You’re ready to start marketing your business on Facebook, but where do you start?
Whether it’s a personal profile, a business page, or a private group, there are a number of channels available to help market your business on Facebook.
Each of these channels offer the potential to grow your business on the world’s largest social media platform. However, it’s important to remember that no one approach will work for all businesses.
Simply because a potential marketing avenue is available to you, it doesn’t mean you should go down it.
If you’re looking for alternatives to Instagram and Facebook ads, profiles, pages, and groups may be the answer you’ve been searching for.
Let’s break down each option and help you better understand which channel might just suit your business.
Using profiles to promote your business
Before you head to Facebook and start sharing your business’ posts or promoting your business all over your personal profile, stop and ask yourself one question: should I even be using my personal profile to promote my business?
The answer is yes and no.
According to Facebook’s terms and conditions each person is only allowed to have one personal profile, and such profile cannot be used solely for business purposes. The keyword here is “solely”.
Why use a personal profile for your business?
There’s really only one reason to use your personal profile to promote your business on Facebook: organic reach.
We all know just how difficult it is to reach potential customers organically on Facebook. That’s why sharing content from your business page isn’t just about sharing it with your friends. It’s about reaching friends of friends and more.
The downside here is that you’ll need to make your personal Facebook privacy settings as public as possible.
It is important to note that your privacy settings should allow everyone to see your public posts so people who visit your profile can follow your future posts.
Using your personal profile to promote your business is a great way to tell the story of your brand and connect with your audience without violating the Facebook terms of service.
Additionally, you can fill out your about me section to allow new followers to reach you on other social media platforms or your website.
What to consider?
If you do choose your personal profile to promote your brand, be cautious not to violate Facebook’s Terms of Service. Facebook can close your account at any time if they believe terms have been breached.
It is also important to note that your friends on Facebook may have an interest in your life, but they may not be all that interested in your business. Try to avoid clogging up your friends’ feeds by constantly promoting your business.
Using a Facebook Page to promote your business
Creating a Facebook page allows you to post content and advertise your business separately from your personal profile. It is necessary to have a personal profile before you create a page because you use your personal login details to access pages.
Why use a Facebook page for your business?
If you run a business, you should have a Facebook page. It’s as simple as that.
Facebook offers a host of intuitive, easy-to-use, and data-rich marketing features that make reaching new and existing customers a breeze.
Facebook makes it super easy to set up a marketing campaign. From the left-hand menu of your feed, click Ads Manager. It’s here where you’ll manage everything to do with marketing on Facebook.
Once inside Ads Manager, follow the steps to create the advertisement campaign best suited for your business and current promotions.
Important: to get started advertising on Facebook, you’ll need to install your Facebook Pixel.
Through the power of Facebook advertising you can target people who like your page, people who have engaged with your content previously, attract people who share similar interests to users who already like your Facebook page, and a whole lot more.
Facebook pages are a great way to keep your business separate from your personal life. Your page allows you to use your own profile pic and cover photo which is great for establishing your brand identity.
What to consider?
It’s important to consider Facebook’s Advertising Policies before you begin a campaign. All ads are reviewed within 24 hours to ensure they meet standards.
During the review process, Facebook checks your images, text, targeting, and the content on your ad’s landing page. Your content must reflect the service being promoted.
If your ad isn’t approved you can edit and resubmit for approval.
Using a Facebook Group to promote your business
When it comes to using Facebook groups to promote your business, you really have two options here:
- Create your own groups.
- Join existing groups that are related to your business.
Creating your own group is about growing a sense of community around your business. Your group should (hopefully) be filled with people who already live what you do. It should be a place for your customers to share ideas and talk about your products and services.
Groups are a great option for sharing exclusive information, sharing your business story, updating your most-valuable customers, and sharing experiences.
A Facebook group is another way you can raise awareness and promote your business online. You can also join existing groups that are related to your business to further promote your services. Just make sure you are complying with group rules (usually a pinned post at the top of the group page).
Note: when you join a group, you can only do so via your personal profile.
Creating a group is super simple:
- Click Groups from the left-hand menu.
- Click + Create New Group.
- Follow the prompts to name your group and add members.
There are two types of groups that you need to be aware of:
- Public Group: Anyone can see who’s in the group and what they post.
- Closed Group: Only members can see who’s in the group and what they post.
Why use a Facebook Group for your business?
A group allows you to talk to people who are heavily interested in your business services or similar operations. People who are in groups are usually more engaged and willing to help other group members with similar interests.
Groups are a great way to form online relationships and become a trusted leader in your field by sharing content that other group members may find useful.
What to consider?
As previously mentioned, some groups are quite strict about acceptable posts and content. You run the risk of being kicked out if you do not follow group guidelines.
Groups are a great way to build relationships with like-minded people but may not necessarily be the best place to continuously promote your business.
It’s important to think what would work best for your business. Maybe one, or a combination of all three?
A Facebook Audit offers valuable insights into whether or not your content is connecting with your followers.
