Facebook has been around for over 10 years now, and while many people will automatically associate Facebook with controversy (privacy, fake news, etc.) it’s still the most popular social media platform and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
Ignoring Facebook or treating it as an afterthought is foolish, because your customers are on Facebook and if you are not active on Facebook then your competition will happily take your place. Also, considering how many people are using Facebook the growth potential (revenue/sales) for your business is almost unlimited. Not convinced? Can you think of another platform or marketing channel that gives you access to over 1 billion active users? In the US alone, Facebook amounts to over 200 million users; therefore, over 60% of the US population is on Facebook.
Where Do You Start?
Facebook is no different from any other digital marketing channel; it will require some planning upfront. With that in mind, let’s look at 6 steps to plan and measure your Facebook marketing efforts.
Step 1: Set Your Facebook Goals
Different businesses will have different goals, but all social media channels (including Facebook) need to have measurable goals. Otherwise, how will you track your progress and measure ROI?
For example, your Facebook goal can be as simple as “Generate $20,000 in revenue from Facebook leads by the end of 2018”.
Step 2: Do Your Research
How are your customers using facebook? What are their interests? What type of content do they consume? What benefits are they seeking? What are their lifestyle habits? Facebook’s targeting is very powerful and effective, as long as you understand who your customers are and how to best meet their needs.
If you already created customer/buyer personas then this process will be easier. However, if you are not familiar with personas then now is a good time to create a few.
Related: Buyer Personas: What are they, and how they can increase your sales
Furthermore, you have to analyze your competition and how they are using Facebook. For example, who are they targeting? How frequently are they posting? What type of content are they focusing on? How do their numbers look (followers, likes, shares, etc.)?
The more research and analysis you can do upfront, the more money and time you will save down the line.
Step 3: High-level Strategy
Let’s revisit our previous example “Generate $20,000 in revenue from Facebook leads by the end of 2018”. How will you achieve this goal? What specific persona or market segment will you target? How will you entice them? Do you need to change/revisit your positioning?
Your Facebook strategy doesn’t have to be very detailed, but it has to communicate what your goals are, and the high-level strategy/plan to achieve them.
Step 4: Tactics
Well thought-out tactics (actionable steps) are pivotal to a good Facebook strategy, and any strategy in general. This is where you need to think about pricing, promotions, messaging, to-dos, responsibilities (team and individual), tools, budget, and so on. Here are some examples:
- Advertising
- Set a daily budget = $30
- Create a new promotional offer every month
- Content
- Create a seasonal schedule (e.g. your product or service offering may be different in summer vs. winter)
- Post once a day
- Post at least one customer testimonial (success story) a week
- Customer relations
- Respond to all customer questions (within 24 hrs)
- Be actively involved in all conversations around “ABC” and “XYZ” topics
- Logistics
- Review analytics (weekly)
- Review KPIs (weekly)
- Allocate resources (monthly)
You don’t have to get all your Facebook tactics right from day one, because tactics may have to change over time (e.g. if you miss your KPIs, or if market conditions change).
Step 5: Measure
How will you know if your investment in Facebook is paying off? At minimum, you have to set a few KPIs. Here are a few examples of monthly KPIs:
- “Leads = 1,000”
- “Conversions = 50”
- “Revenue = $5,000”
- “Likes = 3,000”
For the most part what exactly you measure will depend on your goals, so if your goals are revenue driven then your KPIs should be as well. On the other hand, if your goal is to increase brand awareness then impressions, likes, and shares should be closely monitored.
Step 6: Financials
Every marketing campaign (including Facebook) should have a budget assigned to it. For example, advertising cost, labor cost, software cost, market research cost (if required), and so on. In summary, all Facebook related costs should be included in your budget.
Furthermore, your financials should include a well-thought-out ROI calculation (short-term and long-term). You can have the best Facebook strategy in the world but if the ROI doesn’t make sense then your Facebook campaign will inevitably be a short-term endeavor.
Summary
Facebook’s reach is unmatched by other social media platforms, so your business has to be involved. If you give Facebook the appropriate attention it deserves you will reap financial benefits (increase in revenue/sales), and as a side effect you will make your business more approachable and enhance your relationship with customers.
