10 Easy and Effective Ways to Promote Your Business on Facebook
A Facebook page is only as effective as the effort that you put into it. Creating a Facebook page but failing to actively engage with potential customers is like paying for a television advertisement but showing it only at 3 am. Quite simply, if your Facebook page is not active, no one will see it.
To get you started, we have listed 10 easy ways to get active in the Facebook community and to attract even more viewers and potential customers to your page.
- Hold a contest. Everyone loves to win free stuff right? Run a special Facebook promotion with an attractive, limited-time offer of your product or service. Don't forget about the importance of Facebook's contest rules for your page.
- Respond to comments. Unlike past forms of advertising, Facebook is a two-way medium. If viewers do you the courtesy of commenting on your page, do them the courtesy of responding. Thank them for their comments, answer any questions, and offer creative, constructive ideas.
- Be Bold. Status updates attract the most attention when they take a strong stance. Post something that is unusual or unexpected, clearly state your ideas and philosophies, and always invite discussion.
- Initiate a daily post. Start a pattern of posting a question, topic, or update everyday at a specific time. Make it creative, surprising, and engaging, and always invite comments. This will encourage repeat viewers to check your page every day. Test different times of day to determine when you gain the most traction.
- Check out your competitors. Look over your competitors' Facebook pages and see what they are posting and what viewers are commenting about. Identify what people are talking about and promote how your business can add new ideas to that conversation on your own company page.
- Let your personality shine. Facebook is anything but stuffy and formal, so embrace the more informal side of your business. Let your sense of humor show through and give viewers a sense of the people behind your business.
- Post visuals. Videos and photos are a great way to show off the personality of your business and add a human aspect to the ideas and products you are promoting.
- Repost. Search for articles relevant to your business and post links on your business's Facebook page. With each post, make sure to add your own thoughts about the article and how it might be helpful to your target market. If you have a blog, you should DEFINITELY post every blog post on Facebook to encourage blog readership and conversation.
- Prompt discussion. Ask a thought-provoking question and watch as viewers take the debate into their own hands. Make sure to moderate the debate and periodically add your own comments and thoughts. You can also engage in some inexpensive (and non-scientific) research + development by utilizing Facebook polls.
- Use "likes" as a measuring stick. If one post or topic prompts a lot of "likes", this is a good indication that your target market is particularly interested in that question or idea. Capitalize on this interest by providing more information and promoting how your business can help viewers with that particular issue.
