How to Develop a Facebook Marketing Program

Without a strong Facebook Marketing Program . . . your business is missing out on an essential part of marketing. Not to mention potential new leads! 

In fact, if you’re not doing Facebook the right way, you may be doing more harm than good to your business. 

The Facebook landscape is constantly changing. If your business isn’t changing with it, you can be left in the dust.

Gone are the days of putting out random posts to see what sticks or what might go viral or to just get likes. In today’s competitive social media environment you need to have a solid plan — and stick to it.

Here’s how to develop a Facebook marketing program that actually works.

Let’s dive in.

Why You Need a Facebook Marketing Program

Many businesses treat their Facebook marketing as an afterthought. 

Sure, they have a fan page and post regular updates for their followers. But when it comes to using the platform to drive new business and convert sales there’s not much going on.

A lot of these companies believe they are doing just fine (perhaps yours is one of them) without one. So why should you care or want a strong Facebook marketing program? 

Simple, doing Facebook the right way will drive new leads and drive new sales to your door.

We all know how popular Facebook is. But did you know that 68% of all American adults are on Facebook?

That’s a staggering number.

There is no better online tool for your business for focused targeting. You can reach a huge number of potential customers by using this platform.

For many people, the internet begins and ends on Facebook. The average user spends almost an hour per day checking their page, sharing content.

What if you can get your message seen at the right time by the right people? You can do that with Facebook, and have a powerful and successful marketing program.

More on this later.

Define Your Goals

First, ask yourself what you want to accomplish with your Facebook marketing program. 

• If you could choose (and you can!) who would you want to connect with? 
• Are you looking to build a robust and recognizable brand image? 
• Do you want to use Facebook to drive direct sales? 
• Maybe you’re looking for more likes. 
• Or build up your number of followers toward a future marketing campaign.

Every business is unique. The way you do business is unique. Your customers are unique. Your employees are unique.

Take some time to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your business. What you are trying to achieve with Facebook. 

If you can’t answer those questions yourself, get help. Talk with some of your top staff to get their perspective.

Once you’ve done the internal research, come up with two lists. They should define what you want your Facebook marketing program to do. 

The first list should contain short-term goals and the second list long-term goals.

With that in hand, you’ll be able to plan a Facebook marketing program that will drive the desired results to your business.

Be Strategic When You Post

Facebook reports that their highest traffic occurs between – Tuesday and Thursday from 1 – 3 pm local time.

Additionally, on any given day posts made at 7 pm result in more clicks than posts made at 8 pm. Why? 

Facebook doesn’t even know for sure. But they know it happens. And you should be take advantage of it — especially if your business caters to local clients.

Did you know engagement is 18% higher on Fridays?

What does this mean to you? Well, you have the best opportunity to be seen by the most eyeballs during peak traffic times. 

Couple that with the evening statistic above. You can see you will have a better chance of gaining user engagement in the evening hours and on Fridays.

Schedule posts during these times and A/B test them to see what works best. Remember, your competitors may be utilizing a similar strategy. 

Be unique and find a rhythm that works for you and your followers, testing helps you find that.

If your business sells time sensitive products or services, be strategic in when you post. 

For example: 

If you deliver pizzas then plan your posts around when you know people are getting hungry.

How should you approach your posts on Facebook?

Think of it this way: 

If Google is the Yellow Pages, Facebook is your local coffee shop. 

Treat your Facebook content as if you were chatting with your friend over a cup of java.

Make Your Efforts Trackable

Every minute you and your team spend on marketing costs money. You need to know where the best results are coming from.

When marketing on Facebook, use unique links that show you how successful each post is.

Don’t want to set up a new Facebook-specific internal website to track links? Create a Bitly account to track click-through activity. 

Bitly also shortens your posted links and makes them more visually appealing.

If you get serious about trackable linking consider setting up an Enterprise account. That allows you to have branded Bitly links. This will give you greater analytics, deep linking and user management.

Research Your Direct Competition – See What’s Working for Them

The old saying goes, “imitation is the best form of flattery.” While that may be true, it’s also an excellent way to build your Facebook marketing program.

Find which of your direct competitors are having the most success on Facebook, research what they are doing, and create your own version of it.

Say you’ve got 1,000 followers and a competitor has a million. You can bet there’s a lot you can learn from how they built their account.

Stay on Top of What’s Trending

Facebook is all about trending topics. Find ways to tool trending topics into your Facebook marketing program. You’re sure to gain more likes and followers.

The easiest way to see what’s trending is to log into your Facebook account from your desktop.  Trending topics are listed on the right side of your News Feed in 5 categories: 

• Top Trends
• Politics
• Science and Technology
• Sports and
• Entertainment

Look in the upper right-hand corner where it says “trending.” – Simple, right!

Strategically take advantage of these trends. Weave these trends into your posts so they meet your Facebook marketing goals.

Hashtags Work on Facebook

Hashtagging isn’t just on Twitter or Instagram anymore. To find new followers without spending a dime, be sure to end or add a strategic hashtag in every post.

Make them market specific and be consistent.

Test how this works. Go to your Facebook page and type #facebookmarketing into the “Search Facebook” field. You’ll see hundreds or thousands of users who know how to hashtag their way to success on Facebook.

Conclusion

An effective Facebook marketing program can be created and implemented by almost anyone.

The keys are to define your goals, stay consistent and keep on top the newest strategies for success.

A knowledgeable partner who knows the ropes and also be a huge help if you’re not sure exactly where to start.

Start finding new leads and converting more sales today. Use these simple and effective strategies and watch your audience grow.

See you on Facebook!

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