With media fragmentation, it has become more difficult for content marketers to draw attention from people, as they have many other mediums as rivals—social media, radio, television, printed media, and more. In terms of social media, there are lots of platforms.
So, is Facebook marketing worth it? Facebook is reported to remain a powerhouse for years compared to other social media platforms that went through some ups and downs. Presently, there are approximately 3 billion active users every month, the most used network amongst all the other platforms. This means that regardless of your niche, you can easily find your target audience on Facebook—users of all generations are there. Even the number of older demographic users is increasing.
Moreover, it does not only cater to B2C models but B2Bs as well. 74 per cent of business decision-makers spend more time on Facebook than average consumers, which is why even if your business is B2B, leveraging Facebook gives you an advantage over high B2B rivalry. You can get to know more about digital marketing for B2B.
Facebook caters to users at different buying stages as well, given its measuring capability that allows you to align marketing strategies alongside. Its various ads can already effectively capture audiences’ interest. Those who are not yet interested can just simply get past it, whilst those who are may research further about your offers or engage with your ads.
It takes time to convert your audience, but with its various ad format, easy metrics, and engagement opportunities, it helps you increase traffic to your site. Facebook can serve as your second website, too, where you directly engage with your audience. Over time, your audience may lose interest in your business, but Facebook lets you stay engaged with them.
Leveraging Facebook will prove to be very effective over time, especially when you have enough budget to launch ads regularly, specifically targeting existing followers. The first thing is to set up your Facebook business page, and then get people to like, follow, and engage with your page. Here are strategies you can employ to make your Facebook marketing effective:
Set Goals
Generally, the primary aim of marketers on Facebook, as per survey, is to increase brand awareness, community engagement, sales or leads, site traffic, ROI through Facebook, and shared content. You can follow these goals when you haven’t made marketing goals for yourself beforehand. Without real goals, your strategies may not work.
Know Your Audience
Figure out your Facebook demographics to know what marketing strategies you should use and how to implement them. You can use Facebook Page Insights or external tools. Any strategy you use will be more effective when you have a clear target audience.
Post at the Time Your Followers Are Most Active
The best times to post on Facebook depends on the industry your business belongs. Finding out when your audiences are the most active increases your content’s chance of getting viewed. Plus, Facebook prioritizes recent posts, knowing that people usually don’t care about old posts but new ones.
Take a look at your Facebook analytics. In the Hootsuite Analytics dashboard. You can see a heatmap when your followers are most active. Make sure you post in your audiences’ time zone, most importantly. In the UK, the usual best time to post is between six to seven in the morning.
Even with analytics, you can alter your posting times as well to see what really works as both users and Facebook algorithm change from time to time. Take, for example, during the pandemic when people shifted from checking their Facebook during lunchtime to between online meetings.
Vary the Content You Post
There are many types of content you can post in your feed. Vary your posts as much as possible to make them less predictable and dull. Facebook allows you to post photos, videos, or stories, create polls, get Messenger or WhatsApp messages, tag your audience, raise money, tag products, attach GIFs and gjcollegebihta more. There are so many ways you can be creative on the platform.
Test out what content types your audience will most likely be interested in. According to a 2018 Index, it shows that 30 per cent of consumers prefer posts with links to more information, 18 per cent likes graphics or images, 17 per cent prefers videos, 11 per cent on conversations or texts, and 7 per cent on edited photos.
Schedule Your Content
Once you know your target audience, their most active times, and their preferred types of content, it’s time you schedule your posts, which has paid and free options. Scheduling posts through your page is mostly free, making it easier for you to figure out your social media calendar’s gaps. You can also use paid schedule tools that can greatly help you select the best time to post when your audience is most likely to engage. Any of these tools can help you really save time figuring out when to post.
Prioritise Engagement
Without proactive engagement with your audience, they will lose interest with your offers over time. Posting content is not enough; engaging with your audience keeps your post alive. Basically, Facebook is a network platform built to share content, discuss, and communicate with other users. Try to build a community amongst your audience and respond proactively to comments as much as possible.
Leverage Messenger
Make sure your Facebook page has a button that lets your audience send you direct messages. You can also include WhatsApp in your call-to-action button. Messenger, on the other hand, has an automated Facebook Messenger bot option, which can greatly save your time answering your audience’s queries. However, it’s best that you have someone to reply with personal touch. Messenger allows you to communicate with your potential customers one on one and provide customised answers.
Plan Your Ads Strategy and Track Results
Facebook and Instagram Ads can greatly increase awareness to your brand and the best resort when your targeting is inappropriately set. Your ads should be cost-effective, relevant, creative, and fresh. Lastly, make sure to track your results and see how you are faring compared to other competitors. Based on the analysed results, tweak your ads to what works.
Facebook marketing is a great tool to reach a wider audience and increase awareness of your brand. Digital marketing experts at Legend DigiTech can also help you with this task.
