Facebook Marketing for Dummies

Add Facebook to your marketing plan—and watch your sales grow

With 2 billion monthly active users across the world, Facebook has evolved into a community of consumers, creating a primary resource for marketers. This presents a demand for knowledge about how to strategically plan, execute, and analyze a successful Facebook marketing campaign. Now, the trusted Facebook Marketing For Dummies has been fully updated to cover the newest tools and features important to marketers and Facebook page owners.

If you’re a marketer looking to effectively add Facebook to your overall marketing mix, consider this book the mecca of Facebook marketing. Inside, you'll discover the psychology of the Facebook user, establish a social media presence, increase your brand awareness, integrate Facebook marketing with other marketing strategies, learn to target a specific audience, and much more. 

• Develop a desirable community
• Sell products and services
• Use Facebook events to drive sales
• Get new business tips and avoid common mistakes

Whether you're a novice or a pro, you’re no stranger to the power of Facebook. And this book makes Facebook marketing that much more exciting and easy!

Stephanie Diamond is a marketing thought leader with 20+ years of experience building profits for both small business and multibillion dollar corporations. She is the founder of Digital Media Works, Inc. John Haydon owns Inbound Zombie, a consultancy that provides nonprofits with strategic training about Facebook.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Part 1: Getting Started with Facebook Marketing 5

Chapter 1: Marketing in the Age of Facebook 7

What Is Facebook, and Why Is It So Popular? 9

Understanding the Marketing Potential of Facebook 11

Leveraging the power of word-of-mouth marketing 12

Using marketing tools for all kinds of businesses 14

Understanding Why Your Business Needs a Facebook Page 15

Attracting new fans who are friends of customers 16

Changing first-time customers into repeat customers 17

Chapter 2: Researching and Understanding Your Target Audience 19

Defining Your Target Audience 20

Understanding the marketing funnel 20

Understanding the ladder of engagement 21

Defining who your best customers are 22

Selecting demographic criteria for your target audience 23

Using personas to give your target audience personality 24

Researching Target Audiences with Facebook’s Ads Manager 25

Discovering How Many Customers Use Facebook 28

Chapter 3: Developing a Facebook Marketing Plan 35

Understanding the Power of Word of Mouth on Facebook 36

Understanding What to Include in Your Marketing Plan 37

Developing Your Value Proposition 38

Understanding Your Audience 39

Defining Your Marketing Goals 41

Building awareness of your brand 41

Driving sales 43

Forming a community with a Facebook Group 44

Listening to feedback 45

Developing Your Content Strategy 46

Encouraging Audience Engagement 48

Creating a rich, customer-centric experience 48

Appreciating your fans and growing your base 49

Monitoring and Reporting Page Activity 51

Using Insights for Pages 51

Creating benchmarks and setting goals 53

Keeping an eye on key metrics 54

Integrating Your Online and Offline Campaigns 55

Deciding on a media budget 56

Hiring an online writer 57

Part 2: Building Your Facebook Presence 59

Chapter 4: Getting Started with a Facebook Page 61

Understanding the Differences among Pages, Timelines, and Groups 62

Timelines are personal, not business 63

Groups are for connection, not promotion 65

Understanding the Anatomy of a Facebook Page 67

Creating a Facebook Page from Scratch 69

Uploading your profile picture 71

Editing your Facebook Page’s profile picture 73

Adding a cover photo to your Facebook Page 74

Adding a button (CTA) on your Facebook Page 75

Limiting access to your Page until launch 76

Adding More Information about Your Business 76

Adding Tabs to and Removing Tabs from a Facebook Page 78

Adding more apps to your Facebook Page 79

Adding Page Administrators 80

Getting the Most from Facebook Marketing Resources 81

Understanding Facebook’s Terms and Conditions 82

Chapter 5: Configuring Admin Settings for Your Page 83

Configuring Your Page for Maximum Engagement 84

Allowing Threaded Comments on Your Page Updates 85

Limiting Who Can See Your Page Content 86

Configuring Profanity and Moderation Settings 87

Posting as a Page versus Posting as a Profile 88

Switching between posting as a profile and posting as a Page 88

Posting as a Page on other Pages 89

Posting as a profile as a personal choice 90

Knowing the difference between being helpful and spamming 90

Engaging Fans with Your Mobile Phone 91

Posting content and managing your Page with mobile web browsers 91

Posting content and managing your Page with mobile apps 92

Chapter 6: Enhancing Your Facebook Page with Applications 93

Understanding Facebook Applications 94

Yeah, There’s an App for That — But Where? 97

Using Third-Party Custom Facebook Page Tab Services 99

Choosing E-Commerce Applications for Your Page 100

Granting Access to Applications 101

Configuring Tabs on Your Facebook Page 102

Changing tab names 102

Changing tab images 102

Changing the order of tabs 104

Removing a tab from your Facebook Page 104

Creating Custom Facebook Tabs with HTML 105

Using the Static HTML: iframe tabs application 105

Designing a custom tab: Tips and recommendations 106

Part 3: Engaging with Your Customers and Prospects on Facebook 109

Chapter 7: Creating a Remarkable Presence on Facebook with Content Marketing 111

Understanding How Content Marketing Works on Facebook 112

Understanding the difference between your website and your Facebook Page 112

Understanding how people scan content 114

Understanding how Facebook’s News Feed algorithm affects visibility on Facebook 114

Understanding that Facebook users can hide all posts from your Page 116

Creating compelling content for your Facebook Page 116

Knowing your audience 118

Staying on message 119

Defining Your Posting Goals 119

Getting Fans Engaged 120

Saving Time Creating Visual Content 123

Understanding the Importance of Video Content for Marketing 123

Chapter 8: Growing Your Facebook Page’s Fan Base 125

Mapping a Launch Strategy for Your Facebook Page 126

Fostering a Sense of Enchantment on Your Facebook Page 126

Preparing Your Facebook Page for Launch 129

Enhancing Your Facebook Page with Content before Launch 129

Adding a Compelling Reason for Users to Like Your Page 130

Adding photos and videos 132

Adding photo albums 133

Adding milestones 134

Making Your Facebook Page Easy to Find in Search Engines 136

Networking with Friends to Launch Your Facebook Page 138

Encouraging your friends to share your Page with their friends 138

Promoting your Page to friends with the Invite feature 139

Using Tagging and Mentions on Facebook to create engagement 140

Leveraging Existing Marketing Assets to Launch Your Facebook Page 142

Your email signature 142

Your email list 143

Printed marketing materials 144

Your blog 144

Webinars 144

YouTube 144

Promoting Your Facebook Page in Your Store 145

Promoting Your Facebook Page by Using Facebook Ads 146

Promoting Your Facebook Page by Using an Integrated Approach 146

Chapter 9: Engaging Your Facebook Fans 149

Understanding What Engagement Really Means 150

What engagement means for word-of-mouth marketing 150

Understanding what engagement on Facebook offers you 151

Understanding how Facebook users engage with your business 151

Measuring Engagement with Facebook Insights 153

Getting Tactical with Engagement on Your Facebook Page 157

Getting Notifications about Facebook Users’ Activity 158

Viewing Your Facebook Page’s Notifications and Activity Log 159

Responding to Comments and Posts 160

Running Facebook Contests 161

Understanding Facebook rules for contests 161

Using third-party apps for Facebook promotions 162

Creating an effective promotion 162

Chapter 10: Improving Your Marketing Strategy with Facebook Insights 167

Getting Analytical with Facebook Insights 168

Using Facebook Insights 168

Understanding the two types of Likes your Facebook Page receives 169

Accessing Page Insights 169

Exploring Facebook Page Insights 171

Understanding the Overview Report 172

Promoting Your Message by Using the Promotions Report 174

Understanding Your Followers with the Followers Report 175

Using the Likes Report for Smarter Fan Acquisition 176

Reaching Fans with the Reach Report 179

Delving into Engagement with the Page Views Report 181

Using the Page Previews Report to Evaluate Interactions 182

Monitoring Actions on Page Report 183

Evaluating Posts with the Posts Report 185

Evaluating Events with the Events Report 188

Monitoring Engagement with the Video Insights Report 189

Viewing Demographics with the People Report 190

Reviewing the Local Report to Learn about Activity Nearby 191

Using the Shop Report to Evaluate Sales 193

Unlocking Engagement with the Messages Report 194

Exporting Insights Data 196

Using Third-Party Analytics 197

Part 4: Marketing Beyond The Facebook Page 199

Chapter 11: Using Facebook Advertising to Promote Your Business 201

Introducing Facebook Ads 202

Using Facebook Ads as part of your overall marketing mix 203

Understanding how Facebook Ads differ from other online ads 204

Understanding Facebook’s targeting options 204

Setting your budget 206

Creating Winning Ads 207

Writing effective copy 207

Choosing the right visuals 208

Simplifying your offer 209

Devising a Landing-Page Strategy for Your Ads 209

Landing on a Facebook location 210

Landing on a website 211

Making sure that your website is responsive 212

Creating a Facebook Ad 212

Step 1: Developing your campaign 213

Step 2: Creating your ad set 215

Step 3: Creating your ad 223

Using an existing post to create your ad 229

Creating Boosted Posts 231

Creating a Boosted Post from your Facebook Page 232

Viewing real-time analytics for Boosted Posts 235

Creating Multiple Campaigns 235

Managing and Measuring Your Ad Campaigns with Ads Manager 236

Looking at your account overview 237

Viewing performance data 238

Viewing campaign details 238

Understanding Other Facebook Ads Manager Features 239

Accessing your Facebook Page from Ads Manager 239

Creating and scheduling Facebook Ad reports 239

Adding other users to your Facebook Ad account 240

Tracking payment transactions 241

Finding out about your business resources 241

Chapter 12: Using Facebook Offers to Sell Products and Services 243

Understanding Facebook Offers 244

Creating an Offer for Your Page 245

Getting the Most from Your Offer 247

Promoting Your Offer 248

Promoting your offer on your Facebook Page 248

Promoting your offer with Facebook Ads 249

Promoting your offer through other marketing channels 250

Chapter 13: Using Facebook Groups and Events for Your Business 251

Discovering Facebook Groups 251

Understanding How Facebook Groups Fit in with Your Business 253

Using Facebook Groups 254

Distinguishing Facebook Groups from Pages 254

Finding a group 256

Joining a group 257

Accessing groups you joined 257

Participating in a group 258

Creating Your Own Facebook Group 259

Securing your group’s name 259

Setting up your group 259

Setting up a group URL and email address 262

Configuring other group settings 262

Deleting a group 262

Using Insights with Facebook Groups 263

Using Facebook Events to Promote Your Business 263

Creating an event 264

Changing the cover image of your event 267

Inviting friends to your event 267

Boosting your event 268

Editing your event 268

Exporting your event 269

Following up after an event 269

Chapter 14: Integrating Facebook into Your Other Marketing Channels 271

Making Facebook Part of Your Marketing Mix 272

Posting content new fans can engage with 273

Choosing a custom Facebook username 273

Cross-promoting your Page 275

Leveraging your Facebook presence via email, website, and blog 276

Promoting Your Facebook Presence Offline 277

Networking offline 277

Placing the Facebook logo on signs and in store windows 278

Referencing your Page in ads and product literature 278

Optimizing Your Page for Search Results 278

Using search engine optimization to drive traffic 279

Driving more Likes to your Page 281

Integrating Instagram into Your Other Marketing Channels 281

Making a plan for Instagram 281

Utilizing Instagram Stories 283

Getting Inside Your Customers’ Heads 285

Chapter 15: Integrating Facebook Features into Your Website with Social Plugins 287

Extending the Facebook Experience with Social Plugins 288

Adding Plug-In Code to Your Website 291

Integrating Facebook Insights into Your Social Plugins 291

Setting up your website as a Facebook application 292

Adding Comments to Your Website 294

Sharing Embedded Comments to Your Website 296

Creating More Reach with the Embedded Posts Plug-In 297

Displaying Embedded Videos from Facebook 298

Getting More Visibility with the Like Button 299

Sharing Pages Using the Page Plugin 300

Quote Plugin 301

Save Button 303

Allowing for Private Sharing with the Send Button 304

Allowing for Public Sharing with the Share Button 305

Chapter 16: Stepping Up Your Customer Engagement 307

Using Facebook Messenger to Communicate with Customers 307

Benefitting from Messenger 308

Understanding guidelines for Messenger 308

Enabling Messenger 309

Developing a Better Customer Experience 309

Providing customer service with chatbots 309

Using Messenger chatbots 310

Developing chatbots 317

Advertising with Messenger 318

Getting Started with Facebook Live 320

Looking at the benefits of live streaming 320

Understanding the guidelines 321

Setting up Facebook Live 321

Creating Broadcasts That Connect with Customers 327

Part 5: The Part of Tens 331

Chapter 17: Ten Common Facebook Marketing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them) 333

Think Like a Traditional Marketer 333

Use a Profile to Market Your Business 334

Use a Group to Market Your Business 335

Post with Shortened URLs 335

Wing It 335

Post at Bad Times 336

Be Pushy 336

Sell Too Little 336

Post Lengthy Updates 337

Ignore Comments 337

Chapter 18: Ten Business Tips for Facebook 339

Understand That Business Is Personal 339

Don’t Drink and Facebook 340

Keep Things Clean and Civilized 340

Be Careful Friending Strangers 341

Dress Up Your Page with Applications 341

Respect the News Feed 341

Don’t Be Afraid to Ignore People 342

Deal with Your Irate Users 342

Don’t Forget Birthday Greetings 342

Maintain Your Privacy 343

Chapter 19: Ten (Okay, Eight) Factors for Long-Term Facebook Marketing Success 345

Know the Language, Eat the Food 345

Understand Why People Share 346

Be Useful and Helpful 346

Listen to Your Fans 346

Consistently Participate 347

Appreciate and Recognize Your Fans 347

Measure and Monitor 348

Be Fearless and Creative 348

Index 349

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.