As of the second quarter of 2016, Facebook had 1.71 billion monthly active users, and growing! Out of all the various social networking sites, Facebook is currently the largest, with YouTube in second place. Our customers are on Facebook, and we should be too! You may be thinking, “I know my business should be on Facebook, but the world of social media for business can be daunting and confusing…” or, “My business is on Facebook, but I’m not sure I’m getting the results I’d like…” Facebook for business doesn’t have to be overwhelming. And to take some of the guess work out of it, here are some tips for building a high-impact Facebook strategy for your business! Below, I have described different types of Facebook ads and how to use them.
First, Facebook has business pages locked down. This means that if you post something on your business page, the only people who will see it organically (as in, all you did was post it to your page) are the people who have liked your page. If only 100 people have liked your page, only those 100 people will see anything you post there.
Unless…
- You pay for ads, and encourage people to like, comment or share
- You post to your business page, then share the post to your timeline and any other groups you are a member of that are relevant to your target market
Facebook’s ultimate goal is to keep as many people as possible glued to the social network for as long as possible. If your posts keep people engaged, as measured by likes, comments, shares and time on screen, the social network will reward you with further reach. Spam up your page with excessive posts that no one likes or comments on, and your reach is likely to decline quite quickly.
So, if you pay for an ad, Facebook is checking to see how people respond to it. If it is relevant to your audience and engaging to people, Facebook rewards the post with more reach. If nobody responds to it, it will not be rewarded with reach.
There are a number of different kinds of ads:
Page Like ads
Pops up a summary of your business page in your target market’s Facebook feed, and asks people to like the page. Since only people who have liked your page will organically see your posts, this is a good way to get more page likes. You can set a target market, budget, and period of time to run the ad.
Boosted Posts
You may keep a blog on your website. If you do, it’s a great idea to re-post your blog posts to your Facebook page. You are providing original content that is relevant to your target market and positions you as an expert at what you do. You took the time to write it, and you want as many people to see it as possible! If you post to your Facebook business page, as I mentioned above, only people who have liked your page will see it. However, if you click “Boost Post” on the lower corner of the content you wish to post, you can choose a target audience and apply a budget. Always link to your website in a boosted post! You want to drive traffic to your website, so that people can see what you’re all about and contact you! As I mentioned above, you can also share your post to relevant groups you are a member of.
Sponsored Content
This is more like a traditional format ad…you can create the content and add an image. You could make special offers, or communicate a specific message, like inviting people to your upcoming free webinar. You can create or choose a target audience, say within a certain distance of your business location, with a certain set of interests that would be relevant to your target market. Then you can choose a budget and a period of time to run the ad. Always link back to your website in your ad! And again, you can share the ad to relevant groups.
We suggest doing a combination of all 3 types of ads for maximum impact. Page Like ads will help increase the followers on your page. Sponsored Content will help you with promotions and to build awareness of your business, and Boosted Posts will help you to provide something of value to your customers, so that they think of you as an expert in your field, and come back when they need your help!
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For more information on Facebook, social media and digital marketing, please contact us at www.zebramarketingsolutions.com/contact