Facebook boosts more users than any other website on the internet (with the exception of Google, of course); more than 1.55 billion users and growing. With more than 1/7th of the entire global population obsessing over their Facebook feeds, the social network can be a marketing goldmine for any business, if leveraged correctly.
The main hurdle for many smaller businesses is money. Budgets, especially when you’re starting out, aren’t normally plentiful. There are, however, some crafty tips for accessing Facebook’s staggering reach without reaching for your pocketbook.
Check out these tips for aggrandizing brand awareness on Facebook without having to spend a single penny.
#1 Study the Success of Your Posts
You are posting content all over Facebook in hopes of gaining more followers and attention; but the real importance comes in how these posts have been received by your audience. Facebook’s page insights provides detailed knowledge for all of the content that has gone up on your page and can be ranked by likes, comments, or shares. This will allow you to gain a deep understanding of the types of posts that have been received well, what kinds create the most engagement, and which to avoid like the Donald Trump with a rash. Harvest as much information as you can from this data, establish any patterns or themes among the posts, and move on to Tip #2.
#2 Generate and Post Killer Content
This is a serious must as content holds the keys to success. Much like Google, Facebook values great content for its users. When establishing posts that will appear on a user’s feed, the social giant sifts through engagement metrics such as shares, likes, and click-through-rates to ascertain if a post is high quality or not. The better the metrics, the more likely a post will continue to spread. To help yourself engineer each post to suit your audience, ask yourself:
- What is a trending topic in your niche?
- What excites your audience most?
- How will this provide value to your community?
Answer these questions thoughtfully and hold your audience’s regard in mind, and you will be well on your way to some stellar posts and metrics.
#3 It’s All About Timing
The timing of a post plays a major role into how successful (or unsuccessful) it turns out to be. In fact, there has been so much time poured into this subject, it has essential become a science.
- Check out the best time to post on Instagram. It’s an in-depth research on two million posts.
But don’t take this information to necessarily be one-size-fits-all. Take into account the time zone and habits of your audience and plan accordingly.
#4 Cross Promote Through Email
Email marketing is an invaluable tool for a plethora of businesses. Take this opportunity to cross promote some of your most successful top ranking posts. Since the content in the emails is already something that your fan base is interested in, these people are more prone to like, comment, and share these posts with all of their Facebook friends. Use email to highlight your best and brightest content pieces; it’s the ideal way to get more mileage out of both platforms.
The ways to generate and increase brand awareness on Facebook are innumerable; all it takes is a little creative thinking, a few clever tools, and a heck of lot of work. Organic methods don’t trump the power of promoted posts, but you don’t need a budget to develop the kind of following your business deserves. Plus, the ability to think outside the box will be a precious asset to you as you navigate the wildly unpredictable world of online marketing.
Want some more tips and tricks to build a rock star social media following? Shoot us an email and we will help you start the process.