If you plan on growing your brand online through social media, Facebook is going to be key. There will be many opportunities as over 2.7 billion use the platform monthly. Think about it – 2.7 billion potential customers just behind a screen that can transform your company. With 51 million of these being in the UK, the reach you’ll be able to get if you succeed is immense.
Why is Facebook such a good marketing tool?
In May 2021 in the UK, Facebook was the most popular social media with around 56% of the social network market share. Therefore, having a page dedicated to your business is crucial if you’re looking to expand as much as you can. I’m not saying you need to pay for ads for your business (unless you want to, of course), but simply to expand through engagement.
While you may have thought Facebook was just the place to share your holiday pictures, with the inevitable embarrassing comment from a family member incoming, it is a great place to connect with many people whether local, national or global. It has been reported that 2/3 of Facebook users have visited a local business’ page at least once a week.
So yes, get your page looking in tip-top condition and you will find an audience to reach out to, and here is a short guide on how to reel them in.
Types of Facebook Posts
Status –
A status contains only text, no video, no image, and no link, just the bare bone text.
A status will be very direct and informative. Therefore, these will not get too much attention from the public and often get lost in the Facebook feed due to the networks algorithm choosing images and videos over a status.
However, by making the status a question or asking for feedback, when the status is found it’s more likely a user is going to comment. The more people that comment, the more likely the algorithm is going to pick up status and, suddenly, lots of users are seeing your status.
Current customers are interacting with you and potential customers are clicking onto your page and giving you more exposure.
Photo –
As we already know, the algorithm is going to be a bigger fan of photo posts compared to a status.
The best advice I can give anyone for the post is make it attention grabbing, yet informative. The beauty of posting a picture of Facebook is that it could be a range of images from illustrations with lots of colours to simply just the product shown in its best light. For example, a bakery one day may post a picture of their fresh sourdough; yet on the next have a colourful image with text showcasing their latest deals.
The two different posts will do different things; the first will fascinate people new to your business by boasting your own product, leading to them liking your page and seeing all your latest posts. The second image allows you to hook the new (and current) customers into visiting the store or order online.
Video –
Here come the big guns; videos see an even higher engagement rate than photos do and are therefore your best chance for people to interact with your Facebook page.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a 5 second announcement video or an hour-long educational video – the video can be captivating.
Now there is still strategy when posting videos, just think about what kind of videos you would like to see from a brand you are looking into… If this brand were constantly posting hour-long videos, you may get bored from watching them as well as not having the time to consistently watch them. Consequently, you lose interest in the brand, unlike them and go somewhere else.
Final Thoughts
This is why posting a variety of posts is key. And this isn’t just a variety of video lengths; I’m talking about including statuses, photos and videos. Having a range of things to post can determine whether your presence on Facebook will grow or whether your page will sit there lying dormant.
You’ll have to tactically think about when to post each type of media. For example, posting a status that’s asking a question or for feedback after you’ve had an event that a previous photo post detailed will engage more people as the previous post and event will be fresh in their mind.
The best way to schedule the posts will be through organising a social media calendar. This way you wont to worry about any last-minute scrambling which could ultimately lead to you making the wrong decision about what to post.
For further insights and guidance, we invite you to explore our blog at 07hm.co.uk/blog. Here, you’ll find a wealth of information tailored to the needs and challenges of SMEs navigating the digital landscape. Additionally, if you have specific questions or need personalised advice, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email at info@07hm.co.uk or telephone on 01702 410663.
