Facebook for Your Business: 4 Things You Should Know

Getting onto Facebook is typically the first move made in the Social Media Marketing initiative for new or old businesses alike. It has reached a point where having Facebook for your business is an expectation, and you run the risk of seeming out of touch if you don't have one. So, naturally we have a situation where many businesses are unaware of what to do with their page (and other Social Media pages). Instead of opting for a “Social Media Intern” by default, take a stab at learning the platform first. 

No, it isn't rocket science, but there are many pitfalls, poor practices, and misconceptions that are important to know (so you can avoid them). On the flipside, there are great opportunities that can greatly help your business and your efforts. Here are 4 things you should know:

Market Research

You have one of the world's most comprehensive Market Research tools in the world in the palm of your hands with Facebook. Think about it: The database on Facebook is immense and allows for an amazing population to function as your “focus group”. Even more compelling is that Facebook Ads allows for A/B testing intrinsically and can even be set up further to A/B test in other ways (with minimal set-up). This is important because by understanding and figuring out who your audience is will allow maximum ROI with your efforts.

Page Reach

Knowing the way Facebook works with sharing your posts is paramount to getting an understanding of the platform as a whole. On a regular post you will find that typically only 10% of your following will see it. Facebook limits how many people will see that post to incentivize their paid ad platform and to keep newsfeeds from being too crowded. It’s that simple, but many people will never realize why this is happening. To combat this you can either pay for ads and boost the posts or drive up community engagement.

SEE ALSO: Maximizing Your Facebook Post Reach Without Spending

Video

If you have been on Facebook in the last few months then you have definitely noticed that videos are plentiful. They are all Facebook native too. This is no accident and stands to show the benefit of using Facebook’s platform natively to post your video content. With that said, Video on Facebook is rewarded and because of this reach for video posts in naturally boosted. Additionally, posts that have YouTube links in them are severely limited in reach. Your biggest takeaway here: create video for your business and distribute via Facebook on Facebook.

Social Selling

Don’t lean on Facebook, I would hesitate even using it as a crutch for selling or moving the bottom line for your business. Facebook is ideal for understanding your customers and fostering a community. Unless your following is in the hundreds of thousands you will not sell products via Facebook. The click-thru rate and conversion rates are proven to be abysmal and Email is already the accepted staple of selling product compared to all Social Channels. This doesn’t mean you should always avoid a salesy post once in awhile, but it means you should focus 95% of your time on Facebook (and all Social Media at that) in building thought leadership, brand awareness and a community.