Before starting a Facebook marketing campaign, you need to decide where Facebook marketing fits into your marketing strategies. Otherwise, you’re flying blind with no set expectations on what to expect for a return on your investment.

As of June 2017, Facebook reported it has 2 billion monthly active users worldwide. No platform in the history of social media has ever had that kind of reach, so it’s hardly surprising that brands are eagerly making the most of Facebook marketing campaign.

In the same way that an optimized website create a strong online presence for your brand, a successful Facebook marketing campaign can be more financially rewarding for you and your business.

But, before your marketing team dive in and start creating Facebook campaigns, there are several things you need to know about this marketing tool that makes it distinctive and more extensive compared to traditional media in the past. It is important to remember as a business owner that Facebook is an engagement platform and was developed with the ability to interconnect people worldwide. Effectively leveraging this engagement and interaction between your brand and your customers is advantageous for your social media marketing success.

Just like word-of-marketing has invaluable impacts on your brand, the same concept holds true for the Facebook ‘Like’ button. It is certainly a vote of confidence for visitors gravitated to your Facebook content and an online word-of-mouth recommendation that can have viral responses – with your business as the beneficiary.

Your business can also harness the power of Facebook marketing. The following is an overview of the essentials that will point you in the right direction towards social media success.

1. Learn the Rules of Engagement

Before leaping into creating and setting up your Facebook campaign, it is crucial for business owners to understand the general rules of engagement for Facebook users. As mentioned above, Facebook is an engagement platform and need social interaction to work properly. It is not advisable to simply join in the discussion and try to start selling your products or services because people typically interact with other users who can offer value or fulfill their need. This engagement is a requisite for your business to build trust. Interest in what you have to offer will follow after trust has been established.

2. Choose a Memorable Vanity URL for Your Facebook Page

A vanity URL is a custom name for your page versus using the string of numbers that Facebook provides when you initially create your Facebook page. There are three sources for building a notable Facebook presence; Facebook pages, Facebook Groups, and your personal profile. Facebook profiles custom URL is usually referred to as ‘usernames’. Facebook pages and groups custom urls are referred to as ‘vanity url’. In all cases, your custom URL will make it easier for visitors to find you and your business. Best practice when choosing your vanity URL or username is to remember to keep it simple, relevant, and brand focused.

3. Harness the Power of Facebook Pages

Businesses and professionals alike can harness the power of Facebook pages to ignite your own social media brand and following. What make pages so unique is the ability to share content, post content, and interact with followers, friends, and friends of friends, and of course, it’s completely free to use. These are all potential customers for your business and is far-reaching than your tradition website pages.

Although you cannot make extensive customizations, taking advantage of the customization features that Facebook does offer can provide your pages and groups with a uniqueness that sets your pages and groups apart from others. You can install third party tools and apps to create a unique welcome page which can then be configured as your default landing page instead of using the default Facebook timeline. This can give your page a boost and incite visitors to become fans which translates into potential customers.

Additionally, mid 2017 Facebook rolled out its newest feature – animated covers for pages. How cool is that? You can now replace the static cover image with an awesome video or slideshow. Take care when creating your slideshows and videos and consider your page visitors’ experience and page load time. Long videos or high definition videos are not advisable.

4. Make Use of Facebook Groups

Facebook group is akin to a traditional forum in that it’s an evolution of discussions, but with the distinct differences of operating within the boundaries and guidelines of Facebook. When you create a Facebook group, you can set it to Open, Closed, or Secret. An open group allows everyone to see everything, including search engines. Admins must approve members and only members can see the group’s content for a closed group. Secret group is exactly that, secret. To ensure the integrity of your group and its members, you may want to consider making your group ‘closed’.

What makes Facebook groups unique as a marketing tool is that you are interacting with an entire network all at once versus a single individual, and with like-minded people.

5. Choose the Most Relevant and Best Content for Your Page and Groups

After creating your Facebook page and group, the next step is choosing the appropriate content to share with your audience. Keep in mind the rules of engagement and not to direct ‘sell’. Post your best and relevant content; photos, videos, articles, etc. that your viewers will find interesting, entertaining, informative, or useful. Your content is for their enjoyment, not yours. And of course it is a good idea that your content relates to your brand or business in some way. This makes your Facebook marketing campaign for inclusive.

6. Incorporate Facebook into Your Website

In addition to Facebook’s own social plugins, there are numerous ways to incorporate Facebook into your website that will be helpful in extending engagement with your visitors, members and fans. Facebook is the most used social network. By placing a Facebook like and share button on each page of your website, gives your visitors the option to signup for your website content and share it using their social media account.

7. Try Out Facebook Ads for Your Campaign

You can promote your page, brand, products, services, or boost a post using Facebook Ads. The amount you spend is entirely up to you, you set your budget. Plus, you can refine your ad by demographics, location, and more in order to ensure that your paid ad is seen by a more targeted audience for ideal potential customers.

Final Words

Facebook has transformed the way we interact with one another; connecting people with similar interests, or friends and family separated by distances that allows them to share content and experiences. This has provided an ideal solution for businesses seeking to extend their reach, interact with more of their customers, and find new potential customers. We can help you tap into the power of Facebook and make more use of what it has to offer for your business. Don’t just survive – thrive! Give us a call at (858) 874-6528 or schedule a consultation online. We’d love to hear from you and learn more about the projects you have in mind and how we might help with your marketing materials and social media marketing.

Don’t forget to leave your comments and questions below, and I promise to respond to each of them.

Hazel Burgess

Hazel Burgess
FOUNDER/SEO DIRECTOR

Hazel is the Founder & SEO Director at Envisager Studio, a premier website design agency specializing in WordPress website design, development and internet marketing. In her spare time, she writes about search engine optimization, website design, and internet marketing.