Guide To Advertise On Facebook

1. What is Facebook

Facebook is a social networking platform that people connect and share with family and friends.

 

2. Why use Facebook

Facebook is one of the most visited social media and is an essential tool for business owners who want to attract new customers and engage the current ones. According to statista.com, Facebook has 302.28 million users, and it’s projected to increase to 324.76 by 2026. The average time spent by day by American users was 33 minutes as of January 2021.

 

3. Types of Facebook Advertising

There are four types of Ads on Facebook.

• Image Ads,
• Video Ads,
• Carousel Ads,
• and collection Ads.

 

4. How to start advertising on Facebook

 

Create a business page.

A business page is just like a personal account but used for brands and businesses. And instead of requesting to “friend” someone, users must “like” or follow the business profile to see its posts or leave comments.

Sign up.

Either use the personal Facebook page or create a page from scratch. Visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/create, Fill in the page name, category, and description on the left, the preview on the right will display what it looks like to viewers you fill out the information. Once you have input all the required data, click Create Page.

Add photos.

It’s imperative to upload a profile and a cover photo that reflect your business. The pictures will provide your clients with the first impression. Therefore, use high-quality images that best suit your business.

Create a username.

A username is also called an URL. Your username is the keyword for your customers to find you on Facebook. The username should be unique, simple, and the same or at least close to the business’s name to avoid confusion. Once you’ve completed these steps, “create @username” will show under the page. Click to create and save the page name.

Enter information.

When creating a Facebook page, there are lots of options to customize. Add as much information about the business as possible, including the business’s name, address, contact information, website, business hours, products, and so on. It’s also needed to create a description of what the business does. You can add additional categories to increase the change of the company to show up in all relevant searches on the site. As the information is added, use strategic keywords throughout that make apparent to both readers and Facebook what your business page is about.

Tell the story.

After entering all the facts and information about the business, tell the story behind the company or brand that will promote the business.

Create the first post.

The very first post should be simple, something like “Welcome to our new page!” Post some content before inviting people to like or follow the page. Or posting a deal, coupon, picture, animation, video, link to the company website, or whatever could be a good start for viewers to learn about the business.

Publish and then invite followers.

Once all the information and details of the business are filled out, we can move on to the next stage: expanding the audience! Invite people to like the page.

 

5. Maintain Facebook page

Like running a company website, the Facebook page needs maintenance to increase traffic and stay in the game, keeping all the information updated and, most importantly, posting regularly. Post as frequently as possible, at least once per day. The posts will show up on the newsfeeds of the followers.

While posting regularly is essential, it’s just as important to post quality content. Campbell suggests posts that share behind-the-scenes information and photos about your employees and show off your products or services. This shows your dedication to transparency and quality.

To know what the customers want to see, you could always create a poll to collect the data, which helps take the guesswork out of sharing.

Facebook Insights tool is free for every business page. It shows valuable analytic data, such as the number of people who engage with each post and how many people the position reached in the past.

Facebook Publishing tools also come in handy If creating posts on Facebook takes too much time. The publishing tool allows the business to develop posts beforehand and schedule to post in advance. This can facilitate the company to streamline the updating content process and ensure the page is updated regularly to reach customers.

 

6. Engage the followers

Facebook’s business algorithm “prefers” posts and pages that catalyze engagement. Before posting anything on Facebook, ask yourself if it will create a conversation. It’s also important to remember that Facebook is a social media platform, so you should be social.

The key to engaging the viewer is to update with good content. To receive the best results, try to be responsive and friendly. Keep the post timely, and respond not only to comments but also to Messenger questions.

According to the data, responding to messages, comments, and posts on the business page of the visitors will signal to Facebook that the company page is active, engaged, and focused on customers.

 

7. Expand traffic by attracting friends of fans.

People are most likely to try something if their friends already use it.

When customers interact with your page, their friends will see the activity in their newsfeeds. You can also foster more interactions using polls and asking questions followers want to answer.

“Social media is the new ‘word of mouth.’ You want people to be able to tag your business when they’re talking about you,” said Cat Smith, owner of getting Social with Cat. “Your customers are your best advocates.”

Encourage customers to check in to your business on Facebook when they visit by offering a small discount for anyone who does. Checking allows users to notify their friends where they are. Host a contest or sweepstakes and encourage users to post about your business.
You can also create special events and limited-time promotions and invite your followers to invite their friends in turn.

 

8. Try Paid Facebook Advertising

If you’re having problems reaching users organically, try Facebook ads. Promoted Facebook posts look like regular posts but are highly targeted and reach more people.

Facebook’s tools are very effective and make it easy to target a specific audience. You can target people who like your page or by location, age, gender, and interests. Because Facebook collects user data, it can target your advertisement to those most likely interested in your product or service.

The platform also features an analytics tool to help you understand which ads drive interest and sales.

 

9. Write excellent content for your Facebook audience.

Posting a variety of content. Posting various content, such as photos, videos, gifs, press releases, blogs, articles, etc.

Ending every post with a question. One great way to create unique, engaging content is by posing a question at the end of each post. This can help boost your engagement levels and make your page more interactive overall.

Using contests in moderation. Creating contests and allowing your customers to win prizes, discounts, etc., make your page more engaging and boost sales.

 

10. Start a Facebook group.

Building community around the product, service, or brand can be an excellent way to connect with customers on a one-on-one level. For example, a marketing agency may want to create a Facebook group to answer small business marketing questions. A woman-owned business may wish to make a group designed to share content with other female founders. These groups can be immediately related to your business, adjacent to your business, or help organize people around a cause relevant to your business.

 

11. Utilize all Facebook features.

New Facebook features are rolled out regularly. Consider utilizing tools like Facebook Live, Facebook Video, and Facebook Stories to help promote the page.

Facebook Live

Go live on the air to engage with your audience in real-time. You could interview a guest, demonstrate how a product is used, or showcase an event where you may be exhibiting. Your followers will receive a notification that you’re going live and can tune in to watch. The recording is made available for playback so followers can watch later if they cannot tune in.

Facebook Video

Video consumption - especially mobile video consumption - is on the rise. With 85% of businesses utilizing video content as a marketing tool, you’re not just jumping on the bandwagon. You’re using a growing, in-demand medium. Utilize Facebook Video to get that video content in front of your Facebook audience.

Facebook Stories

Use the Stories feature to post content that will appear on users’ feeds for 24 hours. (Stories expire after 24 hours.) This tool is excellent to help boost your business’s organic reach, which is getting more challenging to achieve on Facebook as the platform continues to grow.

 

12. When it comes to Facebook Advertising, create a plan.

Deciding what and when to post on Facebook should be part of an overall strategy that complements your other marketing, sales, and public relations activities. Organize these materials in a content calendar, which you or your staff can use to plan and track content published on Facebook and other marketing platforms and channels. Use this content calendar to ensure that essential holidays are recognized, sales are announced, company announcements are shared to your Facebook page, and much more.

 

13. Facebook Advertising should be part of your continual growth.

Consider marketing activities that help boost your audience even while your customers aren’t on their computers or phones. For example, you can offer incentives for customers to write Facebook reviews or give a coupon or a special offer in exchange for a new follower. You can also encourage customers to be active through other channels, such as email marketing, to visit your Facebook page to see great content.