“Is it even worth it to maintain a Facebook page for my business?” is a question we’ve heard on more than one occasion from our clients. The answer, while complicated, is still a resounding yes!
Any small to medium-size business owner who has marketed their products or services through Facebook in the past five years can tell you in great detail about their love/hate relationship with the world’s most popular social media network. In the beginning, businesses were free to market to all of their customers who followed their Facebook page with little concern for how many people they were actually reaching.
However, once Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the company public in 2012, all of that changed. With millions of shareholders to instantly satisfy, Facebook transitioned into a corporation with a profit motive. With that motive, Facebook went to work to find ways to monetize its popularity.
Why Facebook algorithm hurts small businesses
One of those ways was to devise an algorithm that would limit the reach of pages belonging to businesses and other groups. Once that was done, business owners were hit with a method that they could now use to pay for reaching their customers called “boosting.” Much to the frustration of business owners used to getting the service for free, “boosting”, coupled with other ad revenue streams, has become Facebook’s No. 1 source of revenue today, with the company raking in over $1 billion per quarter.
Given these rapid changes, does Facebook advertising still work for small businesses? The following is why we definitely believe so. For small business owners with no budget for Facebook boosting, the average organic reach of a typical Facebook post is down to between 1-3 percent of their following. This limited reach is what is leading businesses to question whether Facebook is dead.
With limited reach, it may seem like a waste of time to cultivate a Facebook audience. But we couldn’t disagree more. It might be wise to just re-think how and what you post. For instance, posting a special or a sale through Facebook without boosting will yield few results. So, don’t waste your time doing so unless you’re prepared to spend some money to boost those posts to a larger audience.
How much does it cost to boost a post on Facebook?
In essence, there is nothing different between a regular Facebook post and a boosted post. The only difference is that once you publish your regular post, you can spend a bit of money to promote it by clicking on the “Boost Post” button embedded within the post. This will ensure that people who would not normally see your post do. And the best part is that you can decide on which demographic to target!
The cost for boosting a post can be as small an investment as $ 1 USD per day to as much as you’d like to spend. The cost is calculated depending on how many people you’d like to reach and will vary according to each business owner’s needs. When boosting a Facebook post, you can use a budget slider that enables you to customize how much you’d like to budget per day and, on estimate, how many people that post will reach.
How often should you post on Facebook as a business?
Like all social media platforms, Facebook often changes its algorithm, making it hard for individuals and businesses to keep up. It used to be that quantity and frequency were key to organic traffic success, but nowadays, posting too often can actually demote you for “spamming”! Overall, both social media algorithms and search engine algorithms rate content from a holistic lens and reward it according to its frequency, quality, engagement, usage of visuals, and other signals.
When it comes down to it, there is no correct number of posts that would signal social media success. Although different sources of information provide conflicting advice on frequency, probably the main consensus for optimum positing for a business is once per day and about 5 to 7 times per week. As for the best times to post, there is no definite consensus, although anywhere from 11am to 4pm seems to be the golden time frame.
Another interesting fact to consider is that positing frequency is also contingent on how many followers one has. For example, if you have 10K followers or less, once per day is sufficient. On the other hand, if you have more than 10K followers, twice a day is ideal.
Why should small business owners post on Facebook?
Facebook should now be seen by small business owners as a place to show potential clients or customers that you are a vital business that is loved by your customers. Think about it. If you’re searching out a business to provide you with a service and you go to their Facebook page and they haven’t posted in a year, you’re unlikely to do business with them. However, if you see they are posting 3-5 times a week with relevant content, you’ll know that they are a thriving business that cares about keeping in touch.
Next, business owners should also be encouraging their past clients to leave Facebook reviews on the business page. Much like Yelp, online users turn to Facebook reviews to determine whether they want to do business with a particular company. If you don’t have Facebook reviews activated for your business page, it’s important to do so. Simply email your past clients to ask them for a Facebook review and always make sure to thank people in the Facebook comments for their reviews!
Using Facebook for marketing your business is still a great way to get the word out about your business and keep your followers engaged. What truly matters is to stay consistent with publishing your content and to respond to comments from followers. By experimenting with which posts have the most reach and engagement, you can then get a better idea of which content will be a hit with your audience.
If you need a bit more advice on how to grow your leads and business with Facebook, check out our helpful resources that will help you elevate your brand to the next level:
How to Set Up Facebook Ads for Your Brand
Should Your Business Use Facebook Live?
How to Measure Facebook Engagement
Facebook for Business: Where Millions Go, Your Marketing Should Follow
Which Paid Advertising Type is Best for Your Business?
As one of the top small marketing agencies in Chicago, we offer paid advertising on social media marketing projects! If you need consulting or feedback on your existing Facebook social media presence, please contact us; we can help! Discover our marketing partnership package or call us at 312-834-7001 for a free consultation.