Facebook: for Social Media Marketing

“People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising.”

- Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO

For many people, Facebook is a way to connect with friends and family, share a recent adventure, find old classmates, follow celebrities, find recipes, fight for social justice, and more. For others, it is a perfect place for the world of marketing to come to life. With over a billion users worldwide, Facebook is one of the best marketing tools an organization can use. As Mark Zuckerberg states above, "People influence people," so businesses need buy-in from a baseline of fans and followers who will share their content with their networks. 

Facebook launched as a social network in 2004 and has since diversified into a news source, a place to share adventures, and a way for businesses to connect with existing and new consumers. Facebook has over a billion active users, about 44% women and 56% men. Most users are aged 18 to 34. The U.S. has the most users at 13%, followed by India at 10%, and Brazil at 7%. The top languages are English (42%), Spanish (10%), and Brazilian Portuguese (7%). The top 5 categories liked/followed on Facebook are clothing, movies, products/services, restaurants/cafes, and fictional characters. (Data pulled from Facebook Audience Insights.)

Facebook Pages

The main marketing feature on the platform is Facebook Pages, which you can use to build and grow your brand presence. You can also use Pages to build and nurture customer relationships. There are different categories of pages that include: 

• local business or place

• company, organization, or institution

• brand or product

• artist, band, or public figure

• entertainment

• community or cause

When naming your page, be sure to pick a name that is directly connected to your business name or brand. Do not use offensive language or the word "Facebook in your title. Use your logo or a clear photo of yourself as your profile picture, and add a cover photo to help your brand stand out. If you have a preferred audience, you can add it during setup or later. Be sure to fill out the description and About sections. Once your page launches and you have published a few posts, you can invite people to like the page and track page insights to see what content performs best. 

Facebook Groups

For some businesses or communities, a Facebook Group may be a better fit, as it is even more suited to a two-way dialogue. You can have an open group, a closed group that requires approval to join, or a private group where only people you invite can access it. Each type of group has unique benefits, such as exclusive first looks at products or focus groups. You can also use the Events feature to promote new product launches or in-store events to drive traffic. Two additional Facebook features that can help guide your content and ads are Audience Insights and Pages to Watch.

Audience Insights

Audience Insights lets you gather and study information about various audience groups on Facebook. You can narrow your search to a specific geographic area, job titles or roles, an industry, gender, age range, and more. Facebook then presents information through Personicx, including demographics, household information, purchasing trends, Facebook activity, likelihood to click ads, and Lifestyle breakdowns.

Pages to Watch

The Pages to Watch feature allows you to follow competitor Facebook pages or pages you admire and want to emulate. You can compare total page likes, week-over-week changes in likes, posts this week, and engagements this week. This information gives you reliable data to benchmark against. To use this feature, you need at least 100 page likes and choose at least 5 Pages to Watch.

Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads are a powerful tool for various business objectives, such as boosting posts, promoting your Facebook Page, driving traffic to your website, increasing conversions, or raising event attendance. The tool allows you to target specific groups, set an adjustable budget within your means, and get real-time data. You can test different ads, copy, or imagery to see what performs best. Facebook Insights lets you track your ads so you can learn from past experiences to reach your business goals. 

There is so much more you can do with Facebook for Social media marketing. Each of these tools warrants a standalone post, and we will be bringing that series shortly. For now, visit Facebook Business for more info on what the platform can do for you. 

How do you use Facebook to promote your business or personal brand? What tools on the platform do you use? Share your knowledge and experience in the comments below. 

Thanks for reading!