With the advent of social media, it’s become possible for small businesses to gain considerable traction online without having to invest thousands of dollars in marketing. With an effective Facebook marketing strategy, small businesses can get in front of their target demographic and, what’s more, build lasting relationships with those new customers.

With that in mind, we’ve created a guide for small businesses on how to market on Facebook. These five tactics are effective, easy to put in place, and (best of all) affordable for growing companies.

Start Local

For retailers just beginning to build a Facebook presence, success starts in getting the word out to family and friends. At the top of your admin panel, click on “Build Audience” to see a drop-down menu that allows you to invite email contacts, invite friends, share the page (on your own timeline, in a group, etc.), and promote the page. All but the last option require no funds, just a quick note to your supporters about liking your business page and spreading the word. If you own a brick-and-mortar store, advertise your page at the check-out counter as well. If you already operate an email list, link your subscribers to the page.

Marketing on Facebook is a necessarily social process; it’s best to get the community involved.

Rule of Thirds

One of our favorite Facebook marketing tips for small businesses is the Rule of Thirds, a guide to posting content that boosts fan engagement. Here’s the breakdown:

  • 1/3 Ads & Product Posts: These are posts that create awareness of your product offerings and increase brand recognition. Photos that directly feature your products or tell the story of your business fall in this category.
  • 1/3 Editorial Content: Focuses on lifestyle and educational content for customer loyalty and retention. Be the authoritative voice in your industry by forecasting fashion trends, offering beauty advice, giving travel tips, etc.
  • 1/3 Fun: Posts that make people happy! This is personal and engaging content that helps with interactivity and reach. Think quotes, cartoons, and memes.

As always, check Facebook Insights to make sure that you’re hitting your targets with reach and People Talking About This.

Run Giveaways

Facebook has updated its Pages Terms to allow administrators to run promotions right on their pages without having to use an app. It’s now kosher to ask for comments or likes as entries to a giveaway (it’s not okay to ask fans to tag themselves in photos where they don’t actually appear).

As a Facebook marketing strategy, giveaways are an especially effective way to advertise your products and reach new audiences. Just ask The Imprint Doctor, whose milestone giveaways for every 100 likes swelled her fans almost 400% in two months! Page admin Terri Brooks asked fans to comment with their preferred gift (which also helped her determine which products were most popular). She delivered the items to local winners, tagged them in the photo, and got more exposure that way.

Offer “Daily Deals”

If you have leftover inventory from last season, or want to give new inventory a boost, post it as a discounted item available through Soldsie! Fans will follow your page to take advantage of these deals, and they’ll love the rush of commenting “Sold” on a limited quantity item. Here’s how to post a product as the featured daily deal on Facebook.

Buy Facebook Ads

Last, but not least, running an ongoing Facebook ad for page likes is a cost-effective way to reach your target audience. We recommend Promoted Page Likes, which allows you to set a daily budget for a determined range of new likes per day.

Choose an eye-catching photo to accompany your ad, and be sure to narrow your audience. Target the age and gender demographic most likely to respond to your products, and choose from a list of interests that might overlap with your business. Part of this is knowing what your customers like, and it’ll help you get the most bang for your buck.

What are your favorite Facebook marketing tips for small business? Let us know in the comments below!