Written by ContentPowered.com
If your company isn’t using Facebook to market to companies, you are missing out on a huge stream of opportunity to connect with customers. And as demonstrated by many companies, Facebook can even help you expand your company into becoming larger than ever before. Many of the most influential and most valuable companies in the world use Facebook in ways that might surprise you. Here are some valuable Facebook tactics that you can learn from Fortune 500 companies.
Have A Strategy
Facebook may be a great tool for individuals to put up pictures and reunite with old friends, but these types of actions aren’t great for expanding your network in ways that a business would want to. Instead, all businesses should approach Facebook marketing like any other PR or advertising campaign. Consider the amount of people that you can reach and the best way to get in contact with them. The more that you can do all of this and put it into play, the easier it will be to connect with people. However, if you are aimlessly floating around Facebook while liking and commenting on people’s status updates, you are not maximizing your efforts.
Encourage Conversation
Commercials and print advertisements have always been a good way for companies to reach out to their customers. However, there was no true way for the customers to communicate back. Facebook has changed all of that and the social media platform allows conversation between countless people. The most successful Fortune 500 Facebook platforms encourage different types of conversation on their website. Whether it is positive or negative conversation, it’s all an opportunity to connect with new people and get insight into their opinions.
Have Meaningful Content
One way to get people to interact with your profile is to offer meaningful content. You can probably imagine how annoying it is to see friends on Facebook who post the same invaluable status updates or weird photos that you could really care less about. However, when a business does that, there is a chance that the person may quickly unfollow or unsubscribe to their feed. And losing followers is never something a Fortune 500 company aims for. Instead, by posting meaningful content, you are opening the door for more people to take interest in what it is you are putting on your profile. Furthermore, meaningful and creative content also has a higher likelihood of being shared and going viral, which can expand a companies Facebook following exponentially overnight.
Find The Perfect Amount Of Content
Just as annoying as friends who post tons of irrelevant content, those who post too much content are equally bothersome. That being said, the friends who post sporadically or randomly have a tendency to be forgotten about, which is something businesses want to avoid. It is important that businesses are able to find the perfect amount of content to keep their customers entertained and interested. Posting every five minutes is a great way to get yourself blocked by certain customers, while not posting enough is a way to go unnoticed. Instead, try to have a set schedule where you post content that keeps viewers stimulated.
Plan Your Content
Piggybacking off the section above, one great way to find the right amount of content is to plan what you post. Many Fortune 500 companies plan their posts around time schedules or analytical data that they’ve gathered to find out when their customers are online the most. If you have a great idea for a status update or funny comment, or if you simply want to share a photo that you found on another photo, consider making note of it and saving it. And instead, plan out your posts so that they are spread out and more interesting to viewers. This also helps businesses keep a variety of information for the times where they may not have much to post, but they want to keep their page interesting and entertaining.
Get Help
Most Fortune 500 companies are ran by business guru’s who have had years of experience. Most of these people didn’t grow up with social media or smartphones at their fingertips. However, there is a new generation of people now entering the workforce that have been raised on, and they rely on, social media. Fortune 500 companies do a good job or realizing that they likely will need help with their Facebook marketing efforts. After all, you wouldn’t expect your people in human resources to handle your accounting and you wouldn’t want your accountants handling your legal information. Therefore, Fortune 500 companies know that they can’t expect just anyone to manage their social media accounts. Instead, they hire individuals that are entrenched with Facebook and who are completely familiar with the platform.
Pay For Services
Because Facebook is free to use, many businesses think that they can skimp out on having to put any money into it. However, Fortune 500 companies know that putting money into Facebook is equally as valuable -if not more so- as any other type of marketing campaign. Facebook is great for it’s free services. But if you really want to maximize it, be sure to implement paid marketing that will target specific customers and make your company found in more places. The more exposure you get, the more likely it is that your company will expand and grow.
Use Plug Ins
Using plug-ins on Facebook is another great way to maximize your online presence. Large companies know that your Facebook profile alone isn’t what gets people, but also multiple different outlets that connect to the site. For example, many Fortune 500 companies have a “like our page” button directly on their site, which makes it easier for people to connect with them. Other options include using sites that integrate into Facebook to make for a better user experience. Sites like thecouponmaker.com let companies use Facebook and social media to make marketing campaigns with coupons. These companies can then post coupons on their page through the use of these plug-ins. Using multiple different plug-ins allow for your company to utilize the other elements of Facebook that the average person may simply not know how to use.
Have Contests
Lastly, consider learning to find a way to reward your customers. Fortune 500 companies use Facebook to have contests that give back to those who follow them, like their page or share their content. Not only does this help spread your companies name, but it also does so by having regular people do it for you rather than putting your own efforts into it. Customers also like seeing contests because it makes them feel like they can get something for their efforts. Contests are a great way that Fortune 500 companies are expanding and are a vital tactic your company can use too.
Each company on Facebook needs to consider their own attributes and what will work for them. However, by following a variety of different tactics that Fortune 500 companies are already using, you have a head start into knowing what is working for some of the largest corporations in the world.
Adventurist
says:I think “quantity” of posts is the biggest one. They post a LOT and keep their fans very engaged. This is something we all get lazy with.