Now that you are here to learn some strategies for marketing startups on Facebook, let’s start with few quick questions…
Do you want to use the most powerful social media channel for startup marketing?
Is Facebook’s algorithm change the end of its use as a startup marketing tool?
Can you get a better ROI from Facebook as a marketing strategy?
All these questions and more will be answered on this blog, so stay tuned!
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Facebook can do a lot of things for a lot of people. For bored college students, it’s the perfect time pass. For busy freelancers, it’s a great connecting network. And for startups? Well, Facebook has the power to shape your startup and provide an amazing platform to reach out to customers. Startups are increasingly relying on Facebook to engage with customers and implement content marketing strategies. Here’s a timeline of how Facebook marketing evolved:
A Guide with Facebook Marketing Strategies for Your Startup
#1 Video Marketing Is Coming Alive!
And one of the biggest opportunities lies in live streaming of videos and the use of short videos. Research shows videos of 2-4 minutes can score record views, because they contain short, catchy messages for the Millennial audience short on time.
Video marketing remains one of the hottest trends of the present times. The first thing you come across is the video; there’s a reason why videos have become popular on an unprecedented level on Facebook is none other than Facebook Live.
As content evolves, the changing preferences of individuals are emerging rapidly. Long form blogs are being converted to short videos and v-logs or video stories.
The value of Facebook lies in the amazing opportunities for video marketing. Ask yourself, if you were facing multiple demands on your time, would you prefer a lengthy social media post or a short Facebook video? The answer is obvious to anyone!
Videos have the power to connect instantly and touch an emotional chord in people. Further, these are relatable, too. It does not matter if you’re focusing on a product launch or advert or DIY tutorial, videos are easily one of the best ways to engage with audiences. Connecting is not enough. In the words of Jay Baer, “activate your fans instead of collecting them like baseball cards.”
Never underestimate the power of Live Marketing to gain an upper hand and create a level playing field for your startup. When done correctly, it can get you unconditional support and amazing fan-following for your small business.
Fact: Facebook algorithms use 100K different signals to decide which posts deserve priority on customer feeds.
So, how can you use this to your advantage? By realizing that no matter how great your content is, it can always be overshadowed. So, one of the best ways to get your message heard is to go LIVE on Facebook. Live features from Facebook provide a free pass to businesses and enable them to reach wider audiences.
Host seminars, discussions, interviews or event and then use Facebook’s Live feature to reach a wider audience.
#2 Tap User-Generated Content
Another powerful Facebook marketing strategy is through user-generated content. It’s always a wonderful idea for customers to interact with businesses. Because it triggers brand advocacy and makes your loyal customers into brand evangelists. Build a buzz around your product or service on Facebook by cashing in on user-generated content and word-of-mouth marketing.
Ask happy customers to create content for you. This will speed up engagement and accelerate attention towards your Facebook business page.
The more people talk about you, the bigger the buzz will be. Driving engagement with audiences is a powerful social media strategy.
Memes
A good example of Facebook user-generated content is the catchy, engaging and humorous memes. The audiences can post viral memes and give your brand instant visibility.
Contests
Come up with contests for posting photos and videos online. For example, a photography business could ask customers to take great shots and even make videos of these. This will draw engagement to the brand and help in gaining the audience’s attention. User-generated content is more than marketing; it is social proof.
#3 Bank on Facebook Ads
Paid ads are one of the key ways to achieve startup marketing objectives. But if you’re wondering how to market on Facebook without paying, this strategy may not work for you. For those of you ready to invest in Facebook ads, read on.
Paid ads do not work for everyone. But for Facebook startup marketing, it ultimately boils down to the strategy’s ROI. Paid ads are actually very inexpensive, compared to other advertising platforms and channels. It can even help you to secure leads and gain the attention of target customers.
#4 Begin a Discussion to Join the Conversation!
Start a discussion and promote your product on Facebook. Give viewers something to talk about and join the conversation using:
- Reviews: Carry out in-depth reviews of products or services on offer.
- Polls: Ask people for their opinion and make a name for your startup brand.
- Quizzes and Contests: Offer people a chance to win prizes through gamification and your brand will be the real winner.
These methods also help in collecting data about customer personas. Study the habits, preferences, likes, dislikes, age, gender and other attributes of the customer. Customize your content based on the likes.
Here’s how you can create your Facebook business page:
Why Market Your Startup On Facebook?
Facebook continues to be a popular social media channel, even in 2019. So, the avenues for promoting your product and services on Facebook are endless. More than 1.8 billion people use Facebook each month to connect with family, friends and discover new things.
Facebook has a large user base and gives you easy access to your target market. You can use tools such as Facebook Pages, Facebook Ads, and Facebook Groups to amplify your brand’s voice and build a strong story around your brand.
It can help your audience to discover your startup. Further, it can also generate sales, boost brand awareness and secure revenue and profits for your startup.
Any startup marketing strategy you evolve in this century has to be mobile-first. More than 90% of Facebook users use social media apps from a smartphone. Here are the statistics why Facebook is the ideal platform for marketing your startup:
#1 600 Million Users
Facebook recently crossed 600 million, in terms of its user base. That’s not all! It’s adding new users at a rapid pace. Look at it this way: If Facebook were a country, it would have the third largest population in the world, after China and India.
#2 Average Dwell Time of 55 Minutes!
The average time users spend on Facebook is 55 minutes. Users, in fact, spend one hour a day on Facebook. Time is money, especially when you have the audience’s attention. Facebook has become an awesome platform for startup marketers to grab customer attention and leverage opportunities for success.
#3 Average User Connection Count is 130!
On average, every Facebook user has at least 130 users on the friend list. As more and more people are signing up for Facebook, the numbers are only rising. So, for every one viewer who spreads your message, you get 130x times the content amplification, on an average.
#4 Average Users Like 4 Pages Per Month
Users don’t like hundreds of pages per month. A survey reveals that an average user likes 4 pages a month. So, customer engagement is all about standing out, which should be easy for startups known for their uniqueness and originality.
#5 About 4% of the Facebook Pages Have Greater than 10K Followers
To get to the 4% who have 10K followers or 0.76% with greater than 100K followers, startup business pages have to stand out, according to a study by Sysomos. So working on your Facebook marketing strategies for your startup could be really lucrative, if done well.
#5 Facebook Ads Cost 25 Cents Per 1000 Users!
Do the math and you’ll see it costs 25 cents to reach 1K users on Facebook through Facebook Ads. Compare this to USD 2.75 for Google and USD 32 for newspaper ads, and you’ll see why Facebook shines out as a paid advertising option.
How to Stand Out on Facebook?
Customization is the key to beating algorithms. You need to tailor the content in order to stand out. Understand your potential lead’s past browsing preferences, shares, and likes. That way, the content will be visible to a large segment of the audience.
Here are a few useful science-backed tips to marketing your startup on Facebook:
- Videos and images capture the reader’s attention the most. Content without both will simply fail.
- Engaging audiences is effective during holidays.
- Keep content crisp, catchy and engaging.
- If posts mention links outside of Facebook, it attracts huge traffic from the social media channel to your business page.
- Images posted directly on Facebook are more attractive than uploading them through Instagram.
How to Promote Your Product at Different Stages of Growth
Ideational Stage
A startup is a growing business. But we all have to start somewhere. For most people, it begins with an idea. For most startups, it begins with a product or service people actually need. In act, the reason why 90% of startups fail is that the product fails to meet a need. No amount of good Facebook marketing can undo the damage of a bad product.
CB Insights research uncovered how 42% of startups fail on account of this very reason. To avert this, research and work on customer feedback for a product-market match. For effective customer acquisition, look to Facebook Ads. In fact, this ad platform is one of the best consumer research tools in sight.
Test if the idea attracts potential Facebook users using a landing page with a private beta invite. Launch a series of Facebook Ads focusing on the key problem you seek to solve. Use interests targeting to ensure you reach out to people whose problem you are solving. Monitor ads through CTR and landing page conversions.
One of the biggest benefits is there is no limit to how much audiences can be segmented on Facebook Ads. You can consider demographics, connection, location or interests, and preferences and verify if your product indeed has an audience.
Launch Stage
From the idea to its actual launch, the journey is long. But one thing should be clear. Your product is for a niche audience. So, your Facebook marketing strategies for your startup should focus on this. On average, a user gets 300 to 700 marketing messages per day. Further, only 8% of net users account for a king’s share (85%) of online ad clicks. So how do you reach an ideal audience at this stage?
The key here is to opt for targeted ads. Facebook targeted ads are twice as effective as their non-targeted counterpart. This reduces the chances of wasted advertising, so it is extremely successful.
Advertising the solution to the right audience? Then you can be assured of the following outcomes:
- Increased chance of exposure
- High click-through rates
- Lower ad costs
- Greater ROI
Remember that relationship building and social selling are effective strategies on Facebook. Connect for strategic partnerships and send a message request. Once the lines of communication are open, you can offer the solutions that will work.
Where to Find the Right Connections:
- Go to Facebook Groups which are based on target customers and interact with people who actively post, comment or like there.
- Go to your community via your Facebook group and Facebook business page to contact a ready audience for your product.
- Focus on users who interact with similar companies on Facebook; connect with people liking, loving, reacting, commenting or sharing on the business pages of such companies.
- Use searches to find people with the ideal profile.
Boost your content to reach a wider audience. Ask for referrals and seek loyal brand advocates among your Facebook fans.
Final Word
What it all boils down to is whether the Facebook presence you have invested in is returning solid ROI. To get rich returns, invest in useful content, active segmenting and use tools like Facebook Groups and Facebook Ads. You’ll be amazed by the number of follower counts and the kind of engagement Facebook still offers. So, algorithm changes will come and go, but startup marketing on Facebook will be an eternal crowd puller for your products, your services and your brand!