Does Facebook Marketing Still Work? 

In the beginning, Facebook was a great place for marketers and bloggers to drive traffic to websites just by sharing a caption and a link. Sometimes they didn’t even bother with the caption. However, over time a few things happened:

• Users started to complain that they were tired of all of these free ads in their feeds
• Facebook had finished building and was then ready to monetize through ads
• Technology allowed Facebook to engineer a “feed” that was no longer chronological and instead favoured what they thought people wanted to see

I have clients that have been on Facebook for a long time and they still see high engagement and viral likes. For these businesses, organic Facebook marketing is an easy decision to make. However, growing a new Facebook page organically takes creativity, time and effort. 

Why Should You Continue to Focus on Facebook? 

Facebook continues to be the largest social media network with 1.5 billion active users. Although you may have heard that the younger generation is not as interested in Facebook as they are in more private platforms, they still maintain accounts for shopping and connecting with brands. 

In the end, being on Facebook can pay off because you now have a place where you can connect one-to-one with your potential customers and use a variety of different features to grab their attention. 

Here Are Some Facebook Marketing Strategies that Will Help You succeed in 2023, even if your business is new. 

Don’t Share Links in the Caption

As I mentioned, sharing links on Facebook is no longer as effective and can sometimes be counter-productive. Facebook wants to keep people on their platform, not send them to your website or landing page. If you put a link in your caption, your post may get suppressed by the algorithm. However, sharing links is still efficient and does generate traffic, especially if blogging is a big part of your content marketing strategy. Do share links, but write an enticing caption and use other post types, as well.

Marketing is not just about sales. It’s also about brand awareness. The more people see your message and the more they feel that you are an accessible brand that they can connect with directly, the more interested they will be in buying. Make sure your link is in your profile so they can find out more when they are ready. 

There are a few other ways to get your link out there without disturbing the algorithm: 

• Put it in the comments.
• Use your caption to ask people if they want the link to a free resource (Make sure your caption is enticing). When they say yes, either respond with the link or direct message them. 
• When people direct message you with questions about your business, answer them and then send them a helpful link.
• If you have already started a conversation about your business in the post comments, you might want to direct message a potential lead. However, wait for a response before sending a link. For example, you could write something like: “Hi Sharon, thanks for sharing your experience with our app. Can I send you a link with some helpful tips for using it to organize your business?”

Ask Questions or Share Polls

When people respond to the questions that you share on Facebook, the algorithm perceives this as high engagement. Ask questions related to your product or service or just how they spend an upcoming holiday. People love to share their opinions. 

Have you ever wondered why birthdays get such high traction on Facebook? Birthdays cause a flood of comments from family members and friends. You can also generate comments by sharing your business milestones such as: 

• The anniversary of your business
• The work anniversary of a long-standing employee
• Number of years you have participated in a particular charitable event

These types of posts help to show Facebook that you have high engagement with your followers which can translate into more views of your content and profile page. 

Use Social Video

Video is considered the future of social media by Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram. Meta has prioritized video to stay competitive against YouTube and now TikTok. If you use video in your social media strategy, you might see an uptick in page reach. 

In the past, companies felt that if they used anything but highly produced expensive corporate videos, they could look unprofessional and damage their brand. However, social video is different than corporate video. People expect a more relaxed, casual style. No matter the size of your company you can:

• Use your cellphone to record behind the scenes, demo your product or service or just share helpful tips and tutorials
• Use screen share to walk people through a slide presentation or how-to video
• Go live and give a presentation on a relevant topic or interview an expert or special guest
• Add music to a montage of photos or videos that give people a sense of what its like inside your business or the features and benefits of your products
• Share a past webinar

There are many free apps you can use to edit your videos to make them more dynamic. Add intros and transitions or film yourself speaking from different angles to create movement in your video. Create an eye-catching thumbnail for longer videos to stop people from scrolling past. 

Facebook’s video features include short-form Stories and Reels and longer form videos and livestreams. 

Respond to Comments and Direct Messages as Soon as Possible

Staying on top of your comments, reviews and direct messages can show Facebook that your are active and responsive. Not only that, it leads to: 

• Better engagement
• Reputation management
• A good customer experience
• Higher performance in the algorithm

Sometimes people leave comments that are rude, spammy or inappropriate. In this case you can hide the comment so that only they and their friends will see it. (Their friends probably already know about their weird Facebook behaviour.) However, don’t hide every negative comment. Addressing concerns publicly can help to build trust. 

A direct message is a private conversation that your follower can start with you. Responding to direct messages is so important that Facebook puts your response time on your profile so that people know what to expect. 

Facebook still works for businesses, but it’s important to remember that it’s a social platform and your presence is needed. Don’t “post and ghost.” Instead, stay engaged and you will eventually see success on Facebook. Book a call if you would like help setting up your Facebook strategy.