Did you know that over 90 million small businesses use Facebook to market their business? Of the many Facebook features for business support and growth, running a Facebook Business Page is one of the most compelling, and the Facebook Business Page cost is something to make sure you are 100% informed on to ensure growth on social media.
Facebook Business Pages are an excellent way for local businesses to boost their online marketing and brand awareness. With over 2 billion people on the platform, small businesses can set up shop virtually and connect with their target customers immediately.
Creating a Facebook Business Page is straightforward and, not to mention, absolutely free! Facebook offers a plethora of tools to help take a company’s digital marketing to the next level. This article will review the benefits of having a Facebook Business Page, how it can help drive your sales, and the free and paid features you can use to boost your small business.
Why You Should Be Using a Facebook Business Page
Over 67% of Facebook users globally claim to visit the Facebook Page of a local business at least once every week. This is a powerful statistic in its own right, but combine it with the various benefits having a Facebook Business Page provides, and you have yourself a winning formula.
If you’re contemplating creating a Page, it’s time to finally decide yes! Having a Page makes you more accessible to your customers, both existing and new. But that’s not all. Here are all the reasons your business should be on the platform and what you stand to gain by creating a Page.
Reach a Wider Audience
Establishing an online presence automatically expands your business’s reach by connecting you to existing and potential customers online. While local advertising remains effective to marketers, in today’s era of tech and digital transformation, social media is more compelling to customers. By creating a Facebook Page, you establish a new channel of communication between you and your customers, humanizing your brand. Customers looking for more information can find all the answers they need on your Page, treating it as a personal profile and saving them the time of contacting you themselves. They can quickly find the answer to your business hours, your locations, and any relevant policies they might be looking for.
Gain Customer Insights
Managing a Business Page also means you can stay updated on the trends within your market, what the local community in your industry is talking about, and stay ahead of the competition.
These customer insights are all valuable, especially to small businesses and startups. In the long-run, it can help further your business goals.
Discover Small Businesses
Facebook’s feature, “Facebook Places,” allows its users to “check in” to certain locations when they are in the neighborhood. When doing so, it shows them a list of nearby businesses that they may be interested in.
This feature helps boost local business visibility. Some small businesses go an extra mile and use this nifty feature to offer tempting discounts and deals.
Share Attractive Visuals
Facebook is a highly visual platform. Users open their news feed and scroll through more images and videos than text-based posts. This works in favor of small businesses setting up a Page, as they can upload visual proof of their business online.
Not only can businesses put a face to their online real estate, but they can also use the ‘tag’ feature to engage with customers. For example, as part of a seasonal sale and marketing campaign, businesses can tag customers in photos taken (after receiving their permission), thus boosting customer engagement. This will appear on the user’s Facebook account, expanding the business reach automatically to that user’s online circles.
Leverage Targeted Advertising
Facebook has an abundance of data waiting to be tapped into if a business wishes to use it. Facebook Business Page owners have the option to pay in order to leverage targeted advertising, allowing them to create specific ads to a particular niche/demographic.
Drive Traffic to Your Website
By including a link to your website on the Page, businesses can drive more targeted customers to their site who are deeper into the sales funnel. These customers are more likely to make a purchase, as they are already informed of your business and its offerings from the Page.
What Features Does a Facebook Business Page Have?
Facebook Places is just one among many attractive features that a Business Page offers. Here are a few more that can take customer engagement to the next level.
Present Digital Gift Cards
Digital gift cards are a great way to connect with customers and provide an extra revenue stream for local businesses. Customers can gift them to friends; they can be redeemed in parts or in full, and also shared through posts on Instagram and Facebook Stories. All you have to do is add a Gift Card button to the Page.
Strategic Retargeting Options
Facebook Business Page owners have the effective targeting tool called a Facebook Pixel at their disposal. Pixel is an analytics tool that can be attached to the back end of your website. It monitors and measures your ads through metrics, then redirects that data to your Business Page—making sure ads are being shown to the optimal audience. In the long run, this also elevates the performance of ad campaigns.
Connect to Other Platforms
Facebook Pages allows you to connect and display other social media platforms as well. You can connect to a wide range of platforms including: the highly visual Instagram, communication tools like WhatsApp Business, and other third-party apps like HootSuite or Animoto.This takes social functionality to a whole other level, allowing businesses to make the best of their Page.
So, What’s the Cost?
If this all sounds too good to be true, wait until you hear the next part: a Facebook Business Page is absolutely free! That’s right; you don’t need to pay a single penny to set up your Business Page. All you need is:
The name of your business
A comprehensive business description
A quality profile picture and cover photo that aligns with your company brand
A strong and specific call to action (CTA)
Check out this local electrician’s Page for inspiration!
What’s Everyone Purchasing Then?
You might be wondering: if Business Pages are free, why isn’t every business thriving online? The trick lies in using a combination of both free and paid tools to make the most of your Business Page’s visibility. Some areas of your Business Page are worth investing in. As you build your social media marketing budget, consider investing in these areas.
Graphic Design
While stock photography is a free alternative that’s easy on your business’s finances, hiring a graphic designer to create logos and brand images can paint a more professional picture of your business to customers. You can even hire a professional photographer to do a photoshoot of your location or team, presenting a more crystal-clear image of your business to customers online.
Paid Advertising
Facebook advertising is a great way to reach your target audience on a flexible budget. The ads cost completely depends on your budget, whether you want an ad agency’s support, and how big a campaign you want to create. There are three types of Facebook ads:
- Image ads: These include branded images in the campaign’s context and are often displayed in a carousel or slideshow format.
- Video ads: Taking it up a notch, video ads are more interactive and an engaging way to capture audience attention.
- Carosuel ads: These combine multiple visual formats into a single ad and are a great way to showcase both images and videos in one go.
Social Media and Review Management Services
If you attract positive reviews on your new Business Page, you can promote them through ads. However, be aware that there are some limitations to this. For example, images can only have a certain amount of text on them, so the full effect of a positive review may be curtailed. In some cases, you may have to pursue the help of an agency to design ads that capture and promote your business’s positive reviews. Ultimately, sharing great testimonials this way can attract more customers. You can take it a step further by also leveraging social media management software that monitors your reputation on various platforms, taking into consideration Facebook marketing.
The Final Tab
60% of local businesses say that maintaining an online presence is instrumental in their long-term success. Creating a digital presence with a Facebook Page is absolutely free. All you have to do is take the time to build your Page and, later, grow your customer base through it. Depending on your needs, you can also invest more money into campaigns and tools as part of your marketing strategy.
No matter the strategy you employ, the benefits of a Facebook Page for business owners is undeniable. Start powering your business’s digital marketing and create a Business Page today. And when you’re to take it even further, bring us along for the ride.