It’s a simple fact: Facebook is a pay-to-play marketing platform today. It is crucial in any successful social media strategy. Despite the griping and groaning marketers did when free Facebook marketing first went away–most are still using Facebook to push their brands.
Why? Because even as a paid advertising platform, Facebook produces an extremely high marketing ROI. In other words—it’s totally worth it.
Related Reading: Understanding the Basics of Paid Advertising Online
Recently, Facebook shifted its algorithm to prioritize paid content, but there are still plenty of ways for small businesses to promote themselves on the social media platform without spending a dime.
Here at Zen Media, we manage hundreds of paid Facebook campaigns for our clients, so we have firsthand experience with what this platform can do for marketers. That said, here are some powerful ways for businesses to still leverage Facebook for free. Yes, free.
Related Reading: Facebook Marketing 101
Let’s dive right in…
10 Free Ways To Use Facebook To Promote Your Business
1. Create a Personal Business Presence Using a Fan Page
Social media is a powerful platform for creating relationships between businesses–or business owners–and their audiences. The person-to-person interaction that can happen on social media makes consumers feel like they’ve encountered a brand in a meaningful and personal way–that they now have a special connection with that company. Imagine how much this feeling is intensified when that consumer is interacting not just with the brand, but with the person behind that brand!
Depending on your personal social media habits, you may or may not already have a personal Facebook account. If you do, and you prefer to keep your personal profile private, Facebook will allow you to create a page for your public, professional persona, as well. Otherwise, you can use your personal profile to interact with consumers. Gain a following by engaging with the people who frequent your brand’s page!
Here’s what our CEO, Shama Hyder’s, personal page looks like:
Related Reading: Shama TV: Make Your Facebook Feed Work for You
2. Maintain a Robust Brand Presence
Every company should have a business profile on each social network (as makes sense with their brand and ideal customer profile). A strong online presence is simply a smart move in an increasingly digital world!
While it’s true that your company’s Facebook posts most likely won’t show up in your audience’s news feeds without paying to promote them, that doesn’t mean you should stop posting them on your brand’s page. People today often use Facebook as a search engine to find out more about a company, even if it’s basic contact info, hours of operation, or what customers have to say about them through social proof posts.
Related Reading: The Facebook Algorithm Explained
A strong, active social media profile that’s full of regular posts and lots of audience engagement is a great way to create a strong brand presence. Keeping an active profile helps you showcase that your customers aren’t just satisfied—they’re enthusiastic!
Leverage Facebook Stories to repost user-generated content (UGC). This feature syncs with Instagram, which is a fantastic way to maximize visibility of organic posts to a wider audience. Facebook Stories accommodate all types of content, from reposted social media posts by happy customers–to video content, customer reviews, and more.
Here’s our own company page:
But keep in mind that not all content is good content. Flooding your followers’ news feeds with posts simply for the sake of following a posting cadence will not benefit your brand. Quality over quantity—make sure you are putting out valuable and relevant content and not just noise. And always remember to include a profile picture to legitimize your online presence!
3. Join Facebook Groups
While most people think of LinkedIn first when they think online networking, Facebook groups actually offer a similar opportunity for professionals. There are any number of Facebook groups dedicated to various industries, professions, and interests. You can use your account to join groups where your target audience is likely to be found.
The more you contribute to the conversations taking place in these groups, the more your name will become recognized, building a trustworthy reputation and becoming synonymous with industry leadership and expertise. The only thing to avoid here is coming across as salesy in your discussions—this is the quickest way to turn off a potential stream of leads and connections. Stop directly promoting your business, and instead offer genuine advice, helpful tips, and original ideas.
You can customize your search for groups based on various keywords; Facebook also makes suggestions, based on your profile. Here are some groups Facebook offers up in the category of “Leadership:”
4. Create Your Own Group
Can’t find a Facebook group that really fits what you’re looking for? Create your own! By creating a group focused on a specific topic related to your industry or niche, you can attract like-minded individuals and potential customers. You can add members, publish articles, carry on discussions, and probably meet quite a few prospects.
Related Reading: How Valuable Is A Facebook Like For Your Brand?
Once your group is live, you can start posting relevant and engaging content regularly, and encourage your members to do the same. This can include industry news, tips and tricks, resources, and discussion topics. Active users will make your group more relevant to the changing industry by creating a lively marketing tool!
Because you own the group and control the conversations, this automatically grants you industry leadership status in the eyes of your members–a bonus for when they realize they need the product or service you offer. Encourage members to participate by asking questions, sharing insights, and promoting discussions.
5. List Your Events
Hosting a webinar or speaking somewhere? Create an event page and invite friends and people in the groups that you’ve joined. Facebook even enables you to see how many people RSVP, and you can collect feedback from attendees following the event.
Related Reading: Why Facebook Shops is Essential to Doing Business in a Post-Covid World
6. Syndicate Your Blog
If you know that you won’t remember or be able to find the time to share your company’s blog posts on your Facebook page or profile each week, you can automate the task. There are many different online marketing tools you can use to do this, from simple plugins for WordPress to suites of digital marketing software that will automatically post each new blog to your Facebook page for you. More Exposure = More Traffic = More Leads.
Related Reading: Facebook Marketing: 6 Steps to Facebook Marketing Success
7. Ask Your Network To Share Blog Posts
Speaking of posting your company’s blog posts on your personal page or profile, you should also ask your team of employees and partners, your current customers, and even your personal friends and family to share your company’s posts on their personal Facebook profiles! This is called cross-pollination, and it’s one of the Five Principles of Momentum discussed at length in Shama’s new book, Momentum: How To Propel Your Marketing and Transform Your Brand in the Digital Age.
According to Shama:
“Cross-pollination means incorporating every single resource your company has into your marketing strategy, allowing each to inform your use of the others. With each one of these typically untapped resources contributing to the mix, you create something new and powerful from the synergy, and your marketing momentum grows dramatically as a result.”
Take advantage of this; tap into the reach that your profile can achieve with each post!
Related Reading: The Changing Face of Facebook Marketing
8. Reach Out!
Are you a fan or admirer of someone’s work? Reach out to them on Facebook! Many people check their Facebook messages more regularly than their email. They are also more likely to respond to Facebook messages.
Don’t feel comfortable sending out a message to someone you don’t know? No worries! Leave them an “I enjoy your work!” blurb on their wall. When posting on different pages make sure you post as your business and not your personal account.
Related Reading: How To Achieve Facebook Marketing Success In Spite Of The Changes
9. Stream Live Video With Facebook Live
The intimacy and immediacy of live video creates the sense for your viewers that they are getting a behind-the-scenes peek at the real you. It also entices them to stick around to watch much longer than they would a regular video because of the unpredictability of live video, which inevitably boosts video views and online engagement.
Related Reading: Why Facebook Live Will Be Hotter Than YouTube for Your Business
10. Create a Community
Perhaps Facebook’s greatest benefit is that it allows you to create a community. It provides you with a group of people who are constantly connected to you and open to hearing your message. Engage with people authentically, whether that means writing on their walls, responding to their comments on your own, conversing in groups, or introducing people to each other. Before you know it, you’ll have created a community of friends who look favorably on you and your business—all for free.
Related Reading: 18 Insanely Successful Facebook Marketing Tips
Facebook marketing may be pay-to-play these days, but it’s also still about making connections, developing relationships, and sharing your wisdom with others. You just have to know the right strategies in order to be able to continue to do so for free.
Need some help? Let’s chat. Our team of experts would be happy to help you develop the perfect digital marketing strategy for your business.
