Over 1.7 billion people now use Facebook. Let that sink in.
That makes Facebook the most used social network in the world by 1.2 billion. For social media marketers, more users mean more consumers. But with more users comes more competition. Now because of factors like the Facebook algorithm changes, social media marketers need to be savvier than ever to compete.
Marketers need to pull out all the stops to make sure their Facebook channel is easy to find, provides value, and represents their business in the best ways possible.
In this article you’ll learn the 45 best Facebook marketing tips for businesses.
1. Complete your about page
You’d be surprised at how many Facebook about sections are left barren. Completing the about page of your business page is crucial. Your Facebook business page can often be the first place your visitors head to after a Google search. Make sure all of your information is in order including your website, social links, and contact information.
2. Double down on past successes
Doubling down, recycling, or reposting past successful content is a strategy often underutilized by most marketers.
Conventional thinking might lead you to create original content each and every time but that doesn’t always have to be the case. To save you needed time and energy, try reposting or recycling content that has performed well in the past.
To piggyback on the success of our article 100 Growth Hacks Learned From 5 Years as a Startup the Wishpond team recycled it into a SlideShare, which made it to the front page, which transformed into an article on how to make the front page of SlideShare.
3. Change/update Facebook cover photo
The Facebook cover photo is an often overlooked area for some self promotion. If you’re holding a contest or giveaway, your Facebook cover photo can act like a promotional billboard. Show off the prizes you’re giving away and a link to the contest for all of your visitors to see.
4. Pin a post
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to pin a post to the top of your Facebook feed. After publishing a new blog post, launching a giveaway, or announcing a new feature pin it to the top of your feed so that it’s the first post your visitors see.
5. Claim your Facebook vanity URL
Once your Page has 25 Likes, you can claim your vanity URL, meaning you can direct fans to a URL like “facebook.com/YourBusinessName”. This helps visitors to find your page, and makes it easier for you to promote your page on other marketing materials.
6. Include Like buttons on your website and blog
Having Facebook Like buttons on your website and blog can direct traffic from these channels to your Facebook Page, turning blog readers and customers into social media fans. Entice them into liking your Page with a CTA – for example, “Like our page to stay up to date with the latest products and promotions!”
7. Q&A’s
Facebook media comes in all shapes and formats making it a perfect way to hold a Q&A session with your followers. Post a start date and time for questions. Then post an update to request questions from your followers. Answer those questions live, pre-record a video, or just simply write in some replies. The choice is up to you.
8. Promote your Page in your email signature
Putting a small button or link to your Facebook Page in your email signature can direct some traffic from the people you communicate with to your Facebook Page, which has the potential to help you gather a few Likes, while also showing your business to these people.
9. Promote your Page to your email list
Give your email subscribers a good reason to become your Facebook fans. Exclusive deals, content, or promotions will get your email subscribers to follow the content you post on Facebook.
10. Increase transparency
Social media channels offer a great opportunity for businesses to connect further with the folks who love their brand. By increasing the level of transparency of your posts your building and strengthening the relationship you’re developing. People want to get to know you, your story, and why you’re in business. Give them an inside look and you’ll be rewarded with long term business.
11. Promote your Page with Facebook Ads
Facebook’s advertising tools have come a long way. For a few dollars you can get your Facebook page in front of the people who would be most interested in what you have to offer. Promote your page with Facebook ads and reach the people you’re trying to reach — only much quicker.
12. Run a Facebook contest
A Facebook contest is the perfect opportunity to engage with and have fun with your fans. A fantastic prize and fun entry rules will ensure that your contest is shared amongst your fans and their friends as well.
For more on Facebook contests check out: 101 Tips: How to Run a Successful Facebook Contest
13. Use custom Facebook tabs
Did you know that you could create custom landing pages right on your Facebook page? A custom Facebook tab allows anyone to create a custom landing page for almost any purpose. Get more email list subscribers, run a Facebook photo contest, or direct people to a free trial of your software. A custom Facebook tab has endless opportunities.
14. Facebook video
Video is said to become a majority of the content on Facebook in the near future. With video production tools and cameras inside every cell phone, anyone can produce video. Video performs especially well with Facebook because it’s quick, entertaining, and easily sharable. Experiment with video for your audience, it could be the boost your content has been looking for.
15. Facebook Live
Broadcasting to the world is no longer a function capable by only large media companies. Anyone can now jump onto Facebook and with a click of a button, broadcast to their fans live. There are many creative ways to use live video. Use it for events, inside looks, Q&As, etc. Experiment with Facebook Live and start interacting with your audience in real time.
16. Post when your fans are online
Pay special attention to your Facebook insights to see when the majority of your fans are browsing through Facebook. Post and adjust to those times to hit them at just the right moment.
17. Create eye-catching images to go with your posts
Visuals are a powerful tool in the social media marketer’s toolbox. Visuals have the ability to communicate emotion and meaning in milliseconds. Attaching each update has been proven time and time again to outperform content without visuals.
18. Test out various media types
If your content has hit a roadblock and can’t seem to garner much engagement, maybe it’s not the content, maybe it’s the format. One of the things that makes Facebook such a dynamic platform is the media formats it supports.
Video, audio, written, and soon enough, VR. There are many formats to experiment with. If you’re finding your content ignored, it may be time to try out video.
A 3,000 word article on SEO can be a little dry for most marketers out there. But turn that article into a video and that’s a whole different ball game. Just look at Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays hosted by SEO wizard Rand Fishkin, it’s one of their most anticipated pieces of content.
19. Include a CTA
Many social media marketers will post to Facebook expecting a reaction and scratch their heads when it doesn’t happen. Maybe it’s because you didn’t ask. Don’t expect your fans to know what you want they to accomplish. State explicitly what you’d like them to do by include a call-to-action. “Like this post if you agree!”, “Share this if you know someone like this” or “Comment with your thoughts” are all examples of CTAs that push your fans to engage with you.
20. Experiment with emoticons
Emoticons can be included in the visuals bucket as well. They’re great at getting a mood, feeling, or emotion across quickly. Especially for younger or millennial audiences, emoticons add much more emotion and affect to Facebook updates.
21. 70-20-10 rule
If you’re having trouble finding a balance of content to post to your Facebook page, follow the 70-20-10 rule. Post original valuable and engaging content 70 percent of the time. 20 percent of the time share content that your fans would be interested in. Then feel free to be self-promotional 10 percent of the time.
22. Create infographics
Let’s all agree that data or original research can sometimes be a snooze fest. Put a fun spin on the data you’ve collected by turning it into an infographic. This way it’ll have a higher chance of being engaged with and shared.
23. Recycle past successful content
There’s no need to create original and resource intensive content each and every time you post. Look back and see what has worked well for you in the past. Then spin or recycle that content into new posts. Your fans are not on Facebook 24/7 so some may have missed it. Feel free to reuse or recycle past content so that everyone can experience it.
24. Share user generated content (UGC)
Let your fans in on the fun. Loyal followers or die hard fans are always creating content that incorporates the brands they love. Make them feel included by sharing the content they’ve painstakingly created for you. Not only will it make your fans feel important, it’ll lighten your workload in the process.
25. Partner with influencers
It never hurts to ask for a little help. Partnering with a popular influencer in your industry is a tactic that will really get your brand up front and centre. Depending on the popularity of the influencer you might have to pay or offer free product. Calculate if it’s worth the exposure or the amount of leads it is expected to generate.
26. Use a popup on your website with social channels
A website popup is a great way to direct your website visitors to your social channels where all the fun is happening. Include social sharing buttons or widgets on your popups to turn website followers into social media followers as well.
27. GIFs
There’s no denying that everyone loves a funny reaction GIF. Like emoticons, GIFs are great at communicating a certain emotion or reaction that millennials really identify with. Experiment with GIFs when you post an update to see if your content receives more engagement.
28. Q&A
Q&As with industry experts are a great way to boost engagement. Think of it like a webinar. For an hour or so your fans can sit down with a person of interest and send them questions. Build hype around the event and use it as a way to bring a ton of attention to your Facebook page.
29. Don’t forget the weekends
Just because we have the weekends off doesn’t mean our fans aren’t on Facebook. Using Facebook’s handy scheduling feature you can post a bit of content on the weekends. It’s all about maintaining consistency.
30. Experiment with humour
Humour can be a powerful tool if used in the right way. Humour creates engagement because it’s so universal. A funny GIF, meme, or update creates an emotional connection between the poster and the reader. Experiment by adding a bit of humour to your update and see if it resonates with your fans.
31. Tag other accounts
When it comes to partnerships or simple admiration remember to tag the accounts you’re referring to. It creates a symbiotic relationship. It sends traffic to the other account and develops your relationship. If you’re trying to build a partnership or get someone to notice your business, tag them so that they get a heads up.
32. Use hashtags
Include your business in the popular conversation of the day by joining in on the hashtags. Hashtags include and categorize your updates in the larger global conversation. Remember to keep your hashtags specific to your industry or else your updates will get lost in the fold.
33. Test content with ads
A business that has yet to get a foothold on it’s most popular type of content can test things out with advertisements. With a few bucks, run a few blog posts ranging in subjects with Facebook ads. See which performs/converts best and continue on in that direction. Because Facebook targets based on interests, you’ll be able to see what content does best with your target audience.
34. Poll with Facebook reactions
The new Facebook reactions are a fun way to poll your audience regarding a certain subject. Figure out what the popular opinion is by creating a Facebook reaction poll. Your fans can vote according to the reactions you’ve assigned to each answer.
35. Respond to comments ASAP
For quite some time now Facebook has been a go-to place for customer feedback and support. Respond as quickly as you can to comments and reviews on your Facebook page. By doing so you’re page will get marked with a “replies quickly” marker so that visitors know that you are active. Thus will be more likely to engage with you.
36. Share from Instagram
Have a stellar Instagram account? Connect it with your Facebook account and share photos from Instagram to your Facebook feed. This way your Facebook fans can follow you on Instagram and vice versa.
37. Create a Facebook group
Birds of a feather flock together. If you’ve managed to find and gather like-minded individuals on Facebook consider creating a Facebook group where you can have in-depth discussions. Having a popular Facebook group can lead to more reach in the direction of your target audience.
38. Test optimal post length
You’ll see varying opinions on Facebook post length so it’s always best to test what works best for you. Generally a short Facebook post performs better because people don’t have the attention spans to read a long post BUT there are exceptions. Test, test, test.
39. Use the correct image dimensions
A blurry, out of focus image is an unforgivable sin these days. Post your visuals to Facebook in the best resolution possible for your fans. A quick Google search will pull up the most recent optimal image resolutions.
40. Use a social media management tool
If you’re looking to take your social media efforts to the next level, you should consider using a social media management tool. A social media management tool saves you time and headache by organizing everything into one platform for you to diagnose problems, schedule updates, and listen to what your fans are saying.
41. Success stories
As part of your self-promotion strategy show off your past client successes. A captivating story of their rise to success can lead to more clients and more interest in what you have to offer.
42. Offer Facebook exclusive promotions
Make your Facebook fans feel special. Give your audience a reason to follow you on Facebook by offering Facebook exclusive deals and promotions. “Offer only valid for Facebook followers.”
43. Go behind the scenes
Much of marketing is building a relationship between the brand and the consumer. Social media offers the perfect opportunity to give your fans an inside look at the inner workings of your business. Show them what they’re buying into and what your business is all about. Behind the scenes access makes fans feel special and is a powerful tool for strengthening relationships.
44. Encourage reviews
Just like any other review platform, encourage your fans to leave honest reviews about their experience. Positive or negative, it provides feedback for you for improvement. Plus, positive reviews are social proof for those on the fence about giving your business a try.
45. Use BuzzSumo to find highly shared content
Wouldn’t it be great to know what content performs best with a certain audience? Wouldn’t it be great to know what has done well so that you could build on it for your audience?
BuzzSumo gives you exactly that. With BuzzSumo you can type in a specific keyword and get a list of the most shared content related to that keyword. That way you can see what was involved and attempt to duplicate the results (or “10x” as they say).
Final Thoughts
Hopefully this article gives you concrete ideas on improving your Facebook marketing. Like with anything in marketing, it takes some testing and experimenting to get things just right for your audience.
What are your favourite Facebook tips and tricks?
Comment with your own tips below!
Read more: 5 Facebook Marketing Tips To Promote Your Local Business