Using Facebook to promote your business these days is more fun than ever! Companies can promote their brands and products in completely new ways thanks to the number of options that technology offers to the world of marketing. Expensive marketing campaigns are a thing of the past – now you can advertise, often entirely for free, right on your Facebook page.
Keep in mind that your customers will want to see constantly shifting content. You want to keep your Facebook page fresh and exciting so that your clients will stay engaged. So what should you be doing to keep your online persona timely and interesting?
If your business does e-commerce, you probably have a good idea of how much Facebook can help you promote your business and increase sales. But even the masters of social media activity run out of ideas once in a while. Here are six tips to keep your Facebook posts exciting and click-worthy and your engagement high.
Engage your Followers with Questions
Try to start a conversation and keep your customers engaged in your brand and services. If you are in the clothing industry, you can offer links to information and articles about design trends and ask your audience about their opinions. Put up photos of different outfits and ask people how much they would pay for them or which ones they like better. There’s no real science to getting people engaged so bring your own personality into it. Consumers love to feel like there is a real human behind all the messaging.
Offer Discounts and Giveaways
This is one of the oldest rules of marketing and it still holds true today – people love to feel like they are getting a deal. Try offering “limited time only” specials one day a week, or “first twenty buyers for product A get product B free.” You’ll be amazed at how much traffic this can drive to your site.
Host Contests
In addition to freebies, you can run contests that get your customers more engaged. These can be anything from games like “caption this photo” to having followers submit pictures of people using your product. You could even hold a Fan of the Week contest for the person who has bought the most products or posted/shared the most on your page. One example of this strategy in action is Victor Electronic Mouse Traps. They hold a trivia contest every other month on their Facebook and give away gift cards to their winners. If they can get their fans excited about mousetraps, imagine how excited you can get fans about your business!
Advertise
It isn’t free, but it is effective: Facebook offers some of the most targeted advertising money can buy. Promote your page either to your existing audience, their friends, or an entirely new group of people to build engagement and your number of likes. You can promote your wedding service to single (or even engaged!) women in their early to mid 20s, for example, or target your line of pet products to people who name “dogs” or “cats” as interests. This is especially useful in combination with some of these other tips – promote your contest or specials to exactly the right audience.
Offer Advice
Everyone loves free advice from experts. If your company specializes in a certain field (i.e. sports equipment, massage therapy, housecleaning supplies, etc.), post some helpful tips or information that’s relevant to what you do. It will start conversations and also make your customers think of you as a go-to source for info on the topic.
Link your Instagram to Facebook
You may want to consider getting an Instagram account if you don’t already have one. It’s a great way to share photos with customers and strengthen your brand identity. Take photos of people using your products or of your office space and employees. Upload them using Instagram and publish them straight to your Facebook. Photos are always an eye-catching way to engage your followers and get them excited about your company.
Facebook is a great way to promote your business. Using these tips, you can start working on new and exciting content today.
Adrienne Erin is a freelance writer who covers trends in social media and social marketing. She has written for Content Marketing Institute, MarketingProfs, and Search Engine People, and is always looking for new opportunities. To see more of her work, follow her on Twitter at @adrienneerin.