Here are five short but effective tips to help you utilize Facebook to market your business:
1. Facebook should be used to create a community, not a ‘hard sell’
Facebook users see it as a place to interact, watch videos, check out photos and relax. They don’t want to be bombarded with the traditional ‘hard sell’ tactics.
I would suggest starting a community, getting users involved with the brand, engaging the user in a way that would make the brand memorable. Don’t post repeatedly about the same thing, and don’t constantly punt the product but rather point them to the website or provide contact details for the hard-core product information.
2. Understand the purpose of your post
With every post you create on Facebook you need to understand the purpose.
Is the post going to be informative? Then I suggest that you get straight to the point and provide your community with information that could be potentially useful to them, like a special you are running on jackets or a new addition to your range.
Or is it going to be entertaining? In that case, everyone loves cute cat pictures or some topical humorous memes. Understanding this will help you understand what interests your audience and will help you engage them more effectively.
3. Don’t create a post and then forget about it
The whole point of creating a community is to actively engage with them. Don’t ignore posts, or create a post and completely forget about it. Facebook makes it easy for people to communicate with your brand. The last thing you want is a brand that doesn’t talk back. And yes, you have to reply to the negative comments as well.
4. Real-time interaction is important
Traditional media such as magazines, television programmes, or even online media like company web pages, aren’t always updated on a regular basis. However when it comes to Facebook, people want real-time interaction. If you think about it, how often do you check your personal Facebook page? Your business should be doing the same. You need to produce enough content for those checking their accounts regularly to see your posts, in addition to responding speedily to any queries.
5. Use visuals
Most Facebook users log on when they have a free moment. This could be two minutes, five minutes or a bit longer if you are lucky. They don’t want to spend five minutes reading through a detailed post: they want to glance at something and be engaged. The easiest way to achieve this is with something visual: a picture or a short video. You need to make it as easy as possible for the user to ‘consume’ your content.