Best Practices For Using Facebook To Grow Your Business

Social media platforms like Facebook provide businesses with unique opportunities to connect with current and potential customers in a more engaging way, but implementing a Social Media Marketing strategy can prove somewhat challenging for small businesses. Finding the time and resources to plan out and create content, manage pages, and analyze performance isn’t always easy, especially if you’re working with a small staff or a limited budget.

Luckily, there are ways to create a strong presence for your business on Facebook, even if your resources are limited. Here are some basic best practices you should follow in order to make the most of your Facebook marketing efforts:

Tip 1 | Share Content That's Purposeful (Not Just Promotional)

If you want to reach more people on Facebook, you need to share content that adds value for your audience. Your content should capture the attention of your target audience and encourage them to react, comment, share, or click. However, crafting the perfect content can be surprisingly challenging and require a bit of trial and error before you find the right voice for your business.

You don’t have to share an endless stream of incredibly creative or humorous content to make an impact with your audience on Facebook. Create a voice that suits your brand, and focus on sharing the sort of content that will matter most to your audience. You might find that informative or helpful content is a better fit for your business and target audience.

There’s no “right” voice for businesses on Facebook, but there are some things you will want to avoid:

• Overly Promotional Content. The occasional product or service plug is okay, but filling your feed with constant promotional posts can cause your followers to tune you out. People turn to social media for informative, engaging, or otherwise useful content, so sticking to this criteria can help you reach a broader audience and create a more favorable impression of your business (which will gain more customers in the long run).
• Controversial Content. Sharing controversial content (such as posts of a political nature) can have major repercussions for your business. Even if you have the best of intentions, the content you share could be misinterpreted or taken out of context and create a negative first impression among potential customers. As a general rule of thumb, avoid posting about any sensitive topics on your business’s Facebook page and stick to content that is relevant to your business.
• Low-Quality Content. Being purposeful with your content means more than just having a reason behind what you’re sharing. The content you share on Facebook helps to shape the way your audience perceives your business, so make sure you are sharing high-quality content. While you don’t need to custom-design every single image or only share professionally edited video content, you should take the time to make sure there are no errors in your captions and that any links you share send users to trustworthy sites that offer a great user experience.

Tip 2 | Simplify and Streamline by Using A Content Calendar

Whether you have one person managing your business’s Facebook page or several team members, using a content calendar can help you save time and find your focus. A content calendar helps you plan everything you will be sharing on social media and can include other marketing efforts, such as upcoming blogs, promotions, and more.

Using a content calendar makes it easier to stick to creating and sharing purposeful content, and simplify processes so you’re more likely to keep posting fresh content on a consistent basis. Your content calendar can be as simple as a Google Doc with notes on key dates, along with your post captions and links to image files, or you can invest in a professional scheduling program.

Tip 3 | Offer Excellent Customer Service

Your business’s Facebook page provides current and potential customers with an easy way to interact with your business. Make sure users who engage with your social media content are receiving the same level of service you provide to customers in person or over the phone.

As your business becomes more visible on Facebook, you may find that your customers will start using your page to ask questions, refer their friends, and share feedback about your business. This open line of communication can be a double-edged sword, because it opens you up to both positive and negative comments (many of which are visible to the public).

Whether you’re responding to a compliment or a complaint, you want to make sure you’re handling things in a calm, professional manner. It can be difficult to not take things personally when someone complains about your business, but staying cool and collected in your response can help you regain control of the conversation and protect your reputation online. For tips on how to respond to negative reviews and other online comments, check out our blog “When Your Reputation Precedes You In Business.”

Tip 4 | Experiment With Paid Campaigns

If you’re eager to reach a broader audience on Facebook, you may want to experiment with running some paid campaigns. You don’t have to have a huge advertising budget to promote content on Facebook. In fact, small-budget campaigns can be an effective tool to help you reach a more specific audience, try out different styles of copy and creative, share special promotions, and more.

With even a small paid budget, you can reach more of your target audience and grow your presence on Facebook. To help you get started with social media ads, check out our blog “4 Tips For Improving Your Social Media Ads.”

Need help creating a digital marketing plan for your business? Contact our team for your free Digital Marketing Plan. Our team will provide you with an in-depth analysis of your current digital presence, and then create a custom Digital Marketing Plan that outlines exactly what you can do to grow your business online.