You’re probably already marketing your business on Facebook. If you’re not, you should be – but it’s not just a question of having a Facebook page and using it. You’ve got to use it wisely if you want to get great results.

It’s not uncommon for small business owners to dive into Facebook marketing without really knowing what they’re doing.  I mean, come on, at some point you just must dive in, right?  You may even have some decent results, but I’m willing to bet they’re not as good as they could be.

So… let’s get back to basics. What do you need to know to earn a significant return on your Facebook investment? Let me break it down for you.

Create Your Page.

If you don’t already have a Facebook page for your business, the first step is creating one. To do it, click the plus sign at the top right-hand side of your Facebook Home Page. Click on the flag icon next to the word “Page.”

You’ll be prompted to enter information about your business, including its type (eCommerce, local, B2B).

Use Consistent Branding  

When you create your Facebook business page, make sure to keep your branding consistent. That means using the same photo across all social media sites. I suggest using your company logo as your profile picture.

You should also keep your language consistent with your brand’s tone and personality. It’s a must to create a seamless cross-channel experience for customers when interacting with your company on social media or your website.

Optimize Your Listing

When you add your profile picture, you should also be optimizing your listing. You’ll need to include:

  • A link to your website
  • Your business hours
  • Your physical address if you have one
  • Your contact information

You may also want to add a call to action button that will appear on your page. Some of the options include:

  • Learn More
  • Sign Up
  • Shop Now
  • Send Message

Decide what action you want visitors to your page to take and use that as your call to action to get the best results.

Use Facebook Groups

Many business owners forget that on social media, the “social part” is just as important as everything else. People follow their favorite brands on Facebook because they want a give and take.

You can start by joining Facebook groups and by creating a Facebook group of your own. Research shows that approximately 1.4 billion people use Facebook groups. More importantly, consumers welcome brands’ participation in groups provided they offer real value and aren’t just trying to make sales.

Interact with Your Customers

The name of the game in Facebook marketing is engagement. If your followers aren’t liking and sharing your posts, commenting on them, or asking questions, your marketing strategy isn’t working.

In other words, if someone comments, write back! If they ask a question, answer it. If they share a post featuring your product or brand, reshare it with their permission. The more you do to let your followers know that you see and hear them, the more loyal they will be.

Integrate Customer Service with Facebook

Speaking of interacting with your customers, you should also be integrating your customer service with Facebook. It doesn’t matter if you prefer to field customer questions or complaints on your website or by phone. Customers expect the brands they follow to be responsive to their requests across all channels.

Your best bet? Assign an employee to monitor your Facebook messages and respond to service requests as they arise. In addition to expecting to get service wherever they request it, Facebook users also expect speedy responses.

Run Facebook Ads

Facebook advertising is quite affordable. If you do it right, it can be a great way to attract more followers, build your list, or increase your sales.

Let’s talk about what doing it right means. You’ll need to:

  • Identify the best target audience for your ads
  • Create a compelling ad with a hero image or a video
  • Decide on a goal for your ad
  • Test alternatives for headlines, calls to action, etc.
  • Monitor your results and tweak your ad content accordingly

While you’re testing content, you may want to start with a small budget until you’ve optimized your ad. Then, you can increase your spending to get the results you want.

Post Useful Content

The key to engaging your followers on Facebook is posting useful content. Here are some suggestions:

  • Provide answers to common questions and concerns.
  • Give options on how to use and/or make the most of your product or service.
  • Use Facebook Live to do a Q & A, introduce your staff, or offer a behind-the-scenes tour of your business.
  • Run Facebook contests and giveaways.

Keep in mind that you should share a mix of original and curated content. With curated content, make sure to offer your own take on it – and only share content relevant to your brand and followers.

Use Messenger/Chatbot Marketing –

It can take up your valuable time if you need to monitor Facebook messages around the clock. The best way to take the stress out of the situation is to use a chatbot to send automated responses to people who message you.

Building a chatbot for Facebook Messenger is easy and affordable. Imagine all you’re looking for is a series of automated responses. In that case, you can use a tool such as Chatfuel or MobileMonkey to quickly create a chatbot that meets your needs and provides customers with the immediate responses they expect.

Take Advantage of Retargeting 

It would be great if every potential customer who visited your website filled out your lead form the first time they interacted with your brand. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works!

The solution is to use Facebook’s retargeting option to reconnect with people who stopped short of completing your opt-in form, downloading your lead magnet, or making a purchase. Retargeting can help you to reconnect with those people, educate them about your brand, and get them to take the next step. All you need to do is install a Facebook pixel on your site. You can read more about it here.

The bottom line is that Facebook marketing is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to meet your marketing and growth goals. Use the information to optimize your page, engage with your target audience, and take your business to the next level.

The bottom line is that it’s never too late to bring your social media presence back from the dead. The key is to be practical, methodical, and realistic – and to listen to your audience!