Since last September Facebook has been in the news quite a bit…and much of the news has not been good. The social giant has had a number of reporting mistakes that have left businesses wondering about the reliability of the site’s metrics. On top of that, Facebook has reduced reach and changed its algorithm, as well. Now posts from friends receive a higher position in the newsfeed, while business page posts are pushed down.
Without saying it openly, Facebook has become a pay-to-play site for businesses. Simply making a post to a business page and expecting people to see it is not enough anymore.
Likes Don’t Matter
While growing your audience on Facebook was once the primary preoccupation of social media managers, it’s now become a moot point. We’ve entered the social media era when the number of Facebook fans doesn’t matter anymore.
That’s because the Facebook algorithm only allows a business to reach less than 1% of its total page fans. Think about it: If you have a page with 100 fans and you make a post, less than one person will see it.
The allure of Facebook is its huge number of users, which is currently at 1.7 billion. If you rely only on organic reach, though, you’ll barely reach anyone. Stop worrying about the number of fans to your page and instead focus on how to reach those users who are in your target market and part of that 1.7 billion.
Boost Your Posts
While organic reach on Facebook isn’t worth much anymore, the site’s paid reach has a lot of value.
Businesses should continue to make posts to their pages. But instead of relying on organic reach, boost those posts that have really good content connected to them. You can link to a blog article or a case study on your website in that post. Then follow the prompts for boosting it.
It doesn’t take a lot of money to see an impact. When setting up the boost, you can see how many people will be reached when you change the dollar amount. I typically suggest $10.00 per day when starting out. Then if you like the results, you can always spend more.
Advertise to Drive Traffic To Your Website
Facebook has several different types of ads. Each is designed to help you accomplish a different goal. The ad I’ve had the most success with is the Website Clicks ad, now known as a Traffic ad. It is intended to help move traffic to your website.
When used with a well-designed landing page, traffic ads can also help you convert visitors, or at least capture their contact information.
Create a Slideshow Video
Facebook loves video! In fact they receive more reach than any other post right now. Your page fans will be notified that you have posted a video, as well. If you’re ready to go live, those videos have the added advantage of remaining at the top of the Newsfeed while they are being broadcast.
With these advantages, it makes good sense to create a video about your products or services and post it on the network.
Facebook also makes it easy to create video content. By uploading between three and ten photos and selecting the “Create Slideshow” option, Facebook will help you create a video, automatically adding the music and transitions.
The Wrap
While organic reach has all but evaporated for business pages, there are still real marketing advantages to using Facebook.
Along with the features and opportunities outlined above, you should also remember that advertising on Facebook has an advantage that traditional media doesn’t: It’s targeted! By using the demographics and interests of your audience, you decide who will see your ad or boosted post.
In addition, Facebook charges just a fraction of what you would pay to advertise on radio, TV or print. So while it seems like the social site is treating business pages poorly, there remains a lot of value in Facebook.
You just need to change your strategy to take advantage of it.
If you have questions about digital marketing, call me at 513-237-5530.
Bob Turner is a Digital Marketing Consultant in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Bob Turner - Digital Marketing Thoughts 
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