If Facebook was a country, it would be the biggest on earth.
Getting Started with Facebook Advertising
Facebook is at the top of the list for most businesses. It has a lot of users – over 2 billion. It is likely the most well-known and developed social media platform.
Users between the ages of 25-34 make up 32% of Facebook users, making them the largest demographic group on the platform. Adults 18-24 make up the next largest group at 24%. (Statista.com, Global Facebook User Age Distribution 2021)
To get started with Facebook as a business, you must set up a Facebook Business page. To do so, you must be logged in to your personal Facebook account but, don’t worry, your personal information will not appear on your business page.
Business pages must be tied to a personal Facebook profile. Why you ask? For one, it’s against Facebook policy to use a standard Facebook profile for a business. Plus, personal pages have a 5000 friend limit, business pages can have unlimited friends. And, analytics are only available with business pages. So, follow the rules and set up your Business Facebook Page.
A business page acts the same way as your personal page. Your Facebook business page is a free resource, which includes basic contact information and enables businesses to stay connected with their customers by sharing important information and updates.
2/3 of Facebook users said they visit the Facebook page of a local business at least once a week. (Facebook IQ-commissioned Study, Factworks, Apr-May 2017)
When setting up your business page, be sure to include as much information as possible. You never get a second chance to make a first impression so make sure you are putting your best foot forward with your Facebook Business page profile.
Facebook for Your Business
With Facebook’s publishing tools, businesses can schedule posts to go live immediately or in the future and set a variety of targeting parameters. In addition, Facebook offers robust analytics and insights that help businesses get a clear demographic picture of their audience and with which posts their audience is – and isn’t – engaging.
Businesses should post regularly, but no more than a few times per day, about anything that helps give personality to their brand, informs and engages their audience, or gives an insider’s look at their business such as sales, special offers, events, new product launches, or behind the scenes photos and videos.
Facebook’s algorithms determine when, where and to whom posts appear and unfortunately, they are not friendly to brands. Brand posts are de-prioritized with precedence given to posts with lots of engagement and those from family, friends, and other connections. Because the algorithms focus on optimizing the user experience, Facebook does not like repetitive posts and posts which are misleading, spammy, too promotional, or text-only.
Many businesses rely solely on organic Facebook reach but, the average reach for organic Facebook posts is down to 5.2% and, average engagement is 0.25% (Hootsuite Blog, How the Facebook Algorithm Works in 2021 and How to Make it Work for You). Therefore, if you really want Facebook to work for you and deliver a healthy ROI, you need a combination of organic and paid.
Facebook’s Ad Center and Creator Studio are user-friendly tools with a variety of options to build ads and schedule posts. With Facebook, you can boost individual posts or create an ad campaign with specific goals. Facebook is highly sophisticated and has frighteningly accurate targeting. So, as long as you know what you want to accomplish, who you want to reach, what message you want to send, and when you want to send it, Facebook Ads can be very effective.
Another great feature of Facebook is Facebook Messenger. This allows users to message an organization or individual directly. Customers use Messenger and they expect businesses to use it, too. So be sure to monitor Messenger and respond promptly.
