Is Facebook Right For Your Marketing Strategy? 5 Key Considerations & How to Start
The benefits of social media advertising are clear. Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t have it all and need to decide which platform is the best for your marketing strategy. Many people immediately think of Facebook because it’s the most popular one.
But – the truth is Facebook won’t always work best for you because of the characteristics of its users. If you’re considering implementing Facebook for your marketing strategy, here are the primary point that will help you decide if it’s worth your time.
What is Facebook Marketing?
Facebook marketing is a term that describes all of the activities that promote your business on the platform. It means creating and sharing content, engaging with your audience, and running ads to increase brand awareness, generate leads, and drive sales on Facebook. There are many ways of promoting on Facebook, both free and paid, and they all make 82% of Facebook users feel a stronger bond with brands they follow on the platform than those they don’t.
Organic marketing on Facebook means all the free activities. Mainly it means posting valuable content that will increase engagement with the audience. This can include creating posts that educate, entertain, or inform your followers, as well as sharing industry news, behind-the-scenes glimpses of your business, and customer success stories.
Paid marketing options on Facebook are a perfect way to complement your organic efforts on the platform. They include advertising campaigns on the platform, like Facebook Ads or Boosted posts, intending to reach targeted audiences. Ideally, those people should turn into customers.
What Brands Benefit Most From Facebook Marketing?
Facebook is the most popular social media platform, but it doesn’t mean it’s equally suitable for advertising for every target group. Here you can find information about Facebook’s demographics and what kind of people are most influenced by the content on the platform – thus, what kind of businesses can benefit most from Facebook marketing and should consider implementing it in their strategy.
- According to the WordStream report, conversion rates on Facebook are best for businesses in the fitness, education, employment & job training, real estate, and healthcare sectors – all with at least a 10% conversion rate. This means that companies from those industries have the most significant chance of getting new customers through their marketing efforts on Facebook.
- Users between 45 and 64 are most likely to click on an ad they see on Facebook, which makes them the age group most influenced by Facebook marketing. Thus, if a brand focuses on selling to adults around these ages, Facebook seems like an excellent idea. Gen Zers are more likely to be influenced by other platforms, like Instagram – 89% of people 25 or younger are likely to choose Instagram over other social media platforms when shopping; for users between 45 and 64, the number drops to around 55%, making Facebook the superior option.
- As of January 2023, Mongolia, Libya, and the Philippines have the highest Facebook ad reach, based on the Statista report.
- Local advertising on Facebook has significant potential. If you have a local business, for example, a one-location boutique, Facebook is the best choice. Facebook Ads have great location targeting options – you can even target a specific mile radius around your company.
5 Key Factors for Deciding on Facebook Marketing
Here are some points to consider when deciding whether Facebook marketing is a good choice for you. Ideally, you should analyze all of these points individually and consider them together to make an informed decision about Facebook marketing for your brand:
- Know your target audience
Determine if your target group is more active on Facebook or other social media. If Facebook is the platform they spend the most time on, including it in your social media strategy might be a good idea.
- Analyze competitor activity
Check if your competitors are on Facebook. Do they have a page? Do they join groups relevant to your niche? Do they make ads? Are they successful in their efforts? All these factors will help you determine whether Facebook marketing is suitable in your industry – and at the same time, help you identify both good and bad practices. This also creates a foundation for establishing your unique selling proposition.
- Consider your resources
Your budget, time, and expertise all influence your ability to advertise on Facebook effectively. Analyze if you have all the necessary resources not only to create but also to manage your campaigns before committing to this marketing strategy.
- Evaluate your goals
You can easily decide if Facebook can fill in by establishing what you lack in your current marketing strategy. To analyze this effectively, familiarize yourself with the different Facebook advertising options and the best practices for each type of ad.
The First Steps in Facebook Marketing
If you’ve decided that Facebook marketing will benefit your business but have no idea where to begin, here are some basic steps to make the best of your efforts.
- Create your Facebook business page
Creating a page for your business is free and easy to do. It creates a space for people to follow your brand and engage with your content. It’s best to optimize your page by adding all the information that Facebook recommends, like location or profile and background photos. This way, people will be able to find your page quickly and will perceive it as professional.
- Regularly publish valuable content
Set up a schedule for your content. It’s a good idea to divide your content into categories, for example, educational, entertaining, and informative. Then, determine how often and in what form you want to publish each type. This way, you’ll have a consistent plan for your profile, and your content will be valuable for your audience.
- Try out Facebook Ads
Before deciding to get all involved in Facebook Ads, it’s best to start with a small budget. This way, you can analyze your first results without breaking the bank and determine if investing more in the platform is worth it.
- Constant evaluation and reports
Once you’ve started implementing your Facebook marketing strategy, you must evaluate your results regularly. Use Facebook Insights to track the performance of your page, including engagement rates, reach, and demographics of your audience. Based on these metrics, you can adjust your strategy to optimize your results and achieve your business goals.
Example: Good Facebook Marketing Strategy
Here’s an example of a well-prepared Facebook marketing strategy for a small online boutique that sells sustainable fashion:
- Target audience: Our ideal customer is a millennial woman aged 22-35 who values sustainability, ethical fashion, and trendy clothing.
- Content plan: Our content will include educational, entertaining, and promotional posts. We’ll post about topics like sustainable fashion tips, behind-the-scenes glimpses of our production process, and photos of customers wearing our clothing. We’ll also create product-focused posts that showcase our latest collections and highlight their sustainability features.
- Facebook Ads: We’ll set up Facebook Ads that target women aged 22-35 who have expressed interest in sustainable fashion, eco-friendly products, and other relevant topics. We’ll use eye-catching images and compelling copy to drive clicks to our website and encourage purchases.
- Engaging with the audience: We’ll promptly respond to comments and messages and use Facebook Live to engage with our audience in real-time. We’ll also run contests and giveaways to encourage engagement and increase our reach.
- Monitoring and evaluation: We’ll use Facebook Insights to track the performance of our page and ads. We’ll pay attention to metrics like engagement rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate and use this data to adjust our strategy and improve our results over time.
Author: Martyna Inkielman is a content writer at PhotoAiD. She enjoys writing about travel and social media topics. In her free time, Martyna can be found exploring new cuisines, painting or taking analog photos.