7 Ways to Reach Your Audience on Facebook

With over 1.5 billion active users, Facebook remains the king of social media. According to Pew Internet Research, almost three-quarters of all Internet users are on Facebook. This means that your business needs to be active on this channel in order to reach potential clients.

Even though Facebook has moved towards being a social media channel where businesses have to pay to reach their fans, there are still ways businesses can thrive on Facebook without paying for ad space. You must ask yourself if you are doing all you should to reach your customers on Facebook.

Here are 7 ways to reach your audience on Facebook:

1. Utilize your resources. Facebook continues to release new updates for businesses to use including the Facebook Business Manager application which was recently released to help companies manage multiple accounts. Facebook is also currently developing a platform similar to LinkedIn which will allow you to network and look for jobs without having to leave Facebook for LinkedIn. The social media platform even has its own page for businesses, aptly named “Facebook for Business,” which offers up the latest news and tips on how to fully utilize the platform to your benefit.

2. Keep your SEO information complete and accurate. Facebook uses natural language processing rather than conventional keywords (meaning users can type search terms the way they would normally speak them). Since the results for these searches are generated from the information you provide, it’s important to choose your language carefully. Facebook search results also give higher relevance to pages with higher engagement and/or exact name search, so make sure to name your business page exactly what your business is called, and try your best to boost fan engagement to ensure higher visibility.

3. Start a Facebook Ad campaign. There’s no way getting around it now, paying for an ad campaign allows businesses on Facebook to reach larger, more specific audiences targeted by demographics or interest. “Look-a-like Audiences” are a great way to reach a new group.  Facebook will create an audience for your ad based on either an email list you provide or the current likes on your page. This list is compiled by finding users who might be interested in your product or service based on similarities in demographic information as your current followers. This option is a great way to ensure you are reaching an audience that hasn’t heard about you before, but will be interested in you. The bottom line is, Facebook Ads are a powerful option to increase your brand’s visibility, boost wider engagement, or even generate local traffic to your store.

4. Step up in-store promotions. Nearly 90% of US consumers use their smartphones while shopping (Marketing Land), making “Facebook Offers” like coupons, discounts, or check-in bonuses a great way to engage your fans and generate sales. To get people in your store, “Facebook Offers” allows businesses to offer a special discount or promotion that users can claim and then bring into use. To promote special events, “Boosted Posts” supply a significantly expanded reach to users who would not have otherwise seen your post.

5. Go organic. Facebook wants to ensure that the organic (unpaid) content people see from their connected pages is relevant and appropriate for them. Posts that receive a high number of likes, comments, or shares get more exposure. The more engagement you can inspire on Facebook, the better search rankings and publicity you’ll earn for your brand. For example, when you like, comment on, or share a post on Facebook, it then shares that action you took with your Facebook friends – this is organic reach. The more people you can get involved this way, the better.

6. Create polls, games, or contests. Give your followers a chance to speak up by asking them to submit photos, captions, or other ideas, and vote for their favorites or compete against other network users in friendly games. You can even create boards so that participants can track their progress. Remember to reward the winners too, along with any exceptionally supportive followers.

7. Question and answer. Listen to your followers’ direct input, both positive and negative, and start conversations on how to improve your offerings or design new ones. Answer questions promptly, respond to complaints, and give feedback on comments. Make sure you set up email notifications for new messages if you’re not able to visit the page as often as you’d like.

Utilizing Facebook’s newest features to your advantage will show users just how popular your business really is. A survey by Ironpaper revealed that over 93% of shoppers’ buying decisions are influenced by social media. The more your fans are talking about you – and the more actively you are interacting with them – the more Facebook users (and potential customers) will see you, so make the most of your engagement opportunities.