The journey of Facebook has been topsy-turvy if you see it as a marketing platform. It has been the benchmark for other players when it comes to social media advertising.

There have been speculations going around that Facebook is planning to make “User Feeds” more ad-free. It might be tough on advertisers and marketers, but still, if you want to grow your reach, there is no better option than Facebook.

What makes Facebook marketing a relevant option?

You can compare the numbers and see for yourself. Facebook has 2.3 billion active monthly users and is way ahead of other platforms.

These are some of the numbers given by TechCrunch (active monthly users of platforms other than Facebook)

YouTube – 1.5 billion
Instagram – 700 million
Twitter – 328 million
Linkedin – 260 million
Snapchat – 255 million

Although YouTube and Instagram are constantly evolving in this direction, Facebook still remains ahead.

Keeping numbers aside, the key to Facebook marketing lies in optimizing your page for engagement. Here are some tips that will help you:

1. First things first. Create a vanity Url

There are thousands of things that you can do to optimize your page, and creating a vanity URL is an important one.

You would want to share your page link on so many platforms, won’t you? For this very reason, your page link shouldn’t have scrambled letters, and it should be easy-to-read. When marketing is your goal, then you better create an impression with everything that is visible to users.

Technically too, having a vanity URL is good for SEO. Your page becomes optimized for not only “Facebook Search”, but for “Google Search” as well.

As we talked about creating an impression, a vanity URL will help you appear more professional.

2. Take your time when choosing your CTA button

There can’t be any online business without a call to action. On a Facebook Business Page too, you there is a CTA button.

You always have an option when it comes to choosing an ideal CTA. So it’s better that you take your time, do some research, understand your audience, and then zero-in on it. Here’s a guide to creating an irresistible CTA. 

If you want to grow your email list, you can use “Sign Up” as your CTA, to get your users’ email addresses.

You can play on your strengths as well. If you feel that you are good at making kickass videos, you may use “Watch Video” as your CTA.

There are various options and most of them have worked. Some of them are mentioned below:

• Book Now
• Subscribe
• Contact Us
• Shop Now
• Play Game

Based on your end goal, you may link them to a landing page, or a contact form, or let them download an ebook for users.

3. Apply the “70-20-10” rule

After your profile is optimized for engagement, it’s time you create some content. You can’t be one-dimensional with your content and need to experiment with different formats. The Facebook audience has gluttony for variety.

To cut the clutter for you, there is a 70-20-10 rule which you can follow while creating content.

The rule says:

• 70% of your posts should be original, meaning, something you create from scratch.
• 20% of your posts should be relevant to your followers. They need not be original and you can share links or newsy articles as well.
• 10% of your posts should be self-promotional. You can create video teasers, go live, etc.

This strategy has worked wonders for many brands. You too can give it a go.

You can also have Q & A sessions or can simply elucidate your observations on the Industry.

4. Share user-generated content

To create content, you don’t have to take the onus all the time. If you have loyal users and they create a buzz about you on their social media profiles, then you can share that content.

Not only it will save you time and creative energy, but you can actually promote your user’s brand loyalty. Also, your users will feel included. Who doesn’t want to get acknowledged by their favorite brand? Right?

You can either ask your users to share pictures or videos with you, or you can directly repost from their social media profiles. They may tag or mention you in one of their posts. You can share such posts on your community page.

You need to be involved with your users’ activity. But you can avail huge benefits in doing so.

5. The timing of your posts matters

This is the most important but often ignored aspect of Facebook marketing. You cannot just post your content randomly and expect winning results.

You need to know at what time your target audience is most active and willing to engage. Your “Page Insights” data can tell you that. You can see the performance of your posts throughout the day. You can find which post did better and at what time, or which age group it engaged the most.

Based on this information, you can prepare your content strategy. You can do some hit and trial as well and try out different formats of content at different hours.

For instance, you can post some memes at non-peak hours and see how it pans out. You may discover a new audience in the process.

So the bottom line is, don’t be random and follow a strategy.

6. Collaborate with influencers

If even after putting in great efforts you don’t achieve enough engagement, then you better collaborate with someone who has. In other words, it’s time for some influencer marketing.

First of all, you need to find people in your industry who enjoy humungous following. You need to find “Influencers” so to say.

The thing is, you cannot just type “Influencers” in Facebook’s search bar and find people. Most influencers maintain watertight privacy, to avoid constant persuasion.

You can use BuzzSumo for this purpose. It has an “Outreach” feature that serves best to find influencers. You just need to use relevant keywords.

But if you have a liking for social sites, then you may try out Linkedin and Twitter. It’s easier on Linkedin because people (Influencers in whatever capacity) mention the word “Influencer” in the Headline.

You can also enter specific keywords to find some second-degree connections or people who are directly related to your search.

If you are more active on Twitter, then you can use its analytics tool, to identify trending topics and popular hashtags associated with them. You can explore those hashtags, google them, and you might come across an influencer.

It’s not an overnight process but has been a successful marketing tactic. So keep your patience intact.

Hope this write-up will help you ace your Facebook marketing. We have also written pieces on Linkedin Marketing, Instagram Marketing, and YouTube marketing. Check them out as well.