How to Promote Your Battlefield Business on Facebook? Here are 10 Easy-to-use Tips
Facebook is an essential part of a Battlefield Operator's marketing strategy. As a battlefield business operator, it is a good idea to try and keep up to date with the latest changes. Why? Well, because if your ideal customers are spending time on Facebook then your battlefield business needs to be found there too. For Battlefield Operators who target Moms who are planning their kid's birthday parties or sports team celebrations then Facebook is a must.
The first step is to create a business page. This is different from your personal profile. (For tips on creating a business page download my free
Social Media Master Class ebook.) The way Facebook works is constantly changing! You have probably heard about how the Facebook algorithm has reduced the reach of your organic posts. But here are ten tips on how to make the most of the Facebook social media channel.
1. Update your Business Page Cover Image
Since Facebook changed the layout of business pages users need to scroll down quite a lot to see your fresh posts. Use a banner image that captures your brand. Visit www.facebook.com/battlefieldlive to see our new cover image.
Your cover image is the first impression people get of your business when they land on your Facebook page. Make sure it is a good representation of what your battlefield business offers.
Facebook suggests that cover
photos are 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall for desktops, and 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall for mobile.
If you choose just to use a still image for your cover then take the opportunity to also be clear about your unique selling proposition. By the way, my pet hate is restaurants showing a room with empty tables, hair-dressers showing empty seats, and yes battlefield businesses without gamers. I’ve even seen a cover video of a University without students, just a wide-pan shot of empty buildings and courtyards! So whichever image you choose, make sure you showcase an image of your ideal customers enjoying your product!!
2. Video, video, video
Facebook loves videos. The company itself says: "Over 4 billion video views happen on Facebook every day."
Facebook values video content over other content in its algorithm. Blogger
Lisa Corduff reckons that video posts last in the Facebook stream for 7 hours whereas still images only last for 3 hours. Post a video to boost your reach.
Remember Facebook doesn't own YouTube, that's Google's baby. So ensure you upload your video directly to Facebook, don't just pop in a YouTube or Vimeo link.
3. Facebook Live (Another Type of Video)
Facebook Live is exciting. By tapping the live stream icon, you can start broadcasting video live directly from your smartphone. You can also write an optional description of the event. As the video is being broadcast you can see how many people are watching and how they are reacting to it (like, love, haha, wow, sad or angry).
At the end of your shoot, you can tap “finish†to complete the video, at which point it will be posted permanently on your timeline.
Video live streaming is also the perfect opportunity to build engagement with your audience even more so than text or image posts. Facebook LIVE is perfect for battlefield business operators, especially if you can capture the thrills and action of live games. It is especially popular with sporting matches and outdoor recreation. Especially if you have a game same time every week.
4. Activate a Call-to-Action button
Activate one of the call-to-action buttons that Facebook offers. They appear at the bottom right of the cover section. There are several options:
- Book Now
- Contact Us
- Use App
- Play Game
- Shop Now
- Watch Video
- Sign Up
- Call Now
- Send Message
- Watch Video
- Send Email and
- Learn More.
If your Battlefield Business has an online booking system then you might like to use the “book now†button. Or if you have a monthly newsletter, you might use “sign upâ€. Perhaps the most straightforward choice is “Learn More†which will click through to your website.
5. Invite people who have liked your page posts to like your page.
Thank you to Jayne Day from
Webonize for this tip. It works really well. Say you are running a paid promotion to boost a post, and people like your ad but didn’t actually like your page. People might see your page posts via a friend of theirs who likes your post and may like your post as well but haven't actually liked your Facebook page yet.
You can send those people an invite to like your page to build your liker numbers with people who actually like what you are posting.
Go to your business page under your posts you will see the Facebook thumbs-up icon and a number next to it. If you click on that number then a list of names of people who have liked your post with pop up. Next to each name, it will have a button "liked" or "invite". Click on the “invite†button beside their name and Facebook will send them an invite notification to like your page.
6. Analyze Page Insights
Just like Google Analytics, Facebook tracks how people interact with your page. Insights track page views, number of likes & followers, they will also tell you what reach and engagement each page post receives. The statistics are also divided up between organic and paid results. You can select to see the last 7 days of insights (the default) or use the drop-down to analyze your last 28 days of insights.
Use this info to discover the best time of day or night to schedule your posts. And you guessed it, there are also insights on your videos.
7. Flow help in Facebook groups
Join some like-minded Facebook groups and get active. Groups that you think that your target customer will also be a member. Don’t just sign up and start pushing your products and services. Participate so you can genuinely help people.
As a Battlefield Operator, you are an expert in hosting birthday parties and running team building events. If a topic like this comes up you can offer useful advice. As Zig Ziglar is famous for saying
"You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." People might notice you and visit your profile page to find out a bit more about you.
This leads to the next tip!
8. Link to your Facebook business page from your personal profile
When you are running a small business every little thing helps. Your friends (or friends of friends) and family are often your first customers. To link your Facebook business page from your personal profile page.
See the screen snap of my personal profile page [right].
The blue text links to my Facebook business page. To add this to your personal profile, simply go to your profile, click on the “Edit Profile†button at the bottom right of your cover image, go to “Add a Workplace†and start slowly typing your page name in the company section. You should then see a list of pages with similar names, your business page name pop up underneath that you can click on to select it. That will then create the link for you. Make sure you make this info "public" rather than just "friends" to get the maximum exposure.
9. Make the Most of the Facebook sections
On your Facebook Page, there are various sections or tabs that Facebook provides for you to add information about your business to make it visible for people visiting your page. These sections vary depending on the category you have your page listed under so have a scroll through to see what your options are.
Most battlefield businesses will likely come under the “Arts & Entertainment†category and the “Laser Tag†sub-category. Tabs that you can include on your page include:
- About
- Photos
- Events
- Reviews
- Videos
- Posts
- Community
- Groups
-
Offers
- Services
- Shop
For a full list of categories check out Lights P and Digitals
full list.
In the past, I’ve found the “Notes†section worked well. The Notes were like a blog post on Facebook. The default template for Facebook business pages groups the first few most recent photos, then your few most recent photos, and then notes above your latest post. Alias, the Note section is gone with the new template design update.
I’d also encourage you to activate your “Reviews†tag. Hopefully, you’ll get some great reviews! However, even if you get the occasional negative feedback it is important to acknowledge it and find out how you can improve in the future.
10. Keep Your Content Fresh
Just like your own website, the cardinal sin is to publish out-of-date content. There is nothing worse than having your most recent Facebook page date 17 months ago! You can use the scheduling tool to line up a series of posts that will go out automatically. Forbes magazine suggested that if you have a following of less than 10,000 the rule-of-thumb is to post around once per week, or if you have a fan base of more than 10,000 then twice per day is the way to go.
Summary
In summary, Facebook is a social media channel so be social. It is not like a traditional TV channel or another advertising channel. It is a place people go to interact so it is important to nurture your relationships with your customers. The “ideal†level focus on Facebook depends on your battlefield business goals and the time (and money!) you are willing to commit to this social media channel. With these 10 easy-to-use tips you'll likely improve your results and set up your social media strategy to flourish.
Top photo attribution:
Telegraph
