How to Evaluate if Facebook Marketing is Right for You

Affordable Marketing

Are you questioning whether or not your business should start or continue to invest in spending time and money on Facebook marketing?

Facebook has changed. Five years ago we were writing about adding “apps” to your page and “fan-gating.” Now Facebook marketing is a much more sophisticated beast and to succeed within it, you have to stay ahead of your competition and be willing to adapt to algorthim changes.

In this article, I’ll lay out seven simple steps to evaluating whether or not taking up or continuing with Facebook is right for your business.

#1 Assess Your Goals

Before you can convince anyone they have to be on Facebook, you’ll should realize what they would like to achieve. Recall that not every business needs to be on Facebook. If you are in a B2B that sells concrete to a couple of huge companies, LinkedIn may be a better fit. Assess your company goals before deciding that Facebook is a good fit for you.

Ask the following questions before you start planning a campaign that will help you assess expectations and set goals.

What sort of coverage do you need? Does your boss want to use Facebook for community relations or customer service? Or do you have a customer that wishes to use Facebook to promote limited-time offers or new products? How about increasing interaction (i.e., engagement) with current clients? Many of these are possible on Facebook.

What kind of feedback would be most ideal for you? Do you hope to learn more about what existing clients think of your goods? Or does your boss need to learn more demographic information?

What demographic are you not currently reaching but is valuable to you? For example, do you expect to achieve users in new locations, or senior/younger or male/female users?

What are your competitors doing that you like/dislike? Describe what you will do to set your business apart and how you can take a similar strategy, if you love what somebody else in your business sector is doing.

What sort of Return On Investment can you expect? ROI is always a hot issue. Everybody wants to learn how much more money will be in the drawer if they invest in FB. For starters, clarify that ROI for social media can be measured by getting better customer comments, raising word-of-mouth promotion and attaining a better understanding of customers’ wants and needs. You need to comprehend social media ROI and know your business’s expectations.

In the event that you’re starting a Page from scratch, get it clear that’s it’s unrealistic to presume a Page will grow from 0 to 100,000 likes overnight. Don’t set yourself up to fail by picking vanity goals- look to build connections over time.

# 2: Do Your Homework

Case Studies – – Find examples of businesses that are similar and have vibrant Facebook presences. Make sure you include a few of your customer’s competitors in the roundup. For example, if you’re a sushi restaurant, show some examples of what other sushi restaurants are doing on Facebook.

Marketing Research–Look up user statistics on CheckFacebook.com to estimate the amount of people in your client’s target audience that are on Facebook. CheckFacebook.com is a free social media tracking platform that tracks data reported from FB’s marketing tool.

Facebook’s Future Projections–Find articles that predict FB user increase; focus on your customer’s target market. eMarketer is a wonderful resource for tracking industry trends and projections.

#3: Focus on the Chances

Here are a few different business opportunities you can find on Facebook.

For a young company. Present the branding opportunities Facebook has to offer. For instance, focus on the chances for building awareness for a company in regions, using Facebook ads and various targeting features.

For someone concerned with sales. Introduce several of FB’s many business-only characteristics for example Provides. Find out whether there are conversions occurring elsewhere and whether you should connect with fans that happen to be on FB. For example, Macy’s lately posted a code that supporters could use for a discount both online and in shops. Businesses large and small are benefiting from the Facebook Offer features, which permit a business to offer something unique to their Facebook fans.

For an established company. FB offers businesses unique chances to flaunt their brand and culture. Customers love to see the folks they conduct business with letting their hair down every once in a while. It makes them feel like they “know” the faces behind the brand and helps build loyalty.

FB can also provide another station for crowdsourcing, customer support and feedback. Major brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Oreo, Lays and Budweiser have used crowdsourcing on Facebook to allow their customers choose new flavors. Lays gets their fans involved by requesting them to vote for the next potato chip flavor.

#4: Be Honest About Potential Risks

Being a target of public criticism is an issue that makes many CEOs and company owners nervous about having a Facebook presence.

Part of your task is to address these anxieties, and tell them what you intend to do to minimize the dangers. For starters, you need to create a plan. Use the opportunity to illustrate how you intend to deal with possibly negative opinions and other remarks. Explain why transparency is meaningful to clients. Use the chance to speak about the reasons customers like the foil that social media lets–and how it can inspire loyalty. People don’t expect every business to do everything right a large number of the time, yet they get extremely annoyed and loud if they are ignored.

Facebook enthusiasts appreciate timely answers from a real person. Facebook is the perfect location to have open lines of conversation with your fans.

#5: Estimate the Prices of Producing and Keeping a Page

Create a simple spreadsheet or document that contain estimates of what’s required to produce and maintain a Facebook Page.

Here are some things to contain when estimating the cost of your Facebook Page:

Estimate the hours a week required to keep a FB Page. The number of times every day and per week a brand posts is dependent upon the type of company, but a small business should be able to manage a FB Page in 30 minutes a day or less (checking three times a day and dealing with remarks, etc., in three 10 minute chunks). A larger company might want a devoted staff member who tracks Facebook around the clock.
Estimate the cost of making a professional looking Facebook Page. Consider costs for example a graphic designer to create a series of cover photographs and app thumbnails. And consider costs to redesign these in the event Facebook changes their specs.
Contain a budget for Facebook ads. Bring examples of the various types of Facebook ads and how much they may cost per month, if you decide that Facebook advertisements is something that should be part of your entire Facebook strategy.

Understanding your monthly budget can keep your company on course for accomplishing its goals on social media.

#6: Suggest a 60-Day Trial

If your company still isn’t convinced of the worth of the Facebook presence, suggest a test period that continues at least 60 days. In the event you begin with a great strategy and keep expectations realistic, you’ll be well on your way. It’s always a good idea to constantly under-promise and over-produce!

At the start of the trial period, you’ll give them:

An outline that will include several realistic aims. Goals could contain a 20% increase in the number of fans who engage with the Page by commenting and sharing (remember that fans who engage are more useful than those who simply like a page), or a certain amount of sales that derive from a promoted deal.
A commitment to publish a particular number of times each day or week.
A style guide for the Facebook Page, that should contain proposed profile and cover photos, copy and voice. For instance, do you need to be accidental, insightful or proper?

Monitor and adjust your campaign according to what you find about your fans and followers throughout the trial period.

#7: Review Your Results

At the end of the test period, discuss the results of the evaluation.

Include a summary with details about achievements and lessons learned.
Make suggestions for approaches you’ll use going forward based on what you discovered during your trial.
Have a dialogue about additional alternatives for establishing an engaging Facebook presence, including using Facebook advertisements and Facebook apps.

Once you follow these steps, you’ll manage to show the value Facebook can provide to your customer or company. Your business will then have the capacity to find out the best way to use FB and get the most out of it.

What do you really think? Have you followed similar measures to get buy-in in your firm? How productive were you? Please share your thoughts and questions below.