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6 Tips on using Facebook to grow your online business

Facebook is the most well-known social media platform of the day. Some dispute its positive impact on our lives but both enthusiasts and detractors have to admit that the potential it has for marketing (both paid and free) is impressive.

In a world when news, products, and services are no longer found by potential customers but find them instead, leveraging all that Facebook has to offer is an absolute necessity. The platform can help you engage your potential customers and grow your business.

Not to mention that in this day and age, lacking a good social media page will make you seem obsolete if not altogether untrustworthy.

6 Tips on using Facebook to grow your online business

Whether you sell knitted hats for furry pets, handmade jewelry, interior design items or anything else, or you sell online courses on how to knit pet hats, where to find the nicest rocks, how to choose interior design items so that they match people’s personality, or any other subject, read on. I have prepared six tips on how to use Facebook to grow your online business:


Read more: 8 Amazing social proof tips to boost online course sales


  1. Create a business page

    Even if you have a good personal Facebook profile with many friends and followers, your business will have more legitimacy if it has its own online presence. People will be asked to like in order to see the posts instead of befriending a person

    When you set up your business Facebook page, you'll see that there are a lot of options to customize it. It’s good to fill in as much information about your enterprise as possible – all the contact information, websites, business hours, products and services.

    Adding profile and cover photos that truly illustrate what your business is about is also paramount – pictures are very powerful marketing tools in today’s online environment.


    Read more: Top 5 photo editing tools for online course creators


  2. Promote your business page

    Setting up an online presence is only the first step. Facebook is an interactive platform and you have to get people to see what you are sharing and selling. You can start getting an audience by sending invites to your friends and existing customers.

    Furthermore, you should put a link to your Facebook page in your email signature and on all your fliers and business cards. It's also a lucrative practice to include all of your social profiles on your website and landing page.

    When you choose your Facebook URL, do your best to make it easy to remember. Adding special promotions that your customers can access by liking and sharing will also help to get more attention.

  3. Post quality material regularly

    The key to getting and keeping an audience is to post frequently so that people come back to your page. It is, however, very important that you don’t just put content there for the sake of being active.

    If you can’t create enough valuable content by yourself, it’s all right to turn to content curating – find interesting articles, blog posts, videos, infographics, podcasts, and share them on your page. The audience will be engaged, and you may even grow your customer base as people will find you by following the content creator you are citing.


    Read more: How to curate content like a pro


    If you are not sure about what your customers would like to see, you can use Facebook’s polling function to find out.

  4. Join Facebook Groups

    These online groups are based on common interests. It should be relatively easy to find those that are into what you are selling and connect with them. It’s advisable to take some time and read the rules, to see what is generally shared and what the tone of voice is.

    You should use these venues as much for research as for selling. If you jump in with ads and offers before people get to know you, it’s likely you will be ignored if not kicked out altogether. If you communicate right, on the other hand, you will have a great place to start your customer funnel.


    Read more: Leveraging online communities to promote your course


    Just remember that you have to be a valuable contributor before you can even think of becoming a vendor.

  5. Create your own community

    One of Facebook’s greatest perks is that it allows you to create a community in a few easy steps. This will let you be constantly connected with a group of people who are interested in what you have to say (and sell).

    You can choose the tone you want to use and since it is your community, you make the rules – though you might want to engage some of your fans by appointing them administrators.

    It’s important to stay authentic, genuinely listen to people and connect with influencers and even competitors in your niche. Having conversations is a great way to promote yourself and your business so don’t be afraid to ask and answer to questions.


    Read more: 4 Tips on how to approach influencers in your niche


  6. Organize events

    Another great feature of Facebook is that it offers the possibility of hosting events, watch parties and even sales marathons (I actually just participated in such an endeavor with children’s books- it was a 24 hour thing, filled with quizzes, prizes and great deals).

    Facebook makes sending invites very easy and it does an excellent job of reminding people about RSVP-ing and actually showing up (virtually) once it begins.

    Live events are most engaging, of course, but if you don’t feel comfortable with those you can design ones that suit you and your business better. The important thing is to be active and get noticed doing something that is worth people’s time.

Wrapping up

Even with Facebook moving towards paid marketing strategies, there are still great ways in which you can use this spectacularly popular platform to promote and grow your business. The secret is to invest some of your time in doing it.

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