Do you need to catch up to your competitors? Do you want to be part of the Facebook generation? Would you be interested in out-marketing them on Facebook? Facebook marketing takes a lot of time and skill, and this post is here to help you prepare for it.

Try using Facebook ads in your marketing tactics. Your normal posting will only deliver so much in term of promotion for your product or service. Purchase Facebook ads to expand your business. They generally do not cost a lot, and they can help you a lot.

A page is great, but a group might be a better idea. Launching a group on Facebook may inspire subscribers to start their own community online and interact with one another. You could also use a group and a page to get maximum benefits from Facebook marketing.

If you are using Facebook to get your services or products to your customers, you need to make your page unique. You can do so by giving your page an attractive and eye-catching design. Users on Facebook are attracted to these pages over plain ones.

Think about purchasing a Facebook ad. You are able to customize your ad so that it reaches your target audience. You can set a budget and work only as much as you want to. This is a valuable tool as you do not have to commit funds long-term to the advertisement. Your ad can be stopped any time.

Facebook ads can be a good investment. Your ad can be customized so that people in a specific age group or gender can see it. You can use your own budget, doing as little or as much as you want to do. There isn’t a huge contract either. Your ad can be taken down at any time.

Know when it’s okay to post something about your business when you’re not on your personal Facebook page. When posting on other’s Facebook pages, it can get you significant attention. Make sure your posts get the attention you want. Only post to another page when it is valuable content. Don’t spam others.

Any company that doesn’t regularly deal with customers doesn’t really need to have a Facebook page. Customers are only going to be there sporadically, and are unlikely to be interested in daily posts. Instead, put your money into Facebook ads.

One of the best marketing tactics is to hold a giveaway. Reward those who sign up for your newsletter or like your page. You do not need invest much money, but you can increase your base of potential customers.

See if you can post things to your Facebook page that allow people to sign up for offers from you. If you give them a free product or coupon for liking your page, they will be more interested. Try holding sweepstakes and contests, or just have a place for them to sign up for something valuable.

There are many other avenues to market your product on the web. Although many people use Facebook, make sure that your target audience uses the site as well. Research your audience and find out where they hang out online to see if your efforts would be better spent elsewhere.

Be careful with your Facebook updates. If your updates are boring or off-topic, you’ll lose fans. Every piece of content you post should either be helpful, educational, or entertaining. Facebook Insights is something you can use to learn what kind of updates do the best with people so you can try to make more content like that.

If updates are not relevant to your business, do not share them. You may feel the temptation to discuss current events, or perhaps share personal anecdotes, but your fans may not care. Use your personal account if you want to share updates about personal projects.

Have your fans get involved with your various company or brand decisions. Folks like feeling as though they are part of the process. Give your followers the power to make some simple decisions. For example, if you run a blog you could ask them what kind of posts you should make.

Companies that only have rare contact with customers may not need Facebook pages. You have customers that come and go at random times so they probably won’t follow your posts on Facebook. Invest in targeted Facebook ads instead.

Worst Practices

Make sure you know the pitfalls of Facebook marketing. Most people seek out and apply best practices, but neglect understanding the worst practices. It’s easy to find examples of each. While best practices are normally easy to find, how many people take time to look for worst practices? Help yourself by learning what you should not do.

Your posts should include valuable content. In other words, your followers should get something out of each and every one of your posts, whether it is a great deal, a helpful tidbit of knowledge or an inside scoop on the latest product. Attempt to avoid overselling, because your followers are going to get tired of constant updates from you when they look at their news feed.

Ask your customers to post reviews to your Facebook profile. One of the best ways to encourage more interest in people who need your product is to show them how existing customers feel. Having past customers post their experiences with your company on your Facebook page can help prospective customers make a decision.

Schedule your updates through a tool if you can’t do it yourself on a regular basis. Schedule them to be posted when your followers tend to be online. Test tools if need be to find the one you like the best.

Off a sign up option as a part of your Facebook page to get your audience engaged. This will keep the interest of your audience for a longer period of time. Use this to hold sweepstakes or offer coupons.

Now that you have all this valuable knowledge at your disposal, there is no real reason why your Facebook campaigns can’t be better than those of your competitors. You can show them how you can be successful now! Spread your new found knowledge with those around you.