Whether you are an experienced small business owner or a promising entrepreneur, navigating ways to advertise your business takes time and effort. This is probably why large corporations like Google spend such a large chunk of their budget on advertising.
However, social media can be a great way to promote your business and costs very little money, if not completely free. Here are seven easy ways to promote your business on Facebook that you can set up today in a matter of minutes.
1. Create a business page
Creating a business page on Facebook is the best place to start when promoting your business. After logging into Facebook, you can create a new business page by selecting the “Pages” icon in the left sidebar. The icon has a little picture of a flag.
Here, you can fill out the form with the name of your business, address, and contact information. Add an eye-catching logo as the profile picture, or simply a professional photo of yourself if you are the business owner.
You can also add a background picture here, a photo of your storefront, or a nicely formatted picture of the products you sell. It is recommended to make the profile picture a minimum of 180 x 180 pixels and the background picture 851 x 315 for the best possible display [1]. Photos can be resized using a photo editor like Adobe Photoshop or with a free image resizer on your browser.
After filling out your business’s information, you can send invites to your friends to like your page. You can also choose to write a welcome post outlining what you wish to accomplish with your new business page. Starting a business page creates a separate Facebook profile dedicated to your business, and you can start posting content and joining groups like a standard Facebook profile [2].
2. Join a Facebook group
Once you have a page that is polished and pleasing to the eye, you can join groups that pertain to your business type. Facebook groups are small communities where individuals can interact over a single shared interest. Think of it as similar to a forum or imageboard.
For example, if your business sells handmade jewelry, you can join a group like “Handmade Jewelry Sellers”. Once you are accepted into the group, you can start posting. You may want to begin by introducing yourself and your business to the group, and then you can promote your business by mentioning a new product you have or informing others about a sale occurring on your site.
Joining a Facebook group is a great way to promote your products and services. It is also a way to collaborate with others who may have expertise in an area that pertains to your business. If you need business advice or to know where to source a specific gemstone for your jewelry, this is a great place to ask for help.
3. Attend and create events
The groups you choose to join may have posts informing members of events. If a live event happens near you, these are great opportunities to network in person or sell products directly to customers. An example is the jewelry show pictured below:
The event is shown with the dates and location, and how many other people were interested in attending. Click on the “Interested” button to let the organizers know you may be attending.
You can create events for your business as well. In the Facebook menu, click the option that says “Events”. You will have the option of setting the event’s time, date, and location. This is a great idea if you would like to promote an event like a live concert, a book signing, or the grand opening of your first brick-and-mortar store.
Events can also be virtual. You can schedule a date and time for your employees or business partners to have a videoconference with you, or host a giveaway challenge to drum up customer interest. Planning and scheduling events consistently is a great way to keep customers focused on your company.
4. Post content consistently
Many companies have had massive success with gaining traction on Facebook by posting consistent and relevant content to their profile. The company G Fuel, which sells energy drinks and supplements marketed towards video game fans, boasts 340,000 followers on Facebook alone. They have been posting shorts, memes, and images of new products almost daily since the company’s inception in 2012, and fans of the brand have been very active on their page [3].
Creating content can be very easy and fun, but not staying consistent is where many others fall short. Planning a schedule for new video uploads, announcements, and pictures relating to your business can help keep customers’ attention on your brand.
Furthermore, you don’t need to make new content each time you post. Looking at the content created by others in your community and sharing them on your page helps to keep your audience engaged, and allows you to actively participate in your online community.
5. Interacting with your followers
Once you have a business page that is beginning to gain popularity, it is important to stay up-to-date on what your followers are saying about your company. If a customer leaves a kind review of a product or service you gave them, you can promote it by pinning it to the top of your page. This way, any visitors will see the review each time they click on your page.
Another way to interact with your followers is by utilizing the comments section on your posts. Your followers react and comment on your post when it catches their attention and they have something to add to the conversation.
You can take advantage of that attention by continuing the conversation. It is not necessary to reply to every comment you receive, but showing your followers that you are willing to interact with their feedback is a great way to make your followers feel heard.
6. Use Facebook ads
If you are ready to try out the next level of social media promotion, you can create personalized ads on Facebook. These are advertisements that are specifically targeted to people interested in your work and can generate more clicks to your page very quickly.
This option will cost money, it will cost money. However, Meta’s ad system is very customizable and works with your budget. How much you are willing to spend on an ad directly affects its reach. The larger the ad, the larger the reach will be. You can start a very small ad with very little investment, and reuse it as many times as you like.
You can begin by selecting the “Ads Manager” option in the left sidebar. From there, you can begin the process of constructing your ad campaigns to be suited to your needs, and fit within your budget.
Facebook’s ads are highly customizable and can seem complex at first. It is recommended that you start with this short tutorial from Meta to become a master at social media advertising in no time.
7. Pay attention to what other companies are doing
The worst feeling to get when being a content creator is creator’s block: when you can’t think of the next thing to post that will keep your followers interested. When there is a lull in your content online, you risk losing followers and potential customers. When you are running low on creative ideas to keep promoting your business, you can look at the pages of other companies that are active on social media to see what they are doing differently.
This is a great opportunity to venture out into the thousands of businesses on Facebook and give them a like and a follow to see their content on your feed regularly. All of the suggestions listed in this article are great ways to promote your business, however, you might find someone doing things a little differently that catches your eye.
It is a good idea to keep up with other businesses similar to yours in size and industry, however, here are some brands that made it big using social media:
- Gymshark, an athleticwear company known for its engaging content.
- Glossier, a popular makeup and skincare brand.
- Warby Parker, a discount eyewear company.
Final Remarks
Many companies have grown their businesses from small startups to successful household names by promoting them on social media. Social media is a great way to get people excited about your brand and products and is completely free to start.
It also pays to diversify your social media presence. Promoting your business does not have to begin and end with Facebook. Branching out to Instagram, X.com, and YouTube has the power to reach potential customers across the web.
The key to promoting your business on social media is very simple in theory: keep customers’ attention. This is the most important part of any business’s marketing. However, keeping a constant stream of eye-catching ideas can be difficult and may take time. It is crucial to remain optimistic and open to new ideas that can help your small business excel.
