Welcome to the blog post where we tell you to spend more time using Facebook.
That’s right.
That’s right.
If you’re skeptical at first, let’s break it down. Facebook is one of the largest social media marketing tools in the world. Since its creation in 2004, it has accumulated more users than the population of China. And that number is growing.
Over the past few years, this social media giant has introduced sales-focused features like e-commerce tabs for customers to shop directly on the site, and there are promises of even more sales-related updates in the future.
But, perhaps, an even more valuable tool is the customer interaction side of Facebook. From finding your target market to gathering customer feedback and testimonials, Facebook can be an indispensable marketing tool—especially if you’re functioning on a tight budget.
To tap in, your business should start by creating a Facebook page, but don’t mistakenly think that this alone will magically shoot your business to stardom.
That takes hard work.
And the kind of success you’re looking for will take a bit more than pixy dust.
With the latest updates being added in August 2016, now is the perfect time to get cued in on Facebook optimization for your business. Here are our top tips for boosting and building your Facebook business page and getting the word out.
1. Customize Page Tabs
Alright, so you’ve gone through the preliminary steps and created a Facebook page for your business. Time to ramp it up. To start things off, try customizing the tabs that you can find to the left of your page timeline.
By customizing these sections you can show people what you believe to be the most important parts of your business. If you’re offering a tangible product, you may want to place a Shop Now icon below your header, or if you’re looking to send your viewers to your site you may want to connect a “Watch Video” or “Sign Up” button.
Customization allows you to choose the best way to convert your audience into customers.
Make sure that you’re set up as an administrator and then follow these easy steps:
- Look at the list to the left of your page
- Select Manage Tabs
- Click and drag a tab to move it
- Click Save
If you have more questions about customizing these tabs, you can always hop over to the Facebook help page.
Pro Tip: Some sections (ex: About) can’t be reordered.
2. Promote Facebook Posts
As with most social media sites, Facebook has promotional features that can help you market your business and get the word out. With over 16 Million business pages, it’s easy to feel like a needle in the enormous haystack that is Facebook. But with well-planned marketing and promotions, you can make it a lot easier for your target market to find you.
First off, let’s break down the three types of promotions you can create on Facebook
BOOSTED POSTS
These are paid posts using Facebook’s “Boost Post” feature. They allow you to choose target audiences, as well as the categories that your target customers might be interested in (e.g., natural foods, surfing, business management or travel—whatever categories are applicable to your target customers).
PROMOTED POSTS
These posts use the Ad Manager and Power Editor. These are similar to boosted posts, but you have more options for targeting, pricing, and bidding.
ADS:
You also have the option to create Newsfeed ads (also using Power Editor). These are different from boosted or promoted posts because they don’t show up organically on your business’s Facebook page. When you create a Facebook ad, it will, instead, show up in the feed of targeted users as ‘sponsored’ with those words attached in the upper left-hand corner of the post.
3. Find Your Target Audience
The key, when using any of the above options, is to have a clear idea who your target market is, and to be flexible with how you reach them. Luckily, Facebook does some of the work for you, when it comes to creating ads and other marketing campaigns.
When you’re on your business’ main page, you’ll notice that on the left-hand side there is a variety of options, and the bottom one is a blue button that says Promote. Go ahead and hover your mouse over that one, and you’ll see that you have a few options: promoting your website, your local business, your contact us button and your page. You can also invite friends to your page using this button.
Let’s say that you want to promote your website. Once you click on that option you’ll see a screen that looks something like this:
This page is filled with all kinds of good stuff. It will also give you a few options to use to target your ideal clients, including gender, age, location, language, and interests.
Go ahead and choose the appropriate options for your business, based on your marketing plan. For the best Facebook optimization, you’ll want to focus a little bit more attention on the “Interests” section. This section will control who Facebook targets with your ad, based on their Facebook likes.
Facebook will suggest some interests, but feel free to click Additional Interests to the left of the Interest option. While you’ll have the option of choosing everything from one of the categories, you can also go through and narrow down specifically who you would like to target, and type in suggestions.
Whichever interests you choose, it’s a good idea to have a mixture of both broad and specific categories that are relevant to your target customer. If you’re a small business that wants to attract technologically-minded people, you can search for a target market as broad as “technology” or as pinpointed as “iPhone 6 users.” Play around with it, and see what targets work the best for you. Remember, Facebook ads can have as little as $5 spent on them, so you can find what works for you before going full throttle on your Facebook ad campaign.
4. Analyze Your Results
Facebook Insights are created so that you, as a page administrator, can see what’s working for you and what you should change for your next promotion. Here’s how you can find your Insights:
Step 1: Click Insights at the top of your page.
Step 2: View metrics about your page by clicking the sections on the left (ex: Likes, Reach).
Step 3: To export your insights, click on the Overview tab, then find the Export in the top-right corner.
One of the most valuable parts of Facebook Insights may be the People tab on the left-hand bar. Clicking on this will let you to see specific information about who you reached and who engaged the most with your post.
You can also embed your Facebook posts on other sites, meaning that you can pump people up about your business, while using material already on hand.
5. Connect Other Social Media Channels
Let’s talk about how to optimize your page by connecting your Twitter and Instagram to your Facebook page. Creating this community approach not only helps to connect your followers, but it allows them to access exclusive content on one platform, without missing out on another. You can also have a higher rate of conversion, with this approach, by directing potential customers back to your website. Here’s the 411 for connecting your Twitter and Instagram accounts directly to your Facebook page.
- Log in to the Twitter account you want to associate with your Facebook profile.
- Go to your Settings menu’s Apps tab.
- Click Connect to Facebook and log in, if you aren’t already logged in.
- You will then receive a prompt explaining that Twitter will receive certain information from your Facebook account. In order to continue, select “Okay.”
- You will then be prompted to select the privacy settings for who will see your Tweets/Retweets posted to your Facebook wall. By default, it is set to ‘friends’.
- Click “Okay” to complete the process.
- Your Tweets and Retweets will now post to your profile Facebook wall and your username will be displayed there as well. @Replies will not be posted.
Android
- Go to your Profile and tap the action bar (three vertical dots).
- Tap Linked Accounts > Facebook.
- Your Instagram account will link to your personal Facebook Timeline by default. To link to a Page instead, tap Facebook and choose a Page that you manage.
iPhone or Windows Phone
- Go to your Profile and tap the setting symbol.
- Tap Linked Accounts > Facebook.
- Your Instagram account will link to your personal Facebook Timeline by default. To link to a Page instead, tap Share to and choose a Page that you manage.
Another great tool to use when you’re looking to connect multiple channels is to use an outside site, such as IFTTT.
This site has access to 297 different channels and allows you to, essentially, create a personalized “recipe” to connect social media sites. For example, you can set it up so that every time you post a picture on Twitter it will also simultaneously post on your Facebook page, or you can even set up automatic sharing for your Youtube or Instagram posts with your Facebook page!
Check it out, and let us know what works the best for you!
6. Be Present on Your Profile
One of the best things you can do for your Facebook page is to be ON your Facebook page, or at least to appear that way. No one likes to come across a page that looks like a ghost town. You know, where the last post is 6 months old, and their reply time is “within 1 year.”
With recent updates and features, it’s easier than ever to stay active on your page. Not only can you post from your website or blog, but you can also “star” or highlight certain events so that visitors know what’s new and fresh. This way your followers can easily find all the good stuff when going through your page.
Another way to do this is to use Milestones, which highlight an important event in your business (such as creation, anniversary, new features, and new locations). Here’s how to add one to your page:
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- Click Offer, Event + right above your status box ( where it says “Write something” )
- From the four options ( Offer, Event, Milestone, Note ) select Milestone
- Add a title, location, date, and details for your milestone
- Click Save
7. Increase User Interaction
Of course, everyone wants more interaction with their customers, but the real question is how to make it happen. Attract more people and boost your user interaction by trying out one of these tips:
HOST A CONTEST
Hosting a contest is a great way to get users engaged with your Facebook page. But as with most ideas, you’ll need to properly plan out the contest, in order to see results. Try these 10 steps for hosting a contest on Facebook, like a pro.
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- Review Facebook’s Terms of Service
- Set goals that are specific, measurable, relevant and timely
- Set a time frame for your contest
- Create rules and determine who can enter
- Pick a prize and feature a photo of the prize
- Design your contest images and choose a custom hashtag
- Make your contest mobile-friendly (choose this option in ad manager)
- Limit form fields to three and make your contest easy to share
- Promote everywhere! Especially other social media streams!
- Notify the winner and remember to thank all entrants
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ASK FOR ANSWERS & USE POLLS
Rather than trying to figure out the answer to industry questions —ask your audience! If you notice there are frequent questions being asked about your business, this is also a great way to gain interactions and have those questions answered. The key here is to make sure that you’re presenting something that your audience can relate to.
CALL TO ACTION
Simply posting on your Facebook page doesn’t give any immediately actionable steps for your followers. For the best Facebook optimization, try captioning photos, or posts, with action words such as ‘Like this photo…” or ‘Comment if you’ve ever..’ You may be surprised by how many interactions you get.
Now that you have our tips to optimize your Facebook page, remember that what you accomplish the first, second, or even the third time you reach out isn’t going to be your last. Facebook is an ever-changing roller coaster of new tricks and different ways to reach your target customers. Ultimately, it’s your ability to keep adjusting and growing that will send you off in the direction of success.
Emilee Morehouse 