Facebook is an easy one for most people to use, it is also ideal for those who are product-based and public-orientated to promote their business.
Of course, the only reason we would suggest it's easy is because most people are already on Facebook so it is easier to implement in your social media marketing strategy.
However, if you aren't particularly clued-up on Facebook, they provide a great step-by-step to setting up a business page, or you can follow our steps in this post for further detail.
Before starting, ensure you are setting up the right network - easily done if you have already completed a Marketing Plan, or scheduled some time with Thrive to go over your social media marketing strategy (get in touch here). If you haven't, then answer these questions and try weigh up the odds of whether or not it is worth your time to implement a Facebook marketing plan:
- “What do you want from your social media presence?"
- “Who are your audience?"
- "What are they already using to communicate online?”
Facebook in 5 Steps
If Facebook is for you, then go by these rules when setting up, or revitalising your page, if you think you haven't got it quite right:
- Create a page: Imagine it as a landing page, where all your visitors come first and engage in conversation, becoming aware of who you are and what you do.
- Why? This is the beginning of that process to high quality leads. You are generating leads at this stage, in the hope that your graphic design, marketing messages and language all appeal, so they will eventually go down the route of lead nurturing.
- Call to Action: Consider using aCTA command regularly when you first start, so that people engage further, by asking for an email address or requesting they 'like' or 'share' your page, to spread the word.
- Why? Everything you do should have some kind of call to action, whether it's asking to fill in a form, do a poll, share an image or leave a comment - they must be doing things to build that relationship with your brand. This is a key aspect of growing business and new client attraction.
- Launch a competition: As we said last week,it's a simple way to spread the word fast by getting them to enter through liking and/or sharing your page. If the prize/s is big enough you could easily see hundreds coming to your page. Once you've got them there then the key is to then keep them engaged - remember, people aren't afraid to use the 'unlike' button either!
- Why? One of the fastest ways to access clients and identify opportunities to grow your consumer base is with mass content sharing. Getting people excited about what you offer will reach a segment of consumers who are the exact match for your brand, allowing you to cherry pick clients to focus on. When you have segmented these customers as a right, or wrong, match you can then create a defined sales process and clear marketing messages.
- Personalise the experience: Keep them intrigued by your content, through customisation and carefully planned posts. Take advantage of promoting your brand through a faceless, brand logo design and cover photo on your page, as well as scheduling posts for key times of the day. You can also personalise brand design even further, by changing the look of your 'tabs' bar (below cover photo, through Facebook Markup Language) to include personal choices, such as, photos, map, apps, events or web links.
- Why? Any business who looks good, should on paper, be good. Personalising your social media networks can only add to your brand reputation, increasing customer demand and lead generation. Make sure your page does what it should do, with the right design, widgets and photography.
- Recommendations: These are a new feature on Facebook, allowing you to really show how fantastic your business is, through the voices of your audience. For businesses who engage with the public in any way, by getting happy customers to rate the abilities/services of your business, you could have five shiny stars which genuinely prove you are a business to be trusted and not to be ignored.
- Why? Because social proof is key to business growth, brand awareness and general online success with strangers, consumers and clients. What more could you possibly need?
Integration with other tools and platforms is key to the development of Facebook, including the option to include Instagram photos, share online news articles and YouTube videos, but don't set all that up straightaway.
It is pivotal that you don't spread your time, and quality of work, over numerous platforms, dedicate your time to no more than three networks. We recommend choosing between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and Tumblr.
Adding personality and creating the right 'voice'
Businesses today are also opting to put 'a human aspect' to status updates, by saying a little about who is updating their social media pages on their company website. Are you a large or small business and do you want to be faceless or put a persona to what you are writing?
It is always worthwhile to consider the tone you adopt on social media which ought to be consistent with your brand, for instance, be aware of how you will sound and never ever post lengthy statuses, try to stay at around no more than 250 characters for a more effective impact.
A great bonus when it comes to analysing the statistics for your Facebook page is the Facebook Insights tool situated at the top of your page (only you can see it, when you're signed in) which reveals just how many people are looking at your page and where they came from [July 2014: Update about Facebook marketing and Insights].
