When you create a business Facebook page you have access to the reported 1.7 billion users on Facebook. It is accessed by more than 50% of all internet users which makes it an important tool for promoting your business or cause. The hope for many business owners is that if you build a Facebook business page, “likes” will organically appear. However, it is import to realize that you still have work to do to build fans and connections. With the following steps, you can grow your fan base and bring customers to your website, store, or event.
Where to Begin
Start off by inviting your friends and customers to like your page. Your friends are your advocates, potential customers, and marketing assistants. You can invite your friends directly from your business page.
On your personal page profile, add a link to your business page as your current place of work in the “About” section.
Add the link to your Facebook business page on all your marketing materials: business cards and stationary, brochures, print advertising, emails, mailing lists, and promotions.
When you add a post, event, or advertisement onto your business page, share it to your personal page.
Make your posts interesting and relevant. Content that meets the needs of your customers increases engagement and shares and shows that you are an expert in your field. Publish attention-grabbing images with a short description or videos up to one minute long with content relevant to your niche. These support your brand, product, and uniqueness in a vital and productive way by setting you apart from your competition.
Embed Facebook feeds and like buttons onto the pages of your website. Not only does this help your site visitors to find your page but also helps the search ratings of your website by having automatic updates to your pages through the feed. Most build-it-yourself website providers have plug-ins that you can easily place on your pages. Facebook also gives you access to code that can be added to your site to post your feed and allow site visitors to like your Facebook page directly from your website.
Connect With Others
Seek other sites in your field and like, comment, and share as your business profile on those pages. This gets your Facebook business page and link in front of the fans of those other pages.
Tag other pages in your posts using the @ symbol and their page name. Your posts will appear on the wall of those pages and may capture the attention of those pages’ owners and fans.
Contact the admins of similar pages in your niche and arrange for cross-promotion of posts to help each other.
Follow up on comments that are left on your posts. A simple “like” of a comment lets your customers know that their input is valuable and appreciated. Replying to a comment to add or clarify information shows your fans that you are responsive to their needs.
Share links to your posts on other social media like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. Facebook is the top dog of social marketing today but that is changing as younger users move on to other platforms.
Get a Boost from Paid Advertising
Spending a few dollars to boost a post, advertisement, or event gets your information to more Facebook users than those who have liked your page and allows you to make meaningful connections. You can set a budget from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars.
Think about who your customers are and choose your boosted audience based on demographics, behaviors, location, and more. Facebook allows you to target audiences based on gender, age, education level, income level, interests, hobbies, and industry.
And, most importantly, follow up by viewing the results of your boosted posts. Learn how your ads have impacted your audience and who is reacting to your posts so you can refine, change, or add to your target criteria for future boosted posts.
For additional help, consider attending SCORE’s Facebook for Business: Nuts & Bolts workshop on August 14th taught by Ms. Weltin at the Tuolumne County Public Library in Sonora. Bring your laptop or tablet and follow along as we show you the step-by-step instructions on how to set up and run a Facebook business page. For more information and to register visit www.tcscore.org and click on Events.
Tuolumne County SCORE is a Chapter of the National organization which is a part of the Small Business Administration.
First published in the Union Democrat, Tuolumne County
Photo by Tim Bennett on Unsplash