Facebook for Business: Ultimate Guide 2020

Facebook, the leading social networking platform, is also a powerful marketing tool for businesses of all sizes. It offers a number of different ways to market from Facebook business pages and groups to Facebook ads, giving businesses an effective and affordable way of building awareness among a target audience, connecting with customers, and driving sales.

Benefits of Using Facebook for Business

Facebook is a great marketing tool for all business sizes that comes with a wide range of benefits. It’s not only highly cost-effective, but it enables businesses to reach their target audience using sophisticated ad targeting options, increase brand awareness and recognition, build customer loyalty, generate quality leads, and drive sales.

Here are eight benefits of using Facebook for business:

• Affordable: Facebook is a cost-effective marketing channel as organic social, such as Facebook business pages and groups are free, while Facebook ads are low-cost with an average cost-per-click of $1.86 and a low $1 minimum daily ad spend. However, there is no set minimum monthly ad spend, so advertisers may turn off their ads at any time during the month.
• Build awareness through an engaged user base: Facebook serves as a good platform for generating brand awareness as it gives businesses a way to connect with an active and engaged user base to discover new products, services, or events. This gives businesses an audience that is more likely to notice and interact with them and, in return, increase brand awareness.
• Ability to target the right people: What sets Facebook apart from other digital advertising platforms is its sophisticated audience targeting options for ads. This allows businesses to reach precisely the right people by telling Facebook who to display their ads to based on anything from user demographics to online buying behavior, interests, and life events.
• Drive traffic to your website: Businesses can drive traffic to their website through Facebook business pages which display your web address and Facebook ads that link out to your landing pages and website. This gives businesses a way to use Facebook as a sales tool by driving Facebook users to visit your website for more information.
• Generate leads: Many businesses use Facebook to generate leads, or build a contact list of people who are interested in what they offer. This can be done both organically through Facebook business pages with a call to action button or custom tab, as well as through Facebook ads that collect user information (i.e., start a free trial by inputting your name and email address).
• Increase sales: There are a number of ways to generate sales through Facebook, from building awareness that leads to site visits, generating leads you can then foster, creating ads that promote a product, service, or event, through a Facebook shop tab on your business page, listing products in the Facebook Marketplace, or by selling to previous site visitors and customers using remarketing.
• Gain useful insights: Facebook for business provides user insights and analytics. Businesses can view information on everything from follower demographics to page insights and actions. By gaining a better understanding of an audience, businesses can create more strategic marketing campaigns.
• Improve SEO: Many businesses find that their Facebook business page appears in search results for relevant keywords. So even if Facebook may not directly boost your site’s ranking, having a business page helps you get found in search.

Nearly any business can reap the benefits of Facebook marketing. It can help businesses work toward most marketing goals from stretching a tight marketing budget and improving SEO to gaining insight into a target audience and driving sales.

Nearly any business can reap the benefits of Facebook marketing, however, many may fail to do so due to a lack of time and expertise. Consider delegating to professionals like Facebook Marketing Partner Hibu. They create and maintain Facebook campaigns to help you optimize your campaign to increase your return on ad spend and meet your marketing goals. Visit Hibu for a free consultation to learn more today.

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How Facebook for Business Works

Facebook for business works using two main marketing strategies, organic social and paid social. Organic social is free and involves building a presence with a business page, generating content (posts), and engaging with followers via comments and chat as a long-term strategy for social growth. Paid social involves creating, managing, and optimizing ad campaigns through Facebook Ads Manager as a short-term strategy to quickly reach a highly targeted audience.

To use Facebook marketing organically, start by creating a business page by logging in to your Facebook account, clicking the drop-down option in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, and selecting “Create a Page.” Businesses should then build out their business page and begin consistently generating content. From there, start outreach efforts to gain followers by sharing your page with your existing customers and participating in Facebook groups.

To advertise on Facebook, navigate to your Facebook business page, click the drop-down arrow in the upper-right hand corner of the screen, and select “Manage Ads.” From there, businesses can click the “Create” button to start the new campaign creation process. This will walk you through everything from selecting your ad-type and marketing objective to identifying your target audience and writing your ad copy.

Many businesses use both organic and paid social strategies to leverage Facebook for business. This is because organic social is a good long-term strategy for building and interacting with an active following, while paid social is a good short-term strategy to kick-start awareness and advertise promotions, products, or services as it gives businesses a way to quickly reach their target audience.

5 Facebook Marketing Channels

Facebook for business has a number of marketing opportunities, though there are five main ways to market a business on Facebook. These include using a Facebook Business page, running Facebook ads on both Facebook and Instagram (which is a Facebook-owned platform), participating in Facebook groups, listing products on the Facebook Marketplace, and co-marketing.

Here are the five primary ways to use Facebook marketing:

Facebook Business Pages

Best for: Any businesses looking to connect with users on Facebook

Facebook Business Page Example

Facebook business pages are useful tools for businesses as they provide a platform for reaching Facebook’s over 2 billion users. They are the business version of a profile page with sections for location, hours, services, and user reviews, as well as the option to add custom tabs and CTAs, such as “Book now,” or a Facebook shop. In order to create Facebook ads, businesses must have a Facebook business page.

Businesses pages not only get found on Facebook, but in search engines such as Google. They are used to build brand awareness, connect with your target audience, and advertise promotions and news. They give customers a good way to stay up to date with your business, and they are also a prerequisite to using other Facebook marketing tools such as Facebook Ads and Facebook groups.

Facebook Advertising

Best for: Quickly delivering a specific message to a targeted audience

Facebook Ad Examples

Facebook advertisements give businesses a way of reaching targeted audiences with specific messages that they would not necessarily be able to reach with organic posts. Facebook ads are a type of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, where businesses pay based on audience interactions such as a click, video view, or conversion. Any business with a Facebook business page can set up ads through Facebook Ads Manager.

What makes advertising with Facebook unique is that it gives businesses a way to reach a highly targeted audience. In other words, advertisers can pinpoint exactly who they want their ad to display to, which helps make ads more effective as they are displayed to qualified users. Audience targeting aside, they are also set up to help businesses achieve specific marketing objectives, such as generating awareness or leads. If you want your business to have an optimal Facebook advertising campaign but would prefer to not have to deal with the analytics and day-to-day management of it, reach out to a Hibu representative today to see if their Facebook marketing solutions are a good fit for your business needs.

Facebook Groups

Best for: Organically growing brand awareness and reaching an engaged target audience

Example of a Facebook Group

Facebook groups are communities for users to connect over a shared interest or cause. Businesses use them to market by either becoming actively involved in an existing group or by creating and managing their own Facebook group. It’s a good (and free) way for businesses to organically gain awareness and to reach an engaged target audience.

Facebook groups help businesses build awareness and create a community. They are not a form of direct advertising or to be used as a promotional platform. Instead, the focus of groups is on its group members and building a community around their common interest, goal, or cause. Businesses whose target audience has a shared interest can use Facebook groups to connect its audience and stay top of mind. Learn how to use Facebook Groups.

Facebook Marketplace

Best for: Businesses that sell online looking to cast a wider net with an additional sales channel

Facebook Marketplace Example

The Facebook Marketplace is Facebook’s version of classified ads, similar to Craigslist or Gumtree. While a large majority of those selling through the marketplace are individuals, businesses can also list products on the marketplace. This won’t serve as a business’s primary sales channel, though it can give businesses a way of gaining additional exposure, which can lead to more sales.

Businesses that sell products online may choose to list products for sale on the Facebook Marketplace. While it’s not likely to be a business’s main source of sales, it is a good way to gain exposure and add another potential sales channel to reach more potential customers. In addition, it’s an affordable way to gain exposure.

Co-Marketing

Best for: Word-of-mouth marketing and increasing brand awareness

Example of Co-Marketing on Facebook

Co-marketing is when two businesses collaborate to promote and cross-sell each other’s products. It’s a free strategy that can help businesses gain credibility and awareness. The most common form of co-marketing in social media marketing is co-marketing with influencers. However, businesses may also co-market with other businesses to promote each other’s products or services and to gain exposure from the other business’s audience.

For example, a local sporting goods business may co-market with a local tennis club by offering new tennis racket demos one day a week at the tennis club. This gives the sporting goods company a way to reach the tennis club’s members, and it gives the tennis club a way to provide their members with more value at no cost to them. Facebook can then serve as a platform to promote the co-marketing efforts and linking to one another’s Facebook pages.

Facebook for Business Costs

Facebook is an affordable marketing channel with free tools for businesses such as Facebook business pages and groups. Paid Facebook ads are low-cost with a minimum daily ad spend of $1 and are cost-effective with an average cost-per-click under $2. Additional costs may be incurred when businesses use third-party Facebook marketing tools and management services.

Here are the top five Facebook marketing costs:

• Labor-related expenses: While it’s free to use Facebook for business organically, businesses invest a good deal of time into Facebook marketing and therefore the cost of labor should be considered when looking at Facebook marketing costs.
• Facebook Ads: Facebook advertising has an average cost-per-click (CPC) of $1.86. The platform does not have a set minimum monthly ad spend, but does have a minimum $1 per day required ad spend on active campaigns so advertisers may choose to spend as much or as little as they would like on Facebook ads. The average small business spends around $1,000 per month on Facebook ads, which at $1.86 per click, would yield nearly 540 clicks.
• Selling on Facebook: Ecommerce businesses can sell through Facebook by adding a shop tab to their business page or through the Facebook Marketplace. Those that use Facebook to sell products will incur a selling fee of 5% per shipment or a flat fee of $0.40 for sales of $8 or less.
• Facebook tools: Many businesses that use Facebook for marketing choose to use third-party tools, which can do anything from help businesses create more effective landing pages that generate more leads (like Leadpages, which costs $37 per month) to content planner and post schedulers (such as Buffer which costs $15 per month). Learn more about Facebook tools and find the best Facebook tools for marketing.
• Social media management services: Those that do not have the time or expertise to effectively use Facebook for business may choose to outsource to a social media management agency, which will manage your Facebook marketing on your behalf. Management fees for agencies vary greatly from as little as $100 per month to over $1,000 depending on the provider and the services they’re providing.

How aggressively a business wants to market on Facebook and how much it allocates to Facebook marketing is up to them. Most businesses will find Facebook to be a cost-effective marketing channel where the results are proportionate to the time and money invested. Since it does not require a minimum monthly ad spend or involve any costs to use organically, businesses can test out Facebook marketing for free and increase spend as needed/desired.

How to Start Marketing on Facebook in 5 Steps

To begin Facebook marketing first set up your Facebook business page by logging in to Facebook, clicking “Create” from the horizontal top menu and selecting “Pages” from the drop-down, and following the prompts to complete your business page. From there, create a content strategy to serve your marketing goals and audience, get involved in Facebook groups, create an ad using the Facebook Ads Manager, and lastly, be active on Facebook.

Here’s how to use Facebook marketing in five steps:

1. Set Up a Facebook Business Page

The first step to Facebook marketing is creating a Facebook business page. It not only serves as a business’s profile, but it’s also required in order to create paid ads on Facebook. To create a business page, log in to your personal Facebook account and click “Create” from the right-hand side of the horizontal menu at the top of the page. Then, click “Page” from the drop-down menu and follow the prompts to complete the business page setup.

Create a New Facebook Business Page

Facebook business pages are created under an individual’s Facebook account, so log in to the personal account that you want connected to your business page. Then, navigate to the upper right-hand corner of the top menu bar and click “Create.” From the drop-down menu that appears, click “Page.” On the following screen select “Business or Brand” as your page category.

Select a Business or Brand Page

Input Business Information & Add Media

Next, input your page name and business category and click “Continue.” On the following screen, upload your profile picture and cover photo. Then, navigate to the “About” tab on the left-hand side of your business page and complete all sections, such as inputting your website URL, writing a summary of your business, adding hours, and any other relevant information.

Edit Business Information on Facebook Business Page

Add a Call to Action

After completing all sections of your business page, add a CTA button by clicking the “+ Add a Button” button on the right-hand side of the page. Then, select the type of CTA you want to add from the options list, and follow the prompts to complete the process.

Click “+ Add a Button” to add a CTA to a Facebook business page

Configure Tabs

To add or remove tabs, click “Settings” from the upper right-hand menu. Find “Templates and Tabs” from the left-hand menu. From the templates and tabs page, scroll down to the “Tabs” section to view all of the tabs your page currently includes. Update or remove existing tabs by clicking the “Settings” button to the right of the tab. To add a new tab, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Add a tab” button.

Add/Remove Facebook Business Page Tabs

Get the full breakdown of how to create a Facebook business page. There you will get detailed step-by-step instructions that walk you through how to create a Facebook business page.

2. Create a Facebook Content Strategy

Once you have created a Facebook business page, you will need to create a Facebook content strategy. While every business’s content strategy will be unique to their needs, goals, and target audience it involves outlining and planning how you will use Facebook to market your business, identifying your target audience by creating customer profiles, and selecting your Facebook marketing objectives.

Here are five common Facebook strategies and goals:

• Grow an audience: The leading Facebook strategy is to increase brand awareness. Businesses reach their target audience and, in return, grow their audience, via both organic and paid social. Since Facebook already has billions of users, It’s a good platform to reach potential customers.
• Stay top of mind: By giving customers another touch point they are able to connect with existing audiences and stay top of mind. This is beneficial for businesses that are looking for a strategy to drive repeat sales and build brand loyalty.
• Generate leads: Businesses can generate leads using their Facebook business page with a CTA button, with Facebook messenger, through Facebook groups, and through paid ads that drive users to either your business page or to a landing page designed to convert visitors and generate leads. Businesses can then foster those leads with strategies such as drip marketing.
• Drive repeat sales: Facebook advertising offers businesses the opportunity to use remarketing campaigns. These campaigns are directed at users who are aware of a business, such as users who have visited a business’s website. It gives businesses a way to market to warm leads, which are more likely to lead to sales.
• Reinforce branding: Businesses can use Facebook as a platform for reinforcing branding efforts. This is by using consistent brand messaging and brand identity, which in return, helps further build a brand and drive brand loyalty.

Businesses will use their content strategy as the foundation of how they use Facebook in order to serve their Facebook marketing goal. For example, a business whose content strategy is to drive repeat sales may employ Facebook remarketing ads using an existing contact list or using the Facebook Pixel to display ads to users who made a purchase on their website in the last 60 days. Get the complete breakdown of how to create a content strategy.

3. Use Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are similar to a club, where users join based on interests. Facebook groups give businesses an opportunity to get involved in an existing group and increase their brand awareness through their active participation, or by creating their own group. Groups serve nearly any type of business or organization, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a local or international group.

Facebook Groups for Business

4. Try Facebook Advertising

Facebook advertising is an effective and low-cost form of digital advertising. Advertisers pay based on user interactions such as ad clicks and conversions with an average cost-per-click of $1.86. To create a Facebook ad, log in to Facebook, create a Facebook Ads Manager account and go to your account, then click the “+” or “Create New” campaign button from the homepage to begin the new campaign creation process, which will walk you through all steps.

Here are the nine places you can advertise on with Facebook Ads:

• Facebook & Instagram Newsfeed
• Facebook Right-Column Ads
• Facebook In-Stream Videos
• Facebook Search Results
• Sponsored Facebook Messenger Messages
• Facebook Instant Articles
• Facebook Marketplace
• Facebook & Instagram Stories
• Facebook Audience Network

To create a Facebook ad campaign, log in to Facebook and navigate to the drop-down arrow in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. From the menu that appears, select the “Manage Ads” option. This will bring you to Facebook Ads Manager where you can click the “Create” button to build out a new ad campaign by completing every step of the process as prompted to do so. Learn more about Facebook Ads Manager and how to build out an ad step-by-step.

Example of Facebook Ads in the Facebook Newsfeed

5. Be Active on Facebook & Engage Your Audience

The last step is to be active on Facebook. It’s not a set-it-and-forget-it type of social media channel and instead businesses need to maintain an active presence on social in order to continue growing their audience and keeping their audience engaged. There are a number of ways to do this from frequently posting on your business page to participating in Facebook groups, though businesses should consider which methods best serve their target audience and strategy.

Here are seven leading ways for businesses to be active on Facebook:

• Post frequently: Generating content is a great way to maintain an active presence on Facebook. Businesses are advised to post content on their feed anywhere from three days a week to daily. Generally, the larger the business and its audience size, the more often it posts, but businesses need to consider their industry and audience. Learn more about content strategy and content marketing.
• Participate in Facebook groups: An easy way to be active and engage users on Facebook is by participating in Facebook groups. Be sure to choose a group that is relevant to your industry. For example, an eco-friendly yoga mat brand might join a yoga group, or more specifically, a yoga sustainability group. Keep in mind groups are a way to engage with your target audience, but they are not a place for sales pitches.
• Use Facebook Messenger: Businesses can use Facebook Messenger, Facebook’s live chat feature, to connect with page visitors. Many even go as far as to use Facebook Messenger as a customer service tool. Businesses can set up messages to automatically display to those who visit their page, serving to engage with visitors whether you’re there to chat with them or not.
• Promote your events: Those that host events should add their event to Facebook. It’s easy to do as events are created from your business page. This helps promote your event to your audience, while enabling them to RSVP, which is displayed to their friends; in return, further promoting your event and inciting interest from participant’s friends.
• Share links to your blog posts: Increase readership of your blog by using Facebook to promote newly published articles. While you won’t want to syndicate your blog posts through Facebook (i.e., don’t copy and paste the same content from your site), it is a good idea to share links to your blog posts with a brief write up that serves as a teaser to drive users to click on your link and read your post.
• Post to stories: A fun way to be active and engage with your audience on Facebook is by posting stories. It shows your audience what is happening right now in a fun, yet personal way that has the power to build connections. Businesses often use stories to share behind the scenes photos and videos, to share updates and developments, and to share the people behind the business.
• Submit articles to Facebook instant articles: Facebook instant articles is Facebook’s news publishing platform, which is used by news outlets to source editorial content. Those who create newsworthy content should consider submitting it to Facebook instant articles.

There are many different ways businesses can maintain an active presence and engage with target audiences on Facebook. The methods that are best for you will depend on your content strategy and marketing goals, as well as how your target audience uses Facebook and what type of content resonates with them. Overall, to reach your target audience, you have to be where they are and sharing messages that speak to them.

Who Facebook Marketing is Right For

Nearly any business will benefit from Facebook marketing, though there are certain industries and business types that are ideal candidates for marketing on Facebook. This includes retail brands, local businesses, restaurants and bars (given Facebook’s inclusion of reviews), event venues (as Facebook gives businesses a good way to promote events), software as a service (SaaS) businesses, and nonprofits.

Facebook marketing is the best for the following industries and business types:

• Retail brands: Any brand that sells products, whether that be fashion, technology, or home decor, is a good fit for Facebook marketing. This is because Facebook is a good platform for businesses that sell products people want, opposed to need, as users are not generally using Facebook in an active search for products or services they need, so seeing a product or service they want will pique their interest.
• Local businesses: Local businesses such as a fitness center, hair salon, landscaping company, or doggy daycare would be advised to use Facebook marketing. Facebook business pages give local businesses a good opportunity to market online to drive in-person business as business pages can include information such as location, menus, reviews, and the option to book an appointment or order food for delivery.
• Restaurants & bars: Food service businesses do well with Facebook marketing because it displays user reviews, which provide social proof that is crucial for restaurants and bars as people like to see reviews, specials, and check-ins.
• Event venues: Facebook is an ideal platform for sharing events, which users can RSVP to and share with their friends, generating awareness, and in return, driving sales. Event venues are also great candidates for engaging audiences with stories, which can incite interest and serve as reminder advertising.
• Software as a service: SaaS businesses can do really well with Facebook advertising, as the Facebook Ads Manager platform enables businesses to display ads to users who have visited a specific site recently, or have shown an interest in a particular business, product, or service.
• Nonprofits: Facebook for business has features geared toward nonprofits such as the ability to accept donations from your business page. Facebook is also a great medium for promoting a nonprofit through relevant groups, helping to build awareness.

While these are the top industries Facebook for business serves, it doesn’t mean yours isn’t a good fit if it’s not listed. What ultimately determines if Facebook is a good marketing channel for your business is whether or not your audience is on Facebook. If you’re unsure whether or not your target audience is on Facebook, conduct a competitor analysis, which will help you understand your competitors, who they are targeting, and where they are reaching them.

Facebook for Business Policies

Facebook has set policies that businesses must adhere to in order to use it. First and foremost, businesses that promote illegal substances, adult content, or violence are prohibited. All businesses using Facebook are required to agree to its terms of service and uphold its community standards, which are in place to help protect users from deceptive or malicious content. Facebook ads also have set policies and all ads undergo an approval process.

Here are five main Facebook policies businesses must adhere to:

• Create a safe community: Businesses must uphold user safety in all aspects such as not promoting anything that could be considered dangerous or illegal, such as organized hate, publicizing crime, selling illegal products or services, threatening content, sexual harassment, bullying, human exploitation, graphic content, hate speech, misrepresentation, or cruel content.
• Provide a privacy policy if you collect user data: Those who use Facebook to collect leads, such as through a call to action, will need to provide a privacy policy that serves as a state that shares how you gather information and what you intend to do with the information collected.
• Clearly state your rules for a promotional giveaway or content: Facebook is a good place to promote giveaways and contests, though they must comply with Facebook’s policies by providing clear rules and terms.
• Only use media you have rights to: Copyright infringements are a serious offense, so businesses must be sure to only post photos and videos they have rights to.
• Facebook ads must comply: All Facebook ads undergo the ad review process, which seeks to determine whether or not an ad complies with the Facebook advertising policies. The primary components of the Facebook advertising policies are if the ads comply with the Facebook Community Standards, if they advertise prohibited content such as illegal products or services, as well as tobacco products, alcohol, or gambling.

While the Facebook policies generally follow common sense in that they seek to promote a safe community online that follows the laws that dictate businesses offline, they are comprehensive. To learn more about the policies businesses must adhere to on Facebook, review its terms of service, community standards, and Facebook Advertising Policies

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the best Facebook Ad management agencies?

The Facebook ad management agencies for small businesses are those that are affordable with expert Facebook ad managers and have low monthly ad spend requirements. Some of the best Facebook ad management agencies include Ignite Digital, Hibu, Lyfe Marketing, and Marketing 360. Many businesses also find top providers through Fiverr and its Fiverr Pros. Learn more about the best Facebook Ad management agencies and find the right one for your business.

How can I market for free on Facebook?

Facebook offers businesses a number of ways to market for free, otherwise referred to as organic social media marketing. Strategies include creating a Facebook business page, building up positive reviews, enhancing your page with a CTA and custom tabs, encouraging user-generated content, writing and sharing content, offering deals, and participating in groups. Learn more about free Facebook marketing strategies and ideas.

What is a Facebook landing page?

A Facebook landing page is the web page a user is directed to after clicking on a Facebook ad. All businesses advertising on Facebook should create custom landing pages; landing pages yield high conversions because they are designed to effectively guide users through your sales funnel with content that aligns with your ad’s message. Learn how to create a high-converting Facebook landing page.

What’s the difference between Facebook Ads and Google Ads?

Facebook Ads and Google Ads are both PPC ad platforms that differ greatly in how they reach users. Google displays ads in search results based on keywords whereas Facebook displays ads based on audience targeting. What this means is that Google users are actively looking for specific products or services, whereas Facebook displays ads to those who are likely to be interested in certain products or services. Learn more about Facebook Ads vs Google Ads.

Bottom Line – Facebook Marketing

With over 2.3 billion users worldwide and lost marketing costs, Facebook holds the power to connect businesses to target audiences in a cost-effective way. It’s the best for businesses that are looking to generate awareness to audiences who would likely be interested in their product or service, and want to turn this new awareness into sales.