Given the depth and breadth of Facebook’s user base, your e-commerce business must have a presence there. If it doesn’t, you’re overlooking one of the best marketing opportunities ever created.
First of all, it costs absolutely nothing to set up a Facebook Business page. Second, it can be specifically targeted to your ideal customer. Third, you’ll get a wealth of free analytic tools you use to hone your offering specifically to gain more engagement.
With that said, to truly leverage the tool, there are some Facebook Business best practices to which you should adhere.
Let’s take a look at some of them.
Know Your Audience
Regardless of the nature of your business, one of the fundamental rules of marketing is knowing your customer. How can you craft an appeal if you don’t know who you’re trying to reach?
You have to get to know the average age, educational status, gender, and income level of your target market at minimum. Facebook lets you take it even farther. You can find out what people like and dislike, gain insights into their politics, and even find out if they like chocolate cake.
With that knowledge in hand, Facebook Business pages let you segment your audience according to age, location, income, education, language, specific interests, etc.
Take some time to figure out what resonates with your audience and you’ll see a lot more success from your page.
Choose an Appropriate Template
Facebook offers a variety of templates for different industries, including:
- Business
- Nonprofit
- Politicians
- Services
- Shopping
- Restaurants & Cafes
- Entertainment Venues
- Video Pages
Each one is designed to cater to your specific endeavor. The templates also have tabs you can customize. For example, a restaurant can choose to feature their menu. Video clips and other information unique to your situation can be afforded prominence as well. Even better, you can choose a template reflective of your website themes.
Post Engaging Content
A huge benefit of knowing your audience is the insight it gives you in terms of the content you should post. First and foremost, you’ll want to produce material that’ll incite your audience to take action.
Keep in mind, people love seeing pictures and video. One of the most clever uses of video on Facebook in recent memory was when musician Esperanza Spalding let Facebook users look over her shoulder as she recorded an album.
Knowing the preferences of your followers enables to you to be edgy without worrying about going over the edge. You can ask questions and run images that pique their interest and move them to comment, like and share.
Make it a point to interact when people respond. One of the best things you can do for another human being is give them a sense of importance. You tell them they matter when you respond to their posts on your page. Demonstrating humanity in this fashion builds your credibility and leads them to bond with you. With that in mind, always make an effort to post truth. Don’t jump on trends and memes until they are corroborated by at least three different sources.
Customize The Call to Action
In most cases, your primary goal will be to get users to click through to your e-commerce site. Each Facebook Business Page includes a call to action button you can customize for this purpose. These buttons can also launch videos, open appointment calendars, and perform a host of other useful actions. The key is to make sure your usage is in line with your primary objective.
Use Facebook Ads
Remarkably inexpensive—particularly when you consider the return on investment—Facebook Ads keep your posts visible in feeds longer. Sure, some of them might go viral without that extra little push, but this isn’t always guaranteed.
Take Advantage of Facebook Insights
Measuring your results is the best way to determine what’s working and what needs to be adjusted. Facebook Insights will let you track and measure the success of your efforts. You can figure out which posts perform better than others and tailor future content to reflect the most successful material.
While these are but a few of the Facebook Business best practices to consider, they do cover the fundamentals of getting it right. Facebook also offers a wealth of information to help you make the most of this highly useful marketing tool at Facebook.com/business.
