Guest Post written by Eric Taylor
Although your business and brand are synonymous with one another in many aspects, you have to realize that they’re two separate entities when you break them down. Your business can be thought of as the working apparatus, whereas your brand is how people perceive you, the product and/or service, your advertising, and other aspects of your business model.
Needless to say, branding yourself properly is vital to your overall business success, and by making use of popular social networks, a few properly implemented Facebook marketing strategies can go a long, long way.
In terms of brand recognition and acceptance, you should focus on ONE word more than any other: ENGAGEMENT.
Engagement is how you create fans, conversions, and ultimately repeat customers. Engagement is what keeps your niche interested in your business or services instead of your competitor.
Figuring out how to engage with the social audience via your Facebook page is what brand-building is all about.
Facebook Marketing Strategies to Build Your Business and Brand
1. Offer Unparalleled Information
Put yourself in a Facebook user’s shoes and think about what you’re after when stopping by a business page. You know right away that this is a business’s page. So what are you after here? You’re after information. You want to be able to quickly discern what the business is about and what’s in it for you. Using this knowledge to increase your engagement, it is imperative for you to set up a hub of information.
Information doesn’t necessarily have to mean the latest news, although it certainly can. Think about offering different promotions, contests, posting funny, personal and valuable stories about your business and its employees, or the industry. This is all information, and it all leads to engagement
2. Relate to the Niche Instead of Push Marketing
Every business book out there speaks about how essential it is to market to the proper niche. For example, if you are in the real estate industry, offer valuable information and think up different ways to relate to people who may be losing their homes or who are underwater with their mortgages. Relate to people having trouble selling in a tough economy. Seek engagement from users rather than push marketing, or “forcing” your product or services on them.
3. Insist on Activity
You cannot expect engagement via your Facebook page unless you’re explicitly asking for it in some way. Do you want people to sign up to join your email list? You must create an attractive promotional angle to entice them do so. Want to be seen as a community-friendly business presence? Show your charitable side by creating a post that allows people to give back. Or you can give to charity based on the number of people signing up. The options are endless here. What you’re after is activity. However, people need a good reason to engage with you on a busy site like Facebook.
The three methods listed above are just starters on how to engage people as soon as they visit your page. The more you engage and become involved, the more your brand will shine in a positive light with your fans and by the public.
We would love you to share below ways that you have engaged with your fans on Facebook!
Eric Taylor is a is a social media enthusiast, freelance writer and business developer for Qwaya, a Facebook ad manager tool. Qwaya provides extensive information, tools and up-to-date news about social media marketing trends and strategies, most specifically on Facebook.