is becoming increasingly popular with Facebook being used by over 8 million Australians. This is about 40% of the population.

If your business does not have a Facebook marketing profile, you are leaving a huge opportunity behind.

Laser targeting with Facebook Marketing

Facebook’s success stems from the fact that a person’s information is kept private until they choose to share or communicate with you. While it might be harder than other mediums to begin the connection, this means it is a very valuable contact as they have chosen to be in touch with you and your business.

Facebook Marketing – Demographic Targeting

Facebook takes in a great deal of demographic information so it is possible to target Facebook marketing campaigns to a very clear subsection of your market.

Email marketing and other forms of internet marketing have been affected greatly by spam. This has required the use of robust anti spam filters. Currently, email deliverability is very low and the open rate is considered to be around 22% (compared to text message marketing at a 97% open rate).

As a result, Facebook marketing is becoming more popular. It is marketing to people who are already there. Both business and consumers can make use of personal recommendations on Facebook about a product or service.

Since your Facebook followers have chosen to “Like” or be a “friend” to you, your information reaches them without any filters.

Facebook marketing uses a range of tools including Facebook Business Pages, Facebook Places, Facebook Insights apart from the better known Facebook Profiles, Events and Friends.

Facebook has become one of the most effective ways for businesses to connect with their potential and current customers. There are many ways that you can use Facebook for business.

Using Facebook for Business

create a business page to promote your products or services

offer specials, coupons and deals via your Facebook page

Facebook page tabs allow you to use all the different apps and create apps to increase loyalty from your customers

Facebook advertising can be very targeted as they have so much information about their members. You can target according to geographic location, age, interests and many other factors that mean your ads can be much more cost effective. You can also split test your ads to different target markets and see what works best

Facebook Marketing isn’t for the hard sell!

Facebook is not there just for ad slogans and sales promotions. It is important to develop a relationship with your followers and be seen to offer value without constantly asking for the sale. If you are seen to be just promoting and selling products constantly you will not only lose followers but you may find that people will leave negative feedback about you and your business.

Remember that social media is about developing trust and customer loyalty. It is important to use this forum to provide information that is useful about your products and services and industry.

Best Ways to Use Facebook Marketing

People use social media to have fun and engage with people. Businesses that do best in forums such as Facebook, regularly provide value as well as informative and entertaining content for their followers.

Facebook Marketing Strategies

It’s important to have a clear goal and plan for Facebook marketing. Say a local travel agent has a goal to increase sales that come through Facebook by 10% in the next 6 months. They may develop a plan to include:

posting daily with a special for each day

offering a coupon code with specials only for their Facebook followers for that day

offering a discount for customers who post to Facebook with photos and comments about their business

running a competition to engage current followers and to encourage more “likes” for their page

By setting goals and having a clear plan you can track your campaign’s success and test which Facebook marketing methods are the most effective for your business.

Be yourself on Facebook

Make sure that you post to Facebook as a person and not an entity. It is important that there is a human face to your networking on Facebook. People are there to be social first and foremost so they want to engage with real people and not with a formal business or official.

Posting regularly for Facebook Marketing

While it is important to post regularly to your Facebook wall and page, it is also vital to not post too often. People will hide or unfollow you if they feel you are taking up too much space and not giving a lot in return.

Statistics show that around 50% of all Facebook users check their page at least once a day, and they need to see that you are regularly posting new material. Some guides recommend posting at least once a day, but the core principles are to post when you have interesting content, and to judge how often your audience wants to hear from you.

Encourage comments and reply quickly

Encourage other Facebook users to respond to your posts or to post their own comments about your business or a topic that’s of interest to them and you. When they do post, respond quickly – within 24 hours is best. Failing to respond will weaken your Facebook friends’ willingness to engage with you, and they will gradually drift away.

Use pictures and videos

Pictures and videos are a major element of Facebook’s appeal. Use them frequently to keep your friends engaged and entertained. For example:

a clothing retailer could post photos of new stock as it arrives

an architect or builder could post day-by-day pictures of a house under renovation

a personal trainer could post an instructional video of how to do a particular exercise.

Get interactive with offers, contests, games, surveys, etc. People like it when Facebook is fun, and when it delivers something that they can’t get any other way.

Research shows that discounts and giveaways are the most popular reason for a customer to follow a business’s Facebook page. Likewise, contests and games can be used to liven up your page.

Facebook can also be used to distribute customer surveys. If you do this, make sure that you keep surveys short, and provide a survey link that users can easily click, ignore or share with their friends.

Nurture your relationships

It takes time to build good relationships with other Facebook users, so be patient. Engage sincerely in conversations, provide useful content, and develop rewards for loyal customers to help foster positive relationships.

Promote your Facebook page

If you have a Facebook page, promote it throughout your business so that your social media works hand-in-hand with more traditional marketing methods. Provide your Facebook address on your letterhead, business card and website, in store, in advertisements, and in your email signature.

Use Facebook Insights to learn more about your customers

Facebook Insights can tell you more about the people who choose to like your page. Once you know your Facebook friends’ characteristics, you can tailor your posts and offers to meet their needs and interests.

For example, if you’re a book store that caters to customers of all ages, but most of your Facebook friends are aged 18-25 years, your Facebook offers might concentrate on books suitable for that age group (while your in-store offers are broader). Or, if you’re an online seller who never meets your customers, you might be able to get a clearer picture of what they think and feel by reviewing their interests, ages and locations on Facebook.

Most businesses could benefit from Facebook marketing in some way. Even if it is simply to spread your presence in search results. Your Facebook page will be displayed in search results and links from Facebook are very highly regarded. Using Facebook also allows your followers to “share” your content with the potential that a story or post could go “viral”.

Facebook marketing helps you engage with your customers and stay in touch. It is used more on mobile devices than on desktops so your information is totally portable and on the move with your followers.

You can connect in real time through innovative Facebook marketing campaigns.

Go Viral Now has a team of social marketing experts who are ready to launch your business into the social media marketplace. Contact Go Viral Now to develop your Facebook marketing campaign.