It’s 1/8 of the Globe. What’s Your Facebook Marketing Plan?

Why do big brands and companies care so much about Facebook Likes? Oreo’s Facebook page has 15.4 million fans who have “liked” their Page and have connected with them, while its website receives a “mere” 250,000 visitors a month by comparison. Other large companies have planned  creative Facebook marketing campaigns specifically targeting Facebook users.

There’s no doubt about it: whether you want to dominate or simply benefit from the social media landscape in your industry, Facebook marketing should figure high on your list of priorities, especially if you market directly to consumers (B-2-C) instead of to other businesses.

For starters, Facebook makes it easy to create a business Page and to begin attracting fans. Your business revolves around people, many of whom are using Facebook on a daily basis. In fact, As of late 2012, there are over 900 million monthly active users worldwide, half of them daily active users. That’s about an eight of the planet, even counting third world countries! You surely can’t ignore this potential gold mine of future customers.

2017 Q4 Update: there are now approximately 2.2 billion active Facebook users worldwide.

With that in mind, here are three basic Facebook marketing tips to get started on on the road to a well-crafted Facebook marketing plan.

Develop an online brand image and a “persona” or style of communicating with your audience. Your Facebook marketing efforts will be otherwise appear diluted and scattered. Make sure Facebook users can distinguish your company right away by your company logo and by the look and style of your entries on your brand’s Facebook Timeline page, which will also appear in your Followers’ Facebook content stream (known as their “wall”). The style and substance of Facebook content matters – a lot! Feature images that communicate your company ethos. Schedule what to publish and when to publish it to get the maximum impact from every Facebook post that arrives at each of your fan’s wall stream.

Your Facebook marketing strategy is essentially made up of content updates. It’s not enough that such content simply relates to the products and services you offer. Strive to also make your content highly engaging. Remember, you are competing with an ever-increasing level of competition from businesses and individuals.

Depending on your market, consider including content that’s funny, emphatic or even quirky so as to strike a chord with your fans and raise awareness of your brand, products, or services. For example, some companies upload funny video skits to connect with their fans. Others offer exciting promos and prizes on a frequent basis. Do what it takes to keep them coming back often, including incentives such as discounts, coupons, or valuable information they can’t get anywhere else. Whatever you choose, make it fit within your overall Facebook marketing strategy (I.e., think it through before diving in!).

Your loyal customers don’t always have time to fill out suggestion or comment forms, but they can easily log in to Facebook and check your page or receive your content on their wall. Facebook marketing, like any other type of social media marketing, involves a two-way flow of information. Attracting Facebook fans is a start, but it is important to engage Fans by responding quickly and honestly to comments and questions. The word will spread that yours is a company who responds.

A solid Facebook marketing plan can make a crucial difference in speeding the growth of a business. When carefully planned and integrated with your web design strategy and overall inbound marketing plan, it can provide an important element in gaining new leads, prospects, and customers.

Need help with your online marketing plan? Contact us for a free initial consultation.