Facebook for Business: Marketing Strategies and Tips

Andrew Kucheriavy

Facebook for Business: Marketing Strategies and Tips

Facebook is the world's largest social network. With exposure like this, almost every business wants to set up a presence on Facebook. Unfortunately, very few use it in a way that truly benefits their business. The recommendations below will help you make the most of your Facebook presence.  

 

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Examples of Great Facebook Business Pages

Facebook is a great tool for businesses to build and engage with their fan base. The world's most successful brands use Facebook to enhance their brand recognition and to support and interact with their customers. It is also a great tool for market research. It is important to remember, however, that most people use Facebook for recreational and entertainment purposes, not for business. All elements of your Facebook page, from the content you post to the images you choose, should be entertaining and conversational in tone. Here is an example of an effective B2C Facebook page from Coca-Cola:

If you are a consumer brand, Facebook may be a great choice for you. It is a little more challenging for B2B companies. Your company may not be the perfect fit. You can, however, still use Facebook by making your content more social in nature as opposed to business oriented. The recommended rule of thumb for Facebook is the 80/20 content rule (80% original content and 20% promotional content). Here is an example of an effective B2B Facebook page from Intel:

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How to Set Up an Effective Facebook Business Page

Facebook offers a multitude of features, but for the purpose of this article, we will focus on the essentials you need to get your Facebook business page up and running.

1. Set up a Business Page

The first thing you need to do is to set up a Facebook business page. A business page is a separate profile for your business on Facebook. It is linked to your personal user profile so you don't need to create a separate login. You can also designate other team members as additional administrators to manage your Facebook page. Don’t forget to select the proper business category, so your prospects and customers can find your business easily.

2. Customize the Page

At the very least you should change the profile picture and the cover image. Choose images (or better yet, have them created professionally) that reflect your brand and support your marketing messaging. For the profile picture, choose something that will make your posts stand out. For the cover image, include your company name, website URL and tagline. You can have your web developer or SMM partner help you with that. There is also a lot of information that you should post on your business page profile, such as your e-mail address, phone number, etc.

3. Set Permissions

You should set permissions to limit the people who can post on your business' page; if you don’t, you can expect to get a lot of spam. I recommend allowing comments but disabling direct posts to the page's timeline.

4. Upload Photos and Videos

If you have photos and videos that you have created for your website, upload them to the appropriate sections of your page.

5. Invite People to "Like"

Getting a critical mass of fans is important, so you want to start building your audience right away. You can invite your contacts to “Like” your new Facebook page by uploading your business list and sending out an e-mail to your customers (up to 5,000 contacts).

6. Run Ads

Consider running a small ad campaign to promote your Facebook Page and build your audience. What's great about Facebook ads is that you can laser-target your ads by interests, keywords and location.

7. Suggest the Page

Another way to get the page going is to suggest it to friends in your personal network. You can also ask your colleagues to do the same.

8. Get a Vanity URL

Once you get a certain number of fans (currently 25), you can request a custom user-friendly URL like http://www.facebook.com/yourbusiness.

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Free Guide   Guide to Facebook Marketing Strategy   Best tips for marketing on Facebook  DOWNLOAD
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