5 Reasons Why You Need Facebook for Your Business
If you run your own business, you have certainly heard by now that it is important to be active on social media. There are a number of social media sites out there so where should you invest your time and effort? No matter how many new social media sites come and go, one will always remain an absolute must-have for businesses. That site is Facebook.
Facebook is not only one of the most popular social media platforms, but it also offers a variety of great tools for businesses to capitalize on social media opportunities. Let’s look at some of the reasons why you absolutely need Facebook for your business.
1) Facebook has 2.8 Billion Monthly Active Users
That’s right. 2.8 billion active monthly users! On top of that, 1.8 billion of those users are visiting Facebook every single day. At 59%, Facebook is the only social media platform to reach more than half of all social media users. Facebook has such a massive reach and active userbase that is simply cannot be ignored by any business. This userbase is only going to grow and it is predicted that Facebook will surpass 3 billion monthly active users in 2021. With such an incredible number of users, there is no better site to stay in front of your target audience than Facebook.
2) 2/3 of Facebook Users Visit a Local Business Page At least Once Per Week
Perhaps you thought that those 2.8 billion Facebook users were only looking at pages of friends and family. This could not be further from the truth. Two thirds of all active Facebook users are visiting a local business page at least once per week. 80% of people reported that they discovered new products through Facebook and 18% made a purchase through the site. There are over 200 million businesses on Facebook, most of which are small local businesses. If you are not on Facebook, these users are going to be visiting your competitors pages.
3) Facebook Is Great for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engines look for the most relevant results to a user’s search. One thing that search engines love is fresh, rich content. If you are actively posting on your Facebook business page, you will be giving your brand a significant SEO boost.
Having an updated Facebook profile with your website helps search engines link your pages. Having social media links on your website is equally as important. Making sure your website and all of your social media pages are tied together in this manner will boost SEO.
4) Target Your Best Customers Through Facebook Ads
Facebook offers many valuable tools for targeting your ads to ideal customer groups. When someone signs up for Facebook, they are asked to provide various information about themselves such as age, interests, gender, etc. Facebook also analyzes, clicks, posts, shares, clicks, and more to identify what someone likes or dislikes.
When creating ads, this information can be used to target clients in a specific area, by their interests, by their age, or a combination that allows you to focus on your exact target audience. When on a limited budget, this allows you to spend your money on the audience that counts.
5) Facebook Humanizes Your Business
Your website may ultimately be the place where your audience can learn the most about your business, but there is likely no interaction there. Social media is all about connecting people. A Facebook page allows you to connect with individuals through likes, comments, shares, private messages, and more. This interaction allows customers to attach a face, and a personality to your brand.
These human-to-human interactions go a long way in building trust and confidence with your customers as well. Customers have far more trust in a business that responds to questions and interacts with them than one that is unresponsive.
Social media is here to stay and if you are a small business owner, you need to be taking advantage of as many as you can. Facebook is free to use for businesses and is one of the most valuable tools you have for connecting to your target audience and potential customers.