Guest post by Ivan Serrano
As an entrepreneur, you have limited resources. Not only do you have to make sure you have enough room in your budget to produce your product or service, but you also have to determine how you’ll build awareness of your business.
When it comes to implementing a social media strategy for your startup or small business, utilize the platforms that will give you the most results. Believe it or not, Facebook is still an extremely powerful tool for building awareness of your business and generating leads. In fact, Hubspot’s State of Inbound Marketing report found 77 percent of B2C and 43 percent of businesses acquired customers from Facebook.
If you’re currently planning your social media strategy, make sure Facebook is a part of your plan. Here are four facebook marketing tips for entrepreneurs:
1. Set a clear goal.
A huge mistake many entrepreneurs and small business owners make with their Facebook strategy is not creating a clear goal. Many businesses think they can start sharing content immediately, however, this can greatly damage your online brand.
Before creating and sharing Facebook content, set a realistic goal for your Facebook page. For example, do you want to build a community for your business? Is it your goal to drive traffic to your website? Regardless of the goal you choose for your Facebook page, make sure it ties into your strategy and how you’ll drive results for your business.
2. Document your Facebook strategy.
The foundation of any social media strategy is to make sure it’s documented. Create an editorial calendar for your Facebook strategy that outlines the type of content you’ll share and how often you’ll post. This calendar will make it easier for you to plan future content and ensure you’re consistently engaging with your audience.
When it comes to finding the right time to post on Facebook, it’s really important to understand your target audience. Do some research on the demographics of your audience and understand what their habits are on Facebook. For example, if you offer a project management app for Millennial business owners, you’ll want to research the best times to reach them on Facebook and they types of content they engage with most.
3. Share posts with photos.
The most important element of a Facebook strategy is visual content. Socialbakers.com performed a study where they analyzed the top 10 percent of Facebook posts created by more than 30,000 brand pages. During this study, Socialbakers.com discovered Facebook posts that included photos included the most engagement. In fact, these posts received 87 percent interactions!
Every post you publish on Facebook should include a visual. Whether it’s a branded image or a photo that captures behind-the-scenes footage of your business, photos can add a large amount of value to your Facebook strategy. People will be more likely to comment and share your images, which means you’ll gain more exposure for your business.
4. Upload video content.
In addition to photos and images, video is a powerful tool for creating brand awareness. According to Hubspot, the amount of video in Facebook News Feed has increased 3.6 times over the last year. Additionally, video posts per person has grown 75 percent over the last year.
There are a number of ways you can use video to promote your business. Publish customer Q&A sessions or create a product tutorial. As long as your video content provides value for your audience, you’ll be able to create content that drives results for your business. Once you’re ready to share a video, make sure you upload it to Facebook. This will ensure it’s played immediately when a customer scrolls by your post.
Although there are a number of social networks to choose from, Facebook remains to be one of the most effective platforms. By following these tips, you’ll be able to design and implement a Facebook marketing strategy that creates awareness and boosts sales for your business.
How do you use Facebook to market your business?