Small business owners typically operate with constricted budgets. Consequently, this minimizes the number of options available for creating impactful marketing campaigns.
Larger brands can afford to set up multiple custom applications and promotions on social media without difficulty, and from a marketing standpoint, this gives them considerable leverage. However, a large budget isn’t required to launch many of the basic applications used on Facebook marketing, as you’ll see below.
A tight marketing budget can yield positive results on Facebook.
If your brand is well prepared to get in front of the billion-or-so Facebook users, we’ve come up with a few time-saving tips that you can implement in order to maximize returns on the largest social network. Before you proceed, make sure that your vanity URL is available and simple enough to remember – use tools like as Name Vine to check availability.
To save time, use a third party platform for content distribution.
It takes a lot of work to copy and paste content and log in from multiple social media accounts to post. If you plan to post content on Facebook as well as other social media platforms, it’s a lot easier to use a tool like HootSuite, which publishes and distributes content throughout your platforms, minimizing time and labor. Integrate your official Facebook Page, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and other networks and use a single interface to distribute your content.
Manage your content through pre-developed apps.
Small businesses can benefit from services such as Pagemodo and North Social which offer smart applications for content marketing on social media. Bear in mind that you may not be able to use a customized application; however, you are allowed to manage content and visuals within a pre-developed application. This should be a default option for business owners whose budget is a major concern.
Use your Contact Us page for conversion so new visitors become potential sales leads.
Ideally, visitors shouldn’t be directed to your Facebook wall; instead, you can set up a couple (or more) of tab applications so that users land on an informative and engaging page – which facilitates conversion.
Whenever possible, apply social plugins.
A recent study conducted by Gigya revealed a rather interesting piece of data: Apparently Facebook users who land on third-party websites through Facebook Connect actually spend 50% more time on those websites. Also, those visitors view twice as many pages. Facebook social plugins are the most underutilized tools (and they’re free!), and the numbers show that small businesses are missing out.
Apart from use on third-party websites, these social plugins are great tools for structuring conversations and building engagement, while still driving traffic back to the app. When properly used, they can boost engagement on a deeper level and boost social media traffic right back to your campaign.
Learn when and what to post on your Facebook platform
Use third-party services like Edgerank Checker to find out what your fans engage with the most. It’s a useful tool that tells you a number of things including the most popular keywords for fueling conversations, the type of media best suited for your particular audience, and the best time of day to post content. These tools should help put you ahead when starting out. But remember to stay flexible and to adjust to your audience needs as needed.
