Facebook has been more than just a social network for a long time. Soon after its launch, businesses realized they could easily connect with their clients and potential customers through the Facebook interface. That’s when social media marketing was born, turning into one of the most important aspects of a business’ digital marketing efforts.

If you haven’t adopted social media marketing or rolled out any campaigns, know that you are losing out on a great opportunity to take your business to the next level. We say that because social media marketing has been proven to be very effective in increasing sales – simply put, it works.

Advantages of Facebook

In case you have any doubts about how it can help your business, let’s take a look at a few reasons you should actively engage on Facebook as soon as possible.

• You can use Facebook to connect directly with your customers and clients.
• A Facebook page gives your business a personality, letting customers know there is a real, live person behind the corporate facade.
• With a Facebook page – which is absolutely free – you have a new sales funnel.
• You can use your Facebook account to drive traffic back to your website.

Facebook is there for you to take advantage of. It isn’t a matter of if, but rather how you can make it work for you.

So, the question becomes how do you roll out the perfect social media campaign using Facebook?

The Perfect Facebook Campaign

There are a few steps to take to push your sales up and increase your brand awareness through Facebook. Go through them one by one and see your business boom.

1. Create an account and update your profile.

Creating a Facebook account for a business is pretty straightforward. Fill all the fields in your profile to paint a perfect picture that will tell your visitors what you are all about. Whenever possible, let the people know what you do, where you’re located and how they can contact you.

2. Use professional photos and pictures.

A good sign that you’re serious about your business is that you take the time out to have professional pictures taken to post and use on your Facebook page’s profile. Respect yourself and people will respect you. First impressions matter!

3. Keep changing banners.

The banner at the top of your Facebook page (also known as the cover photo) is one of the first things that visitors see when they arrive on your page. Make it a point to constantly update it, especially when you have something new to announce.

4. Post regularly.

Once the account is up, you need to have a dedicated person to take care of posting messages and replies to comments from your visitors. According to studies, if you have over 10,000 followers, you should post twice a day. If you have fewer followers, you only need to post 1 – 5 times a month. Replying to people who leave comments on your page will likely be the most time consuming.

5. Be creative with your posts.

Simply posting an image or two, leaving a comment made by your CEO, or reposting other’s posts won’t cut it. You need to stand out with posts that actually make people want to interact with you. Use polls, contests, motivational quotes and quizzes to inspire a response from your visitors.

6. Use Facebook Groups.

Groups help you network with people and businesses that have something in common with you. You can either create a new Group or join an existing one; the main thing is that you all come together for a common purpose. You can learn from one another and even organize events in the real world.

7. Offer discounts for leads.

A great way to get people to visit your Facebook page and become followers is to dangle a carrot in front of them. Offer discounts to people who go to your Facebook page, follow you, and follow a link back to your main website. You should see your traffic start to rise.

8. Use Facebook Insights.

Keep track of all your hard work by going to Facebook Insights where you can extract reports. Analyze them to see which posts were liked the most, for example. Use that information to determine what you should keep posting.

9. Be patient.

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make when it comes to social media marketing is being impatient. While your Facebook campaign will certainly boost your sales, it won’t do it overnight. Keep working at it and it will eventually start to pay off.

Start on your Facebook marketing campaign today and see yourself end the year with smile on your face and a few more stacks of cash in the bank.