New Facebook Features for Small Business Marketing
Are you using a Facebook business page to create awareness and generate leads for your small business?
Facebook has added business-friendly advertising features to help small businesses with their marketing, including carousel product ads, featured videos, and dynamic product ads. There are also several free Facebook features to promote your business in an authentic way.
Here’s a look at top features and ideas for using them.
Grab immediate attention with a Video Cover
Let your audience experience your product the moment they land on your Facebook page. It’s easier than ever with Facebook’s new video feature. Facebook now offers the ability to use a video instead of a cover image. Cover images can be very effective to promote a product, upcoming event or new announcement. Since video marketing has exploded over the past year and is arguably the most engaging type of online content, adding a video to the cover space can really pay off.
Facebook Analytics is a useful tool that will provide you with immediate feedback on the number of views and interactions with the video. There is no reason to break the bank on video editing when there are free tools that can help get your video into shape. Additionally, Facebook offers some easy editing tools.
- Threelly – Keep your video short and simple and clip just the right spot with Threelly – a tool for slicing YouTube Videos.
- Screencast-O-Matic – A three-year subscription to the video editing platform Screencast-O-Matic is just a whopping $15. Use this tool to slice together a collage of product videos for your Cover space.
- PowerPoint – Create a short slide presentation, set it to music, and save it as a video just with using PowerPoint. Add incredible royalty-free pictures to really get your point across with pictures from Pixabay.
- Smart Phone and Facebook Editing Tools – Record a testimonial from a client and add text to the video with the Facebook Editing tools for videos. Just click on the caption field and enter the time the caption should appear and the duration. Facebook editing also lets you add a cover image to use when the video starts. Try using Canva to create a dynamic cover.
- PowToon – Create a product video or animated business video with PowToon’s free version.
Share your value with Business Services
Facebook offers the opportunity to highlight your unique business services. Use Canva to create a perfectly sized thumbnail image, and add a brief attention-grabbing description of the service. Don’t forget to include a link to a landing page to drive leads.
Capture client Reviews and use them across all marketing channels
One of my favorite local small businesses is Cakery Creation. The owner, Liz, does a fantastic job of enticing you with her Facebook posts. I dare you to try to click on her page and not hang out there for at least five minutes. Her cake creations are truly amazing, and who knew there is a cake for every occasion? But don’t just take my word; she has plenty of client reviews to prove her product is delicious.
The ‘Reviews’ feature is not new, but if you’re not actively asking your clients to review your business on Facebook, you’re missing an opportunity. Reviews can be used to create shareable content for use across all your marketing channels. (Read this post for more ideas).
Tag your products in pictures and videos to boost sales
Ask your customers to send pictures of themselves using your product. Or simply search on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for customers who are sharing about your product. Clip the picture and share it on Facebook. But you’re not finished. Add a detailed description and tag your product. The new tagging feature – supported by the shop feature – lets you include an optional description, price, and link to a landing page so your fans can ‘buy now.’
Now that you’ve learned more about these new Facebook features, use them to create an integrated Facebook marketing campaign. Or, increase page engagement by giving your audience more ways to engage. And, if you haven’t yet grabbed a copy, save on marketing with ideas from our eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Free Small Business Marketing. The eBook and the 97 tools featured in it are free!
