Social Media Breakdown: Facebook

A new series is upon us, and seeing as we want to help businesses connect better to their audience via social media, it only seems fitting to have a series focused on these different platforms. As we talked about in our previous blog, social media is an avenue that businesses can use to their advantage. All of these platforms have their pros and cons, but when used well, it can give businesses a chance to improve their customer service, establish themselves as a lead in their industry, and help them generate leads. Before you embark on the journey that is social media marketing, though, we should all have an understanding of the different social media platforms, which features they offer, the audiences you’re most likely to find, and ultimately, whether it’s worth your time investment.

So, let’s start with one of the largest ones around: Facebook.

THE BACKGROUND:

It’s a little astounding to look back at Facebook’s history and realize that this behemoth of a social media platform started out as a simple means of connection between students at Harvard in 2004. It was terribly exclusive, and after branching out from Harvard, it was only available to other Ivy League colleges for a while. Unsurprisingly, though, it gained popularity and was soon available to every college or university student in the U.S. or Canada. Admittedly, whenever I first heard about Facebook, you could not register without an email address from your institute of higher education. It didn’t stay that way, though, and soon their hook of being an exclusive social media platform for college students melted away as opportunities for advertising became apparent.

(I’m not saying you should go watch The Social Network, but for an interesting dramatization of Facebook’s origins and some of its progression since then, it’s a fun watch.)

THE STATS:

Today the service boasts around 2.9 billion active monthly users from around the world and about 2.75 billion of those are logging in from a mobile device.. These users range from preteens to users in the 65+ age group. We recently created an infographic on the percentages of people per age group using the different social media platforms, so you can note Facebook’s numbers in the graphic to your right.

Here are some other prevalent facts brought to us by Omnicore:

• 56% of Facebook users are male.

• 44% of Facebook users are female.

• The largest demographic group of Facebook users is between the ages of 25 and 35 years.

• Around seven-in-ten U.S. adults (69%) use Facebook.

• 82% of college graduates are on Facebook.

• 75% of online users with an income more than $75K are on Facebook.

• Almost 90% of Facebook’s Daily Active Users Come from Outside the US/Canada.

• Facebook has over 10 million advertisers.

• A Facebook user clicks on 12 ads on average every month.

• 18.3% of U.S. adults made a purchase through Facebook in the last year.

• 75% of Facebook users visit a local business page at least once every week.

• Square type videos get 35% more viewership than landscape type videos.

• The interaction level of live videos is six times more as compared to the traditional pre-loaded videos.

• Facebook live videos get more than ten times more response in terms of comments as compared to the pre-recorded videos.

THE FEATURES:

• Personal Profile Pages

  Obviously Facebook first came to notoriety with its personal profile pages and the networking that can ensue. This is still true today, although it’s progressed quite a ways from the early days. It’s no longer merely about a profile picture, some basic information, and the ability to poke someone (yes, that was a thing). Now you can list out all your interests, participate in groups, sell items on the marketplace, follow brands, and even post stories. Perhaps the most important reason for me to mention a personal profile page here is because once you have a personal page, you can manage a business page.

• Business Pages

  Business pages function similarly to a personal page but with the ability to showcase your logo, business hours, and a brief synopsis of your area/services. You can publish content on your page to share blogs, ideas, and products. You can enable messaging for potential customers or clients to easily contact you. You have analytics at your fingerprints that measure your page views, page likes, reach, and the like that can further define your content strategy. Then, of course, you have advertising capabilities.

• Meta Business Suite

  Now the reason you have all of the capabilities listed above is because of the Meta Business Suite. Technically you can still use Facebook’s Business Manager if you prefer, but Meta Business Suite is the next iteration of that. It’s within this system that you can manage your content calendar and also manage all of your advertising ventures. From within this system, you can also connect third-party tools with Facebook, access your sales interactions, and review all analytics for your posts (both unpaid posts and paid campaigns). The other advantage of this system at the moment is that you can also link your Instagram business page (since Facebook owns both) and receive some of the same benefits for your Instagram presence.

It should also be noted that they offer features like Facebook Messenger and Facebook Marketplace. I’m not going into a deep dive on those options here mostly because those are more useful for personal accounts instead of business accounts. Also, there’s a messaging feature baked into the Business page/Meta Business Suite.

PROS:

• Potential Reach

  With 2.9 billion active users, it’s hard to deny the potential reach that Facebook offers. Also, with their paid advertising options, Facebook makes it pretty easy to target the gender, age, and interests of your targeted audience.

• Older Adults Are More Prevalent

  I’m listing this as a pro because a lot of companies are attempting to connect with adults in the 30+ age group. Facebook is the social media platform outside of YouTube that has the greatest percentage of “older” users.

• Fairly Low-Cost Marketing Strategy

  Facebook’s advertising possibilities can provide businesses with easy and cost-effective marketing solutions. With the ability to target certain demographics and interests, Facebook makes it easy for your content to find the right audience. They also make it easy to have smaller, less expensive campaigns, which is especially appealing for smaller businesses.

• Customer Engagement

  Facebook does make it easy to connect with people who are interested in your brand and those who are already engaging with it. It’s a great way to improve your customer service and also build clout with followers.

CONS:

• Not As Relevant With Younger Audiences

  While there are still a fair amount of younger audiences on Facebook, it is losing some of its appeal to this crowd. If you are a brand targeting teenagers or those in their early 20’s, there are other platforms that might be worth more of your time and effort. Facebook advertising tools can find the ones on the platform, but the level of engagement will likely not be as high.

• Potential Negative Feedback

  The one thing you can’t control on Facebook is the comments and ratings from other users. While it hopefully won’t be a problem, you should be aware that there’s no way to remove negative reviews.

• Difficult For Regular Posts To Gain Traction

  The truth is that Facebook can be an incredibly helpful tool for businesses, but with algorithms constantly being adjusted, sometimes regular content from businesses can be lost in the shuffle. Paid posts will be pushed and will find their intended demographics, but even when people follow and interact with your page on a regular basis, it can be difficult for your non-paid content to find a foothold.

At the end of the day, whether Facebook is a good idea for your business boils down to your intended audience. If you’re trying to target customers primarily 30 and above, then Facebook probably has the type of audience you are desiring. However, keep in mind that paid content will be the best way for your content to be seen. Also, with all social media marketing, you have to weigh the costs (monetarily and otherwise) with the projected benefits.

If you’re interested in expanding your social media presence on Facebook or interested in having someone manage your Facebook social media strategy, we are more than happy to help you navigate that world. You can find out more information here or contact us here.