Over 160 million businesses use Facebook every month, and according to their reports, the platform had reached 2.8 billion active users at the end of 2020. So when you consider Facebook’s pros and cons when it comes to your business, we’d definitely put that in the pros' column. If you don’t already have a Facebook page for your company, we’re here to show you why you should reconsider.
What is a Facebook for business page?
Just like any person can open a free profile page on Facebook, so can any business. The Facebook business page can include your company’s contact details and information, pictures, videos, product descriptions, and so much more. Using it is also similar to a profile page — you can post on your news feed, like and reply to other posts, send and receive private messages using Facebook Messenger, and even join groups with it.
One major difference, however, is the fact that multiple people can run the business page. You can assign different individuals the roles of Admin, Editor, Moderator, or Analyst, which can help divide the workload and ensure you produce a successful page.
Why use Facebook for business?
There are plenty of ways for you to market your business. Nowadays most people spend significant chunks of their day on social media: so if there’s a way for you to take advantage of that, especially without having to pay, why wouldn’t you?
Raise your company’s credibility
Smart and savvy shoppers will usually look up a company before they make any large purchases. They will try to see how it’s reviewed as well as how efficient the customer service is. This is even more important if they shop online, as there are so many scammers out there.
Having a well-designed website is the first step to gain consumer trust, but that’s not enough. Having a presence on Facebook is also critical. Customers will check to see if the company lists all of its information there, and if they are active.
To help build your credibility you should ensure you fill all the sections on the page. These include the About and Mission statement, address, email, website link, phone number and opening hours. It’s also crucial that you keep your feed up-to-date, with the oldest post no more than a couple of weeks old. Another thing to consider is asking satisfied clients to write a review on your page.
Engage with existing and potential clients
The use of Facebook for business gives you the unique opportunity to talk to your clients, without seeming annoying or pushy. You can answer their questions about your services, you can clarify the terms of use, or keep them informed about new products and sales. As they can choose whether they want to see updates from your page, it’s a proactive way for you to stay a part of their consciousness.
You can even use this platform to ask for your customers’ advice. Inquire about improvements they’d like to see or new products they wish you’d develop. And of course, one of the main advantages of Facebook for business is reaching new clients, which we’ll expand on in the next point.
Create brand awareness
When people interact with your posts either by liking and responding, and especially by sharing, their friends get to see it. This means that by interacting with existing customers you can reach a whole new audience that would otherwise have no idea about your brand. To increase interactions, you can share behind the scenes videos, introduce your star employees, or have competitions on your page. Basically, post any content that will make customers feel personally connected to your brand.
Another way to reach new clients is to put some money into Facebook Ads. When you run a new campaign, the platform allows you to create incredibly specific targeting based on age, location, interests and so much more. With that, you can pinpoint your exact target audience and write copy that appeals to them personally.
Improve your customer support
Good customer service plays a big part in the customer lifetime value. The better it is, the higher the chances of customers returning to your brand. With the help of Facebook Messenger, you can be available for your customers’ enquiries 24/7. Not only will people be able to reach you through this platform but it also connects to two other common services — Instagram Messenger and WhatsApp, with features like the “DM me” story sticker or click-to-chat WhatsApp buttons. In the list of advantages and disadvantages of Facebook, this is a major plus.
You don’t even have to be there in person to answer questions. You can automate FAQs, set auto-responders, and even build AI-powered workflows. The combination of Facebook Messenger and Zendesk can also help you create support tickets for incoming messages, and keep everything efficient. All of this will facilitate superb customer support, which can also improve your company’s brand.
Learn more about your audience
An incredibly useful tool in Facebook business pages is the Insights. Once you’ve had your page up and running for a while, you’d be able to know who interacts with it the most. You can learn if it’s mostly men or women, the location most of them reside in, and the language they speak. This data can help you adjust your marketing strategy as well as your future product developments.
Insights also informs you on how your posts are doing. You can check to see what content brings the most likes, what generates the most comments, and what makes people click through to your website.
These are just some ways you can use Facebook for business to your benefit. However, to make sure you make the most out of it, you can read some of the best practices that Business News Daily suggests.
You can also learn more about setting up your Facebook channel and adding Facebook Messenger channels to the Zendesk Agent Workspace, to understand how to best utilise Messenger and Zendesk for your business’s success.
