Getting the Most out of Facebook for Business: Part 1
As the largest social media network in the world with over 2.7 billion users across the globe, the possibilities of using Facebook for your business are virtually limitless. A decade ago, Facebook pages were basic and businesses didn’t have many options beyond those of a personal profile. Today, Facebook offers businesses a control hub to access and use a vast network of features. Here is an overview of some of the basic features that we think would be the most useful for your construction business. In Part 2, we will cover a more in-depth overview of some of these features.
The Basics
With Facebook, you probably already know that you can post stories, newsfeed updates, photos, photo albums, videos, live videos, polls, and events. Each one of those post options offers a number of possibilities for you to connect with your audience. We recommend a strategy that combines many forms of media posting.
As of recently, Facebook gives businesses the option of scheduling posts directly through their system. Previously, this option was only available through third party entities. By scheduling your posts in advance, you are ensuring a consistent social media plan, without the hassle of thinking of something to post about each day. By planning out your posts a week, or even month in advance, you can see the variety of things you like to share and then take a critical look at what other topics make sense to talk about, ensuring a varied Facebook timeline that can connect with various audiences.
With Facebook, you can also set up automated message replies so that you can thank customers who reach out and let them know you’ll get back to them soon. This ensures a prompt response time and lets your customers know that their message is important to you.
Facebook & Instagram integration
Facebook for businesses now connects with Instagram for business in a deeper way than ever before. While the ability to boost an Instagram post has gone through Facebook for some time now, you are now given the option of running Facebook ads on Instagram, too, and even scheduling Instagram posts through the Facebook system if your accounts are fully integrated.
To do this, go to the Creator Studio within your Facebook Business account and click on the Instagram icon. Connect your account, and then stay in the Instagram section when you click the button in the upper left hand corner to add a post. Write out the post and choose the image or video you’d like to share. You can add a location, tag people, and hashtags. Be sure to check the box on the bottom of the post to share it to Facebook too before you schedule, and watch Facebook do the rest of the work for you, at the time you designate!
Analytics
You may have already begun checking the success of your Facebook posts through the Analytics tab, but, if you haven’t been paying attention to it, we urge you to start. Analytics tell you how many people your posts are reaching and how many people are engaging your posts and following your page. They also tell you demographic information about your audience and the times of day they are most active online. We recommend looking into your progress on a monthly basis, though Facebook does give you the chance to run reports for long term segments of time. We will go into more detail about the possibilities of analytics in part two of this post.
Ads
Facebook ads are a great way to reach the people beyond your audience of page likers and followers, and you can make an impact with ads for just a few dollars a day. Ads give you the opportunity to really fine tune the audience you want to reach by their interests, demographic information, and habits. You have complete control over what you are posting and the goals of your ads. You can add creative, both photo and video, text, and a link to direct people to, if that aligns with your goals.
Boosts
Similar to Facebook ads, boosting a post allows you to reach an audience beyond your page followers and likers. The difference here is that boosting is only for things that have previously been posted, often driving interactions on that particular post, not to an external source. You are still able to build a custom audience or use one that you have previously saved. Depending on your goals, boosting might make sense for you.