Is your Facebook strategy smart?

Focus on mobile
If you’re using social media to drive sales, the key focus here is one word – ‘mobile’. If you have a Facebook strategy, you have a mobile strategy.

The rise of mobile is the single fastest adoption of technology in history, with the mobile penetration rate in Singapore standing at a steep 148.9 per cent. So how can you reach people who are looking at this screen in their hand and not at traditional media?

The obvious answer is social media. It’s where we go to discover what matters to them about their friends, family and brands. Facebook has 3.1 million monthly active users in Singapore, and most access Facebook primarily through a mobile device. Singaporean users spend an average of 2.2 hours on social media every day, often while in between tasks – whether it’s waiting at the lights, or your favourite TV show to come on. Mobile advertising revenue on Facebook represents about 53 per cent of advertising revenue, which goes to show that marketers are recognizing the value of optimizing their ads for mobile.

The advertising options  combined with targeting tools is a great way you can reach your audience and achieve your marketing objectives – from driving brand metrics like awareness, consideration and purchase intent, to driving a direct response such as an app install, to purchase at a merchant’s online or  a physical store.

Don’t bombard audiences with your sales pitch
A lot of small businesses make the mistake of thinking that good content on social media equals a sales pitch. However, a non-stop flow of advertisements for your products and services will do little to engage potential customers – if used excessively, it will repel them.

While some content related to your products and services should form part of your business content strategy, it shouldn’t be the only focus. The formula for building a following on Facebook is really no different than traditional marketing – it’s about creating a compelling story around your product, service and brand, and then connecting with your customers in a way that is relevant to them.

An authentic voice tells your story better
It’s really pretty simple – think about the core elements of your brand and then connect with your customers on Facebook in a way that illustrates these values, with compelling content and frequent updates in an authentic voice.

The owners of Indonesian footwear company Brodo used their Facebook Page to post blog articles, quotes and humorous videos to infuse fun and humour into the brand and communicate with fans like they would with friends. This was designed to increase the number of Likes, comments and shares its posts achieved, and consequently expand its reach. When fans enjoy the content you post, they’ll keep coming back to your brand for more.

Test which tools work best for you
There are various targeting tools on social media that marketers can utilize for digital marketing. Facebook, for instance, has some of their own offerings–each with a different function or purpose:

• Promoted Posts: This form of advertising allows small business to easily create an ad directly from their brand page.
• Mobile app install ads: Perfect for small e-commerce businesses who want to promote their app at a really cost effective cost per acquisition (CPA). Business owners can set up mobile app install ads direct from self-serve and spend as much or as little as their objectives require.
• Reach and Frequency tool: The new tool allows advertisers to specify the exact audience reach and frequency they want to access. Online shopping mall Lazada used custom audiences to segment their target audience and then showed them the most relevant content. To reach new customers, Lazada used custom and lookalike audiences to identify customers who had not previously purchased products, and customize promotions to encourage new sign-ups.