Marketing

Five Ways to Make Facebook Worth the Effort

Does Facebook overwhelm you? If so, you’re not alone. No matter your age or life stage, we live in a world where information can be shared (and spread) in a matter of seconds. The constant flow of information across Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest (to name a few) presents users with the impossible job of sifting through hordes of content and deciding what to actually watch, read, and believe.

And while some people threaten to abandon the platform altogether, no one is actually doing that. We all know someone who has posted the “I’m deleting my account” post just to show up in your feed again a few weeks later. Rest assured—despite the big feelings people have about it, no one is really quitting Facebook. Yet, all the chaos and complications in these spaces may have you wondering if social media is even worth the effort.

Well, we believe that Facebook is worth the effort. When you look past the headlines and the drama, you will see that social media has potent power to amplify messages, drive engagement, and attract leads to your business. Why? Because 3.6 billion people worldwide use social media every day. That’s a captive audience your business can’t afford to ignore.

Whether you run a local small business, pastor a church, raise money for a nonprofit, or lead a private school, your messages have an audience on Facebook. Here are some Facebook marketing facts and tips to restore your faith in social media and help you grow your brand in 2021.

1. Facebook Marketing Works Best With a Strategy

Before you begin marketing on Facebook, always start with a strategy. Ideally, your Facebook strategy will work in conjunction with your overall digital marketing strategy. However, some small businesses utilize Facebook as their primary online point of contact with their customers. So whether or not you’re putting all of your marketing eggs in the Facebook basket, don’t do it without a plan in place.

2. Engaging Content Wins More Attention

Some small businesses and organizations with limited budgets and staff resources will start a Facebook page because they know they need one, but they don’t have a clear plan guiding what they should be posting (and, unfortunately, it shows). We understand the urgency to have a presence on Facebook, but posting haphazardly can come across as sloppy and do damage to your brand.

Another common mistake we see is brands that are using Facebook as a kind of online billboard. Facebook is designed to be social, therefore the content that you create and share from your business Facebook page should be written in a way that encourages engagement. Make it interactive, otherwise, you’re just contributing to the saturation of noise which most Facebook users are adept at tuning out by now.

(See Related: 5 Must-Haves for a Successful Content Marketing Campaign)

3. Facebook Business Pages Can (and Should) Be Optimized

We talk a lot about search engine optimization (SEO) around these parts, and for good reason. Everything with a URL attached to it needs to be optimized so that search engines know what the page is about—even your business’s Facebook page. This optimization matters both inside and outside of Facebook. At the very least make sure that your entire Facebook business page has a custom URL and is completely filled out with the basic information, e.g. location, operating hours, etc.

Beyond that, be sure to incorporate the keywords you’re working to rank for on search engines, both in your static page content and in what you share as posts. Marry that content with compelling images, informative videos, and a strategic call-to-action to maximize your page’s overall performance.

4. Remember that Facebook is Also an Online Directory

Beyond sharing informative content and engaging with your customers, Facebook also serves as a place for ratings and reviews. When a customer leaves a review on your Facebook business page, this is your chance to interact with that feedback, make a more personal connection, and improve your overall page rating. Outside of Facebook, you can sync reviews with your Google My Business page for an even wider reach.

5. Get to Know the Tools Facebook Provides Businesses

Facebook wants businesses to create profiles on their platform. They also want businesses to spend money on Facebook ads so they can make more money. To that end, Facebook developers have created a robust system to equip businesses to get the most out of their Facebook experience. Here are a few of the free resources Facebook offers businesses:

• Facebook Insights – understand more about your audience and how users interact with your content. 
• Facebook Ad Center – helps businesses create, manage, and assess advertising campaigns. 
• Facebook Appointments – allows users to schedule meetings with you from your Facebook page. 
• Facebook Jobs – allows businesses to post and promote employment opportunities. 

(P.S. We wrote an entire post to help small businesses with Facebook ads. Check it out!)

Facebook Is Here to Stay, So Let’s Make the Most of it Together

As long as people continue to use Facebook, it is both worthwhile and wise to continue making social connections with online audiences. If you’re using social media to promote your business and not seeing results, what you may need is a change of perspective. We can help with that!

We’ve helped our clients with Facebook marketing pretty much since social media first became a thing. We’ve watched the trends rise and fall. We have seen existing platforms grow and new ones come online. And from our vantage point, we firmly believe that Facebook is not only here to stay but also must remain an integral part of your digital marketing strategy.

Contact us today and let’s discuss how we can help you implement a fresh Facebook marketing strategy for your business this year!