marketing budget? Then Facebook Live is something that you should be focusing on.

While there are many benefits of using Facebook Live such as lower quality requirements, free cost, etc.

One advantage that clearly makes it worthwhile is that it can help you increase your Facebook organic reach.

Sometimes the reach is even higher than that of native video.

When you have better reach, you have more of your audience consuming your content.

Which directly affects the kind of results you generate from Facebook marketing.

Facebook even sends out a notification to your fans when you go live. Which increases the chances of them engaging with your video.

Also, Facebook Live makes it easy to stand out in your followers’ newsfeed because your video will stay on the top as long as you are live.

So if you are not taking advantage of Facebook Live, you are leaving money on the table.

Given below are some Facebook Live video ideas your business can take advantage of.

Host a Q&A Session: If you get a lot of customer queries regarding your product or the industry you are in.

You can invite your prospects/customers to hop onto a Q&A session via Facebook Live.

This will allow you to clear their doubts/questions and also showcase your own knowledge.

Do an Interview: Know an industry expert that can weigh in on an important topic?

Have a colleague that can shed light on the current industry trends?

You can interview almost anyone that brings unique value to the table. And broadcast it through Facebook Live.

Stream an Event: Whether it is a tradeshow or some other kind of event that your audience can benefit from.

You can live stream it using Facebook Live.

The whole idea of capturing a live event and streaming it screams “value”, which means your audience will love to tune in.

Announce a New Product: No matter what industry you are in and the type of product you’re selling.

You can use social media to announce your product release and get more people to join in the event.

Facebook Live is great for doing this because it not only helps build the right level of anticipation but also lets you engage viewers with a bit of preparation.

Create a Daily/Weekly Show: If there’s one thing that you need to do to grow your business it has to be providing regular value to your fans.

It helps cement your relationship with them and makes you stand out from the crowd.

You can use Facebook Live to create a daily or a weekly show to connect to them on a personal level.

Engaging with your fans/customers with a regular show is a sure shot method to grow your influence with them. It’s perfect for social media branding.

Just make sure you are consistent in your efforts. Choose a time of a day that you are comfortable with so that you can answer any fan questions.

A side advantage of doing this is that you will get to explore and understand the latest trends as you share them with your audience.

#7 Offering Discounts Increases Sales

How about making your followers/customers feel extra special by giving them an exclusive discount?

That’s exactly what you can do using Facebook offers, a popular feature to tap into if you are using Facebook for business.

Using Facebook Offers, you can post generous discounts, special deals and coupons on your Facebook page.

Whether you are the admin or the editor, you can create a relevant offer.

Here are the three types of Facebook Offers that you can leverage:

In Store Only: These offers can only be redeemed by customers in-store where they have to…
…present a print out of the offer or display it on their mobile phone.
Online Only: These offers cannot be redeemed offline in a store.
Rather, customers can make use of them on your website or some other online destination.
In Store and Online: This option offers best of the both worlds as your discount can be redeem by customers both offline and online.

Here are a few tips on using Facebook Offers efficiently…

Be Generous: Giving a tiny discount would defeat the whole purpose, so make sure your discount is substantial.

A good thumbs rule is to not give a discount below 20% than regular price.

You may also want to experiment with giving away free bonuses along with the purchase as they generally give better results.

Practice Simplicity: The more complicated your terms and conditions are, the harder it will be to convert.

Remember to keep things simple for your potential customers. Any extra, unneeded steps should be avoided.

Use an Engaging Image: It’s a good idea to choose a photo that shows your customer using your product in some way.

If you simply post the image of your item, it may not be as engaging.

And yes, use an image that is different than your profile picture because they will be appearing side by side.

Use Natural Language: Besides making your headline enticing, you also need to ensure there is enough clarity for your potential customers.

The more natural and direct your language is, the better results you will see.

Try adding the USP of your product to your headline so that people can see the main benefit.

Have a Practical Expiration Date: You don’t want to give your customers too much time, but also avoid rushing them.

Giving them the right amount of time is crucial so that they can see, understand and then claim your offer.

By offering some time, you also increase the chances of people discussing your offer and spreading the word about it.

Start Using Facebook for Business

Now it’s time you put all this information to work.

If you’re already using Facebook for business, then you now know how to use it even more efficiently to capture the results you want.

If you weren’t using Facebook for business, now you know what you’re missing out on and the next steps you need to take.

Don’t feel like tackling this project on your own? That’s where we come in.

We have a full staff of Facebook marketing experts ready to help you grow using the social media giant.

It’s a marketer’s favorite tool and small business owner’s best friend.