Facebook is still the Superhero of Social. Make use of its’ mighty arsenal of dynamite tools

So you’ve heard people say Facebook has passed its peak.

Are you convinced? Is that opinion verified against the data? Because in 2018 Facebook was still the most popular social media channel: with more than 2.2 BILLION active users every month.

Can you afford to ignore that route to market?

For almost every business the answer must surely be no.

But how do you approach Facebook advertising to get the best out of your budget? That’s a great question.

The reason why so many people become disillusioned with Facebook is because finding your target audience amongst all those people seems impossible. Talk about giant haystacks and tiny needles!

Strategy First

But it’s not. What you need is a strategic approach, so that when you open Facebook’s Ads Manager, you’re clear about what it is you’re trying to achieve. Then the options aren’t unnecessary complexity, but powerful opportunities to target your message and not waste any of your precious marketing budget.

So let’s break this down.

Forget it’s Facebook for a moment and think, if I entered a crowded room full of strangers and wanted to find a new customer, what is it that I need to ask? What do I want to achieve?

First, what room are you in? Is it in an elevator full of random strangers, or an exhibition hall, where I know everyone I’m speaking to will at least have an interest in your product or service. This process lets you understand where you’re meeting in relation to the sales funnel?

Then, think about who your buyer is. Can you define them? You can refine this in Ad Manager by geographic location, but also by demographics and aligned interests. Understand what your customers’ motivation is for buying?

And, crucially, what is your goal today? Is it actually getting a sale, or are you building a mailing list? Do you want to generate leads, build brand awareness or drive site traffic? Prioritise, depending on where you are in your own business cycle, and be specific about your campaign’s objective. That’s singular – remember, be specific to try Facebook out and then you’ll understand how it can help you.

The answers shape you campaign’s objective and Facebook allows you get very specific:

• Brand awareness
• Reach
• Traffic
• Engagement
• App installs
• Video views
• Lead generation
• Messages
• Conversions
• Catalogue Sales
• Store Visits

Your campaign objective in Ads Manager should align with your strategic goal. If you have a video and you want to drive sales then choose ‘conversions’ rather than the more obvious ‘video views’, as that’s what your ultimate goal is for this campaign.

Allow your circumstances to play to your strengths. If you’re a local start-up and you want to create brand awareness then emphasise that sense of local community or ability to provide a personal service.

5 steps to follow when getting started

Start by posting content that is related to where you’re based. It will help Create a sense of community. If your locality was recently hit by a storm, or celebrated a local anniversary, then post content that shows your product or service being put to good use in that context, but that isn’t sales-y; and encourage other local businesses to help. Don’t underestimate the power of social enterprise: being seen to do good by your local community will win the hearts of potential customers far and wide – if it’s authentic!

For those who join your community, treat them well – they can become brand ambassadors and share your name widely. So if you want to trial a special offer or discount, test it first among this loyal community and make them feel valued.

Engage your audience: Don’t go straight to your USP when you post. Sales are naturally the thing that excites you most, as the business owner, but bombarding your community with loud sales messages will turn off your community faster than bragging about your local team’s position in the league table after your customer’s team just lost their league match.

The attention span of online users is short, and if you lose their interest they will quickly tire, unfollow you, or unsubscribe from your page.  And you won’t win them back! So post helpful non-sales messages as often, if not more than the sales focused ones.

Make the tone of voice conversational, friendly and focused on them and their needs or aspirations, not your own obsessions. Tread warily with jokes and humour, as it can be as easy to cause offence as it is to trigger a smile.

Ask questions to build conversations, and respond to their responses as quickly as you can. You do need to invest time as well as money into making this work! The added benefit is that when your audience ‘Like’ what you’ve had to say, their online activity will be seen on their friends’ newsfeeds.

The following tips can help increase your Facebook Likes:

• Use good, relevant and engaging images
• Cross refer to your Facebook activities on other social media platforms you use
• Keep individual posts short
• Interact: if you see one of your followers use your product, share their post or leave a comment
• Keep your page active after its initial launch

Embed your customer service on your Facebook page: Encourage customers to leave reviews and comments on your wall. Whatever their experience, be sure to respond and thank them for positive feedback, but answer any criticisms openly. (Take specific issues offline and deal directly, but say you’re doing that in a public response, to show that any and all issues are addressed quickly). 

A worthwhile investment in time and money

Facebook can take time and effort to understand well, but the effort should be rewarded before too long. The options in Power Editor and Ads Manager can tailor your advert with incredible precision and help your budget go much further than you imagine. Just take it one step at a time. But if you want help, just get in touch.