By now, most successful businesses recognize the power of social media marketing. Taking full advantage of that power, on the other hand, is something that many businesses are still struggling with.
Are you one of them? If so, a good place to start is with Facebook — after all, it has over 2 billion active monthly users. However, that stat does have a downside: Oversaturation and fragmentation of the market means that getting your brand noticed can be a serious challenge.
So, whether you’ve just started your first business Facebook page or you’re a veteran looking to spice up your social media tactics, we’ve put together eight ways to take your page from weak to wow.
1. An Eye-catching Cover Photo.
By nature, we’re visual creatures. When potential customers land on your Facebook page, one of the first things they’ll notice is your choice of cover image. For a professional look, make sure you observe the image dimensions (828px by 315px on desktop) to avoid stretching your image or covering important text.
Another key to a great cover image is to use a high-quality image with a single focal point. Remember that negative space is your friend. You don’t want to overwhelm the eye with too many subjects or too much text. Talus Payment’s Facebook page is a perfect example of an inviting and text-free cover photo.
2. An Engaging “About Us” Section.
With thousands of brands vying for the attention of your target market, it’s important to set yourself apart from the crowd.
You can do this by writing a snappy “About Us” section. Forget dry references to sales figures and instead paint a narrative for your audience. Make visitors feel involved with your team and inspired by your mission statement. Studies show that companies that use humor are more likely to elicit an emotional response, which in turn increases the likelihood of generating a lead.
3. A Consistent Voice.
Users who engage with companies on social media want to form a relationship, so establishing a consistent brand voice is vital.
If you’ve got more than one team member managing your Facebook page, make sure that you keep your tone consistent. You can do this by brainstorming what your brand persona would look like as a person: is he/she young, sassy, polite, funny? Building a profile of your brand’s personality will help to keep your interactions with customers reliable. If your About Us section is playful, your responses to inquiries should keep a similar tone.
4. The 4-1-1 Rule.
To keep your content interesting, learn to follow the 4-1-1 rule. Developed originally for Twitter by Tippingpoint Labs, the rule states that for every piece of self-promotional content you post, you should share four pieces of interesting curated content from your industry and share/retweet someone else’s post. This will help you balance the number of self-serving posts with posts that add value to your customers and fans’ feeds, as too much promotional content is an easy way to turn people right off your brand.
5. Optimized Posting Times.
Even if your posts are wonderfully witty, posting them at the wrong time of day can lead to low engagement rates. To get the most out of your social media following, make sure to time your posts. CoSchedule recently found that the best time to post on Facebook is between 1 – 4 p.m., particularly on weekends and late in the week. You can also use an analytics tool to work out when your company Facebook page receives the most views and time your content accordingly.
6. An Understanding of Facebook Insights.
If you’re not already keeping track of Facebook’s inbuilt analytics tool, Facebook Insights, you should be. While you may want to invest in a more powerful third-party software further down the line, Insights are a great way to get a core understanding of fan engagement and your organic reach. Using the metric data provided, you can determine whether the social media strategy you have in place is working or whether you need to tweak your content. If you don’t understand how Insights work, there are a number of free guides out there to help you learn the basics.
7. Third-Party Apps.
Facebook apps are a surprisingly underutilized way to make the most of your company Facebook page. Using third-party apps can quickly separate your page from the competition, by adding extra functionality.
For example, you can use them to host contests and generate promotional codes to attract new customers. Other apps will allow guests to sign up to your company newsletter without having to navigate away from Facebook.
Just be sure to do your research before installing any apps, as many free third-party apps have limited functionality and may look unprofessional.
8. Call-to-Action.
To increase leads and create engagement, strive to end your Facebook posts with a call-to-action. A call-to-action can be as simple as inviting fans to sign up for a free trial. It can be a request for comments on your post or feedback on product names. It’s all about making the customer feel involved and building a relationship that will lead to eventual purchase and long-term brand loyalty.
No matter how long you’ve been in the social media marketing game, you can always afford to try a new technique or two. With consumer needs and expectations constantly changing, it’s important to consistently monitor your tactics.