using facebook to effectively promote your business!

Facebook For Business

1 Copyright © 2012


Using Facebook To Effectively Promote Your Business


2 Copyright © 2012

Legal Notice: This ebook is copyright protected. This is only for personal use. You cannot amend,

distribute, sell, use, quote or paraphrase any part or the content within this ebook

without the consent of the author or copyright owner. Legal action will be pursued if this

is breached.

Disclaimer Notice: Please note the information contained within this document is for educational purposes

only.

Every attempt has been made to provide accurate, up to date and reliable complete

information no warranties of any kind are expressed or implied. Readers acknowledge

that the author is not engaging in rendering legal, financial or professional advice.

By reading any document, the reader agrees that under no circumstances are we

responsible for any losses, direct or indirect, which are incurred as a result of use of the

information contained within this document, including – but not limited to errors,

omissions, or inaccuracies.


3 Copyright © 2012

Table of Contents

How to Create Facebook Ads ...................................................................... 4

Facebook Advertising: What You Should and Should Not Do ..................... 5

Using Facebook to Increase Revenue: Easy Steps to Get Started ............ 7

Creating a Positive Image with the Help of Facebook ................................ 9

The Power of Facebook Advertising .......................................................... 11

Using Facebook to Create Buzz for Your Business .................................. 13

How Your Business Can Get the Most Out of Facebook ........................... 15

Making the Facebook Page of Your Business Stand Out .......................... 17

Things to Consider When Using Facebook for Business ........................... 18

5 Reasons Why Facebook is an Effective Marketing Tool ......................... 20


4 Copyright © 2012

Chapter 1: How to Create Facebook Ads That Will Greatly Increase Your Bottom Line

It’s a dog eat dog world out there, and while the Internet has opened many opportunities

for people to earn money online, it has also made the competition a lot tougher,

especially for small businesses that have very limited funds compared to established

corporations that have pretty much controlled the online market. But just because the

powerful companies are running the show, it does not mean the little guys will have a

dismal chance of succeeding. If you use the right advertising channel, you could stand

to earn a fortune on the Internet no matter what type of business you have.

Facebook is one of the most widely used advertising channels today. It boasts of having

955 million active users around the world. Statistics show that approximately 50% of

people living the United States access Facebook, and considering that only 60% of

residents actually use the Internet, this is an impressive feat for Mark Zuckerburg and

his company.

Using Facebook advertising will give you a significantly wider market reach, and it will

also cost a lot less to use it as compared to other PPC campaigns. BUT, a very

important thing you need to remember is that just because you have Facebook ads

showing in millions of newsfeeds does not automatically translate to a high ROI. You

have to make sure your advertisement is actually effective for the audience you are

targeting. Case in point, your Google Adwords ad might not work effectively if you use

the same one for your Facebook ad, and vice versa.

That said, knowing how to create effective Facebook ads is vital to the success of your

campaign. So, here are the things you need to do:

• Determine your goal. Why do you want to advertise in the first place? Is it

because you want to get more people to like your Business page? Or is it


5 Copyright © 2012

because you want to increase your sales? The rule of thumb is to use one ad for

each goal.

• Create a compelling ad copy. Make sure your copy is accurate, easy to

understand, and should provide a strong call to action.

• Include an interesting photo. The photo or image that you choose should inspire

Facebook users to give your ad a second look. After all, it’s the photo that will

actually catch their attention.

When your ads are ready, set the criteria on who should view them. Targeting is

necessary so you won’t waste your money showing your ads to people who will have

very little chance of buying your product or using your service. Moreover, set a budget

for your Facebook advertising campaign and don’t go overboard on this. Start slow and

keep your daily budget low so that any mistake you make will not be costly. Remember

that you can and will make mistakes as you go along. Some ads will work and some

won’t. The key is to know which ads you should put your money on, and this is

something you will learn over time.

Chapter 2: Facebook Advertising: What You Should and Should Not Do

It’s no secret: Facebook is a key player in online advertising. Countless businesses

have resorted to putting up Facebook ads in order to gain a bigger market share, and

increase their profits. But a common mistake that people make is assuming that since

they have invested money on this medium, their sales will automatically skyrocket. This

is hardly the case. There are rules you need to follow, and strategies you need to

implement before you can reap the benefits of Facebook advertising.

What You Should Do


6 Copyright © 2012

1. Determine your marketing objectives. Knowing what they are will help you decide on

which metrics to use in order to find out if your campaign is working.

2. Know who your audience are. Facebook is an advertising channel that will allow you

to target your ads to the specific group of people that will take interest in your brand.

Know who they are so you can target your ads correctly otherwise you will only be

throwing your money away.

3. Be creative with your ads. You will still be competing with others in the same market

so every time your ad is showing, make it count. You can give an exclusive offer to

people that they will not be able to find anywhere else and for sure this will grab their

attention.

4. Change your ads once in a while. Creating multiple variations can make a major

difference and will likely get you more clicks. Updating and checking on them regularly

is also important to make sure everything’s working, as they should, and that the ad

leads people to the right pages.

What You Should Not Do

1. Don’t use boring or generic images for your ads. Instead of using logos and stock

photos, you will get a better response if you use a more “personalized” image.

2. Don’t forget your business page. You might be too caught up in coming up with the

best advertisements that you forget to update your page. This is a mistake that will have

dire consequences. Even if you get thousands of likes every week, if your page looks

abandoned, with little to no interaction between you and your fans, then they will “unlike”

your page eventually.

3. Don’t use the ads to directly sell something. Facebook is not an online marketplace

like eBay or Amazon. People access Facebook to interact with their friends and family


7 Copyright © 2012

so if your ad looks like a glaring sales page, then you will not be able to get the results

you want. Getting “Likes” and “Shares” will give you a more favorable outcome.

4. Don’t spend more than what your budget allows. Some businesses might be tempted

to spend big bucks on advertising without even analyzing if their ads are working. Start

with a small budget until such time you are already able to identify the ads that are

bringing in more clicks. And even then, you should still be careful with your spending.

You might be spending more than what you really need to.

Chapter 3: Using Facebook to Increase Revenue: Easy Steps to Get Started

The power of social media cannot be undermined, and when you consider the 955

million users that Facebook has, as of right now, you have to really be foolish not to use

it in building and growing your business. Facebook users average about 3.2 billion

“likes” and comments every single day. Imagine the impact it would have on your

business if you were to establish a strong presence from this social network.

But how exactly can you use Facebook for your business?

The good news is that even a startup business can take advantage of it. Why? Because

it’s free! You don’t have to invest a sizeable amount of money for marketing like you

would when advertising via other methods. Instead of paying for airtime or billboards

and even website advertising space, you can reach out to a wide market at zero cost.

Obviously, this does not mean it won’t require some effort on your part. You would have

to invest time and effort to build your presence on Facebook, and later on, when you

can afford it, you can always hire someone to do the job for you.

To get you started, here are the things you need to do:


8 Copyright © 2012

First, you need to create your Facebook page. To do this, you have to pick a category

and choose the appropriate page name. Most pages use their business name but it’s

not a must. You also need to add a logo or image to your page and this is important

because people often remember businesses through the image that they place on their

Facebook page. Adding a short profile message and a website address is also

recommended.

Once you’ve created your page, the next thing you need to do is to connect with your

potential market. How do you do this? There are several ways to connect with people

but for starters, you can always begin by inviting friends and family members to “like”

your page, and then encourage them to tell their friends, too. But if you want to connect

to a larger group of people quickly, then you can opt to create ads for your page. This

option’s not free but it is well worth your money.

You will get more and more page likes everyday and your next task is to engage your

audience so that you will win their loyalty. Talk to them and post content regularly.

Studies have shown that photos, videos, and stories shared in Facebook are very

effective in engaging people so use this to your advantage. The toughest aspect of

using Facebook for your business is really in keeping your audience interested on your

page, so you really have to put a lot of hard work into this.

And finally, you also need to influence your fans’ friends. To do this, you can offer

promotions and deals that your fans will want to share to their friends. Interacting with

your fans will also help because when they comment on your page, their friends can

see this on their newsfeed. They will in turn become curious and will click on your page.

Using Facebook for your business is vital to your success. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Create your business page today.


9 Copyright © 2012

Chapter 4: Creating a Positive Image with the Help of Facebook

Shopping, paying the bills and making travel arrangements are now being done online.

Distance is also no longer a major concern because people can communicate faster via

email, instant messaging, and video conferencing. Without a doubt, the Internet has

improved people’s lives and the way they do things.

But the impact of the Internet does not stop there. It has also changed the way

individuals and organizations do business nowadays. In fact, just about anyone with an

entrepreneurial mind can put up a business online, even without a large investment to

get things rolling. Dropshipping, for example, does not require huge upfront capital

investments. If you have a website and have formed a partnership with a trustworthy

dropshipper, you can be on your way to earning a fortune in this industry!

The Internet has also paved the way for the creation of the “online community.” People

frequent forums and blog sites, and they interact with each other, discussing just about

every topic you can think of. The rise of social networks like Facebook has also made

quite an impact among numerous businesses because not only does it help widen their

reach but it has also created an avenue for them to reach out to their target audience, in

a way that will foster customer loyalty.

Oftentimes, you will come across negative feedback and reviews in various online

communities and these are mostly coming from people who have had a bad experience

with a particular product, service, or company. These things can hurt a business, and if

no action is done on the part of the company then it could very well lose many

customers. If you value your customers as much as you value your company, then you

need to make sure you take the necessary steps to build a good image.


10 Copyright © 2012

Facebook is a very effective medium to use when it comes to creating a positive image

for your company. If you have not taken advantage of this social network yet, then it’s

about time that you do. What’s great about Facebook is that it gives you the opportunity

to interact with your customers (or potential customers for that matter) and it also allows

you to air your side of the story should there be any complaint against your business. If

you have a Facebook page already, or are considering setting one up, here are some

tips to help you in creating a positive image:

1. Always have the genuine desire to help and please your customers. Interact with

them on your page with the intention of providing solutions or appeasing disgruntled

customers.

2. Listen to their side of the story. For all you know, they really do have a valid reason to

complain. Don’t be quick to react. You will likely come across emotionally charged

customers so don’t be tempted to react negatively during their outbursts.

3. Give them options. Having options is so much better than saying, “sorry I can’t help

you with your problem” and most customers can be appeased by it.

It takes time to build a positive image, especially if yours has been tainted with a

number of complaints made against you. But by using Facebook to let your customers

know that you value them and care about their opinion, you will slowly but steadily gain

back the respect and trust of your market, and even your competitors.



Chapter 5: The Power of Facebook Advertising

Using pay-per-click campaigns is an excellent way to get customers. However, it can

also cost you money… and a lot of it. You see, PPC marketing campaigns like Adwords

do not guarantee a high return on your investment, mainly because many people who

click on these ads are not necessarily your target market. So you might end up getting a

lot of traffic to your site, but only a small percentage of these visitors will have the

intention to buy.

If you are looking for an effective way to advertise your business online, you ought to

consider Facebook advertising. The ads that appear on Facebook are more targeted

because you can set your own criteria, in terms of where these ads will appear. So, if

you run a gaming console repair business in Cleveland, Ohio, you can set the criteria to

target Facebook users who are interested in video gaming (most likely male) and are

living in Cleveland. Facebook can do this because it uses a highly sophisticated

technology capable of geographic, demographic, and interest-targeting.

Facebook advertising can help your business succeed in many ways. Not only does it

help you gain a wide market reach by building a huge fan base but it can also bring

targeted traffic to your website. Facebook can do the following:

1. Increase brand awareness. With ads being visible to millions of Facebook users,

naturally, more and more people will know about your business. There are almost 1B

active Facebook users today and tapping even just a small percentage of this number

can drive massive traffic to your site.

2. Cheaper than Google Adwords. Facebook advertising average CPC is only 1/3 of the

average Adwords CPC. When you are a startup business or a small business, the

difference in pricing can have a significant effect on your profits.



3. Offers a lot of potential. This is especially true for businesses that have become

active in social media platforms. If you are creative and have a lot of time to devote to

building a strong presence on Facebook, you could very well increase your bottom line

by focusing on this major advertising channel alone.

The power of Facebook advertising cannot be questioned, but still, it is not for everyone.

Your best course of action is to carefully choose which among the channels would suit

you best and strive to excel in it. Some questions you might want to ask yourself before

making a decision are:

• How much am I willing to spend on advertising?

• Where can I get the majority of my customers?

• What is my priority right now—is it to increase my revenue or simply to get

traffic?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help you decide whether to use Facebook

advertising, Google Adwords, or other marketing campaigns. No matter what medium

you pick, see to it that your ad is attractive and creative, so that people will want to click

on it.



Chapter 6: Using Facebook to Create Buzz for Your Business

Businesses these days operate differently from the way they did a decade ago. The

competitive field is a lot harder to penetrate, and prospective customers have so many

options to choose from. This has forced marketers to rethink their strategies and really

reexamine how they can sustain the attention of their target audience. Competition is a

lot harder now largely because of the Internet. The existence of the Internet removes all

geographical barriers and other constraints that used to make the competitive field

smaller. These days, anybody can be your competitor, and this is why you have to be

more creative in your methods.

The good news is that in the same way that the Internet poses a threat or a challenge, it

also offers a myriad of opportunities that a business can take advantage of and social

media is one of these opportunities.

The Importance of Social Media

Social media has transformed the way companies generate awareness for their

respective brands. A long time ago, businesses had no choice but to pay the ceiling

high rates of mainstream media – putting out TV commercials, expensive billboards,

and radio ads just to breed awareness among their prospective customers. These days,

you can forge an entire business solely on the Internet, and the tool that will help you do

so is social media. People pay as much attention to social media as they do to

mainstream media, if not more. Almost everyone has a Facebook account for instance,

and whether they’re aware of it or not, they’re on Facebook most of the time because

this is where they get to connect with their respective networks. This is why the smartest

companies are looking at social networking sites such as Facebook as a very important

marketing tool.



Buzz Marketing is the Way to Go

Facebook can be used by businesses not only to connect to a network of potential

customers but also to create positive buzz for their brands. Buzz marketing is not a new

concept, but the existence of social media makes it an even more potent force. You

would want people to talk about your products and services amongst themselves.

Penetrating Facebook is the way to do this. Imagine creating your brand’s own

Facebook page and having people “like” this page. Every time you come up with

updates and posts, these will appear in the Facebook walls of everyone in your network,

which means you can update them just like that, with little to no cost on your part.

Reaching Your Target Audience

Reaching your target audience through Facebook is a very smart move, because you

have to remember that your customers are on Facebook anyway. You no longer have to

think about how you’ll get to communicate with them and how you’ll catch their

attention, because they’re on Facebook almost all the time. As long as you have a solid

social media strategy that can really meet the demands of your target audience, it will

be very easy to get them hooked, and at the same time, creating positive buzz for your

business.



Chapter 7: How Your Business Can Get the Most Out of Facebook

More and more people have discovered that relying on social networking sites such as

Facebook can be such an effective tool in capturing and sustaining the attention of

prospective customers. Facebook is a popular social networking site, and it’s one that

has reached so many people from all over the world. It connects people of all ages,

nationalities, locations and social backgrounds, and as such it’s the perfect place to

create interest and loyalty. Any business can maximize on Facebook to reach the

people they need to reach, and here are four steps on how to do it:

Step 1: Create Your Own Page

Maximizing Facebook begins with creating your own profile. This is where you can

place your brand name and build a short description of what your company is about.

You can also place a cover photo and a profile picture that captures the essence of your

business. This can include your brand logo, as well as a company tagline if you have

any. After you’ve set up the skeleton of your profile, you are now ready to create your

first post. Make sure that you keep your profile visually interesting and your posts short

and succinct.

Step 2: Connect with the Relevant Network

Once you’ve set up your own page, you can now start connecting with your network.

Facebook is all about connecting with people, and if your goal is to reach a certain

target audience then you better make sure you know who they are. Even if this is social

marketing, the basics of choosing the right target market still apply. This means that you

need to be clear about the profile of your target audience – how old they are, where



they live, what their gender is, and what the idiosyncrasies of their lifestyle and

personalities may be.

Step 3: Keep Your Audience Interested

Even if you’ve built a good network of potential customers, you have to ensure that you

keep this audience interested. At any given time, a typical Facebook user will get so

many notifications and updates from friends. Their walls will be filled with updates from

different people, and this means that you have to find a way to make your updates

stand out from the clutter. If your goal is for them to click on your post, like it or even

comment on it, you have to make your posts engaging. Your large fan base wouldn’t

matter if you can’t sustain their interest.

Step 4: Broaden and Influence Your Fan Base

The fourth step is to take it a notch higher and make sure that you influence your fan

base. This means that you should not only target the people that are currently part of

your fan base, but you should also target their friends. You want to make sure that you

transform your fans from just being interested to actually being advocates of your

products and services. If you manage to create brand ambassadors out of your fan

base, then your social marketing strategy will truly make waves.



Chapter 8: Making the Facebook Page of Your Business Stand Out

Online marketing has been recognized as a very important tool for businesses these

days. More and more companies have turned to the Internet for help and this means

that the competitive field is getting tighter. Take a look at Facebook, for instance.

Companies and brands have been setting up Facebook pages in order to reach a large

fraction of their target market. Facebook is a very effective tool that companies can use,

but you should still keep in mind that there are so many other companies using this tool.

This means that you have to constantly find ways to ensure that your Facebook page

stands out and that your posts are interesting enough to attract and sustain the attention

of your target audience.

The Importance of Branding

In order to stand out from the clutter of Facebook pages and posts that can easily

populate and overwhelm the news feeds of people, you have to ensure that your

Facebook page and everything you post through it is consistent with your branding. A

big part of effective marketing consists of stating a clear message that’s consistent with

your image as a company or as a brand. Branding is very important because this is how

people remember you. This is what sticks to people’s minds, and this is why

consistency is a very important factor. Knowing this, your brand name, logo, photos,

messaging, and everything that people can find in your Facebook page should form one

cohesive and strong message that will really create an impact in the minds of your

target audience.

Call to Action



Another way to make your posts stand out is by placing a strong call to action in as

many posts as possible. While you may be free to put out as many posts as you want,

you have to remember that because you’re using Facebook as a marketing tool, you

have to focus on your business goals. Whether your goal is to spark interest or to

increase the visitor traffic of your actual website, you have to keep them in mind when

you create your posts. Maybe your goal is even to generate sales, and in this case you

really should have clear call-to-action signals that are seamlessly included in whatever

Facebook posts you come up with. Whether you do this through a photo, a quote, a link,

a video or even a story, just don’t forget to always put a recognizable and effective call-

to-action button.

Maximize All the Tools Available

Lastly, you have to make sure that you maximize all the tools that Facebook has to

offer. Facebook metrics, for instance, is a great way to really get the pulse of your target

audience in terms of which posts they find interesting, which posts generate the most

reaction, and what they could possibly be thinking about at any given moment. Inserting

video links and flash content to your Facebook page can keep your page interesting, so

you should understand the tools that Facebook has available and maximize all of these

tools for the good of your business.

Chapter 9: Things to Consider When Using Facebook for Business

The Internet has truly changed the way companies do business, not only because of

online shopping but also because of how many people can use the internet to advertise

their products and services. Creating positive buzz for a particular brand is easy to do

these days, because as soon as you have a new product available in the market, you

can broadcast this in social marketing sites and the news will spread like wildfire. Before



you know it, everyone’s suddenly aware about this product that you have and they all

become interested. The power of social media has made a lot of companies go to

Facebook for their marketing strategies. There are, however, certain things that people

need to consider in order to succeed in this strategy.

What Network to Tap

One of the key things that all businesses have to consider when using Facebook is how

to tap the right people. One helpful tip is to import contacts from your email or mailing

list in order to find them in Facebook. Another is to have the details of the profile set –

age, gender, location, nationality, lifestyle, and others. If you don’t have enough of a

contact base to begin with, what you can do is join Facebook groups or connect with

networks in the industry related to your business. This will help you broaden your

horizons and connect to people who are interested in your offerings as well.

Crafting Interesting Posts

Another important thing to consider is the quality of the posts and updates that you can

come up with. If you have a Facebook page and you want to engage your network by

constant updates and photos, you have to make sure that you can keep these updates

interesting. Keep the messages short and choose words that can capture the attention

of your audience right away. The best thing about Facebook is that you’re free to use

photos and videos, so you can take advantage of this and create material that’s visually

appealing. You don’t have to necessarily create your own material either, because

Facebook makes it easy for you to share links to other interesting pages that your

network will appreciate.

Marketing Your Products to Generate Sales

Of course, at the end of the day, you’re just using Facebook as a tool. You have to keep

in mind that there’s an end goal to why you’re using Facebook in the first place, and for



some that may be to just gain some buzz while for others it may be to generate sales.

Perhaps your Facebook page is just a way to bring more customers to your actual

website, where they can purchase your products. Facebook can be seen as a very

effective Marketing tool but you have to keep sight of your end goal. If it’s for your

customers to actually buy a product, then what you can do is post discounts and deals

that will capture the attention of potential buyers.

Chapter 10: 5 Reasons Why Facebook is an Effective Marketing Tool

Marketing is something that a lot of companies find challenging, especially because the

times keep changing. To be an effective marketer you have to be attuned to the current

trends and changes in consumer behavior. You have to have a full understanding of

who your target market is and how to capture their attention.

Being an effective marketer in this day and age means recognizing the Internet as a

very important tool that can help a business. Instead of looking at the Internet as a

threat, it’s better to look at it as an opportunity to reach markets that you may not even

be able to reach without it. Social networking sites like Facebook is a big part of any

online marketing strategy, and here are 5 reasons why Facebook can be such an

effective Marketing tool when used properly:

1) Everyone is on Facebook.

Facebook is probably the most popular of all social networking sites, so it makes

sense to use it. If you want to reach as many people as possible and you want to

understand what your target market’s preferences are, Facebook is the best

place to go to. The platform itself is also very user-friendly, so it won’t be difficult

to reach as many people as you need to.



2) You don’t have to spend millions.

The problem with other Marketing strategies is that you have to spend huge

amounts of money for something that may not even work. The budget behind the

biggest promotional campaigns can be enormous, and this is why a lot of thought

goes into these campaigns. With Facebook as a marketing tool, you don’t have

to spend millions just to get your message out there. As long as you have a good

online marketing team, your message can be spread to the people you need to

talk to.

3) Need instant feedback? No problem.

Feedback is very important when it comes to marketing campaigns, because you

need to know whether your target audience is receptive to the campaign you just

set out. Facebook is a good tool because after posting an update or a new

product, you immediately see the number of likes, views, and even comments

from your target customers themselves.

4) Accurate and measurable.

Not only can you use Facebook to promote your business for little to no cost, but

you can also use the groundbreaking Facebook metrics to monitor your page.

With one click, you can easily see which posts generated the most traffic or

views, as well as the most responses. This will help you craft your future

strategies and tailor your future posts into something that will be more effective.

5) The power of word-of-mouth.

In this day and age when consumers are constantly bombarded with marketing

gimmicks and advertisements, word-of-mouth marketing is the best strategy to



turn to. Instead of forcing prefabricated advertisements into the faces of your

consumers, it’s better to generate positive buzz through the power of word-of-

mouth marketing. Design your social media strategy in a way that you can

influence your consumers enough to talk about you to their own networks.