Is Facebook Still Relevant for Businesses?
November 12, 2014
Neha Bawa
I have a strange feeling that every individual working in and with social media platforms for marketing has days when they need to step back, breathe and not be overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of this beast.
As marketers, we know social media is fantastic and laden with opportunities. As human beings behind the marketing machine, we wonder at the relevance of it all. I mean, what’s the point?
Using Facebook for Business
What’s the point of driving all those numbers with more likes, more engagement, more reach, more content and creating more noise all the time, especially on Facebook?
So really, the question is: in the midst of all the noise coming from all corners of social media and specialized platforms for sharing all kinds of content (Vine, Instagram, Tumblr), is Facebook marketing still relevant for businesses?
There are compelling reasons to believe that Facebook marketing remains relevant, and here’s why straight from the horse’s mouth.
Despite all the doomsday warnings about Facebook bleeding millennial accounts in North America, it remains one of the most lucrative revenue zones for the social media giant.
And between Asia and the “Rest of the World” the economic opportunity looks quite promising, quarter on quarter.
So who’s flocking to Facebook? Retailers, for sure, but what’s really interesting is the amount of B2B marketers still sticking around.
Back in 2012, we had 43% of B2B marketers using Facebook; that number has increased exponentially over the last two years to 84% according to the Content Marketing Institute.
Photo Credit: Jeffrey L. Cohen, www.socialmediab2b.com
How to use Facebook for Business?
Phew. That’s a lot of marketers. And the moral of the story, here, is not to put all your eggs in the LinkedIn and Twitter baskets. If I were to guess what’s making B2B marketers hang around Facebook and look after the opportunity for business use. Why use Facebook for business? I’d say it’s because of:
A) Promote business on Facebook through customized Facebook ads and targeting options
B) Integration of native advertising
If it looks like an ad and smells like an ad, then it’s an ad; and it’s one that’s going to get you the maximum relevant eyeballs and high conversion rate for your spends.
By the way, if you are looking small business advertising solutions, and haven’t dedicated a budget for your Facebook content promotion, then why on earth not! Stop what you’re doing right now and go allocate some money. Start small. It’s fine. We know you’ll be convinced once you’ve seen the return on your investment.
And if you’re stuck somewhere, Our Social Media Optimization service is here to help you out.
Roadblocks to Success
The competition is really high, though. There are plenty of obstacles in each small business marketer’s way and some of these are self-created.
Undocumented Strategies
For instance, a common road block is not having a living, breathing, documented marketing strategy. Did you know that 54% of the most effective digital marketers have a documented content or social media marketing strategy? And only 35% of all marketers have made the effort to document theirs?
Honestly, people. We talk about this every single year. How long are you going to wait before you document your own strategies?!
Stale Content
I think some of the brands out there on Facebook have gotten so used to creating “professional” content, they’ve run right past the whole reason Facebook exists: to build and nurture engaging relationships in a digital space.
The two key words here are engaging and relationships.
Which is exactly what needs to drive the content you create. It has to be simple, universal, honest and hopefully, interactive enough for your audience to click on and share.
Here’s an example from one of my favorite pages on Facebook, Buddha Doodles.
This content is winning on every front. It’s simply drawn, emotive, published consistently and connects with its audience on a very deep and human level. There’s no way to feel anything but happy after you see this in your newsfeed!
And that human connection is exactly what keeps Facebook relevant after the myriad instances of experts predicting its doom.
I think Mari Smith (@MariSmith), the social media expert in San Diego has said it best. According to her, “We stay in touch with what’s happening in the lives of our old school chums, current friends, family members and other loved ones. It’s simply psychology that gives Facebook its staying power. And, so long as the masses continue to use the site as the one common platform for connecting, it will succeed.”
True story.
In other words, it’s not how well the medium is built; it’s how well it’s used. But then, that’s been the story of marketing ever since we figured out town criers in a central location were a great idea.
Don’t you think?
Featured image source: http://pavingtheroadtosuccess.blogspot.in