Facebook is the world’s leading social network with 1.86 billion people now using the platform, which is a 17 percent increase year over year. The company, led by Mark Zuckerberg, is continuing to expand and develop with its 10-year plan to “connect the world”, eluding to its importance as an effective communications tool.

However, some small businesses remain cautious about employing Facebook to promote their brand and are hesitant about including it in their marketing plan.  In this article, we will outline six reasons why all SMBs should be using Facebook today.

1. There’s Facebook, And Then There’s Everybody Else

Facebook is single handily the world’s largest online networking platform, with an audience of more than twice that of second-placed Instagram (which Facebook owns) and five times that of rival Twitter. Facebook has 32 million users in the UK alone, and globally more than 60 million businesses have a Facebook page.

It’s become far more than just a “social network” as it launches new tools now rivalling business-orientated platforms such as LinkedIn. There is no better time for small businesses to invest in this opportunity to market their brand and expand their customer reach while driving awareness and sales.

2. Live And Breathe Your Target Audience

Knowing your audience is an integral part of the success of your business, therefore it’s important to connect and analyse their behaviours and actions. With 22% of the world’s population using Facebook, SMB’s should jump on this bandwagon. Facebooks many features, including lookalike audiences, allows you to build brand recognition and trust with your target audience quickly, finding different potential clients based on already existing ones.

Facebook pixel is another beneficial feature for SMB’s which tracks who visits your website, and out of those who are active on Facebook, allowing to specifically target users with individual ads, narrowing down to a niche audience.

3. Keep A Close Eye On Competition

Competition is a factor for all brands, big or small, but it can be difficult to keep track of other businesses. One advantageous tool to use is Facebook’s ‘Pages to Watch’ feature, which can be used as a 24/7 spying source on your competitors. Once you’ve chosen a competitor Page to watch, you can monitor their activity and engagement with the Facebook community tool. This gives all businesses an ‘equal’ opportunity to cross-measure the effectiveness of their Facebook presence.

4. Humanise Your Brand

Behind every brand is an identity, a personality but most importantly, a team. Facebook presents an opportunity for brands to develop and become relatable to an audience on a personal, non-business level, stimulating engagement through features like status updates, likes and comments. By showing the faces behind your business, it creates a more personable approach to your online presence.

Positively sharing your success stories and charitable involvements with your Facebook community creates a more human persona beyond the screen for existing and potential clients.

5. Build A Strong Community

Building a Facebook community can lend itself well to brands, allowing fans to provide feedback, share opinions and voice concerns – resulting in stimulating, instant one-to-one communication between your brand and its audience. You can build a community in a number of ways including posting useful and interesting content, and asking your audience to express their thoughts and opinions.

If your Facebook page forms a successful community, you can develop a positive, loyal brand following, which not only will generate leads, but advocates too.

6. Track Marketing Effectiveness

Facebook’s Insights tool is essentially the platforms version of Google Analytics, giving Page owners access to a wealth of valuable data, including audience demographics, reach and post statistics. This gives SMBs a deep understanding of consumer behaviour, offering insights into how to improve overall engagement and conversion rates. All of this information is collated into an easy-to-read overview page, with a richer breakdown of the data avaiable at the tap of a button.

Conclusion

While the diverse social media scene is constantly evolving year on year, Facebook continues to dominate this space. The platform provides a wealth of opportunities for businesses looking to generate awareness, encourage loyalty and drive sales. This gives brands of all sizes the chance to shape a personality and differentiate themselves from competitors. Ready to take the next step?