Importance of Facebook for Businesses

In Italy, the results are even clearer as they confirm 34 million users present on the main social media platforms. Considering that about 73% of the Italian population is online and there is an average annual growth of 3% in new social media sign-ups, it is clear how essential it is to reconsider web marketing for one's business strategy. And Facebook does not lag behind in terms of estimates, evaluations, and statistics. Although it is not particularly favored by young people (under 24) in recent years, the profiles reachable in 2018 were approximately 31 million. Of these, 2/3 visited the social network daily using computers and tablets, but what is surprising is the mobile connection through the use of smartphones. In this case, there are an average of 24 million users who connected to Facebook during the day against a population of 29 million who did so at least monthly.

And again. Facebook, despite seeming to be overshadowed by other more youthful and accessible social networks, proves to be among the top platforms in the world for organic reach (i.e., the number of people who come into contact with profiles, groups, and business pages using the social network) and engagement (i.e., interactions between users and the profile or page owner), all at virtually reduced costs. Despite a decline in social media usage in recent years, Facebook remains the third most used "atypical" search engine by the online population after Google and YouTube. In fact, many users, when looking for information about restaurants, shops, and various commercial activities, still rely on the Facebook platform right after consulting the main industry portals. Why this trend? The answer is simple: Facebook is a showcase that allows interaction, communication, reviews, and reaching potential customers while investing little money and leveraging the potential of social media marketing.

Why many companies choose Facebook for their social media marketing

The data just listed helps to understand the potential that the Facebook social network represents for many companies. Although it is a platform not favored by millennials (young people under 24), the registered users cover an age range from 25 to 45 years, with a strong representation of people under 35. The age group of 25 - 45 represents, for almost all companies, a resource of consumers with strong purchasing power: the likelihood that these users will become potential customers over time is high, if not even concrete. Unlike those under 24 and over 45, users aged between 25 and 45 are primarily workers (employees or self-employed), generally single or cohabiting, often couples or young families who use the web as a purchasing channel for major consumer goods. Considering that even in online purchases, the trends by age group are similar to those for Facebook usage, it is found that digital consumers are mostly people aged 35 - 44, followed by those aged 25 - 34, with e-commerce usage at least once a month.

The reasons why Facebook allows for effective web marketing are numerous and certainly not limited to its simple use. According to experts, the platform allows, even before the main industry portals, to interact with customers not only through feedback or the use of Messenger (also used to request information directly from the company) but also with the possibility of retaining potential consumers through incentives such as point collection and loyalty cards to obtain attractive promotions. In other words, a company could do online what it generally promotes within its store, attracting customers simply by having them sign up on its page.

Another advantage of Facebook for companies is the investment in advertising, which is certainly very cost-effective compared to mass media channels like radio, magazines, and television ads. While costs for traditional marketing can reach five figures, on Facebook, an investment of a few hundred euros a month would be enough to achieve greater visibility compared to, for example, a print magazine. Thanks to the sponsorship campaigns designed by web agencies (whose aim is to channel potential customers through targeted and effective advertising) and the ability to choose the type of customer (whether B2B or B2C), costs vary based on different parameters that usually do not exceed 10 euros per potential business customer.

When to choose Facebook for a company's web marketing

The functionalities of Facebook are numerous compared to other social networks that boast a fairly large user population. Unlike platforms dedicated exclusively to publishing messages or photographs (which, it should be noted, could represent the preferred way to showcase a brand's products and services), Facebook is versatile for the various potentials contained within it. Not only the creation of pages (reserved for businesses, while profiles are dedicated to individuals) and groups, but also the possibility of micro-blogging, posting photos of one's products, and linking other social networks that the company has decided to utilize. Facebook allows potential customers to contact the business, provide information about their activities, advertise their company website, and channel the preferences expressed by social users. Events can be promoted, a chatbot can be inserted to answer the company's FAQs, and groups of followers can be created with badges recognized for the most active fans.

From the Facebook Business page, one can understand when the platform can represent a web marketing opportunity for their business activity. A company can choose to advertise to make its e-commerce known, thus encouraging customers to purchase products directly online. And social media marketing can be done to increase the visibility of one's brand, extending market opportunities not only in a confined area, such as that of the business headquarters. Facebook can be used to direct consumers to the company website, or to orient towards a B2B commerce that leverages the potential of the internet, optimizing costs through an innovative way of doing business. With Facebook, it is even possible to create a single marketing campaign available for viewing on different devices, such as computers, tablets, and smartphones, leveraging the options that the social platform itself provides to its users. These are additional options, we could define them as "tools," whose purpose is to facilitate the creation of a single ad by choosing automatic placements without the need to format or size the ads. The savings are not only financial but also temporal: it would be enough to devise an excellent strategy to also reduce the time related to formatting ads on various devices.

How to do web marketing with Facebook

Although it may seem simple thanks to the tutorials available on the internet, web marketing (or, even better, social web marketing) can involve risks if one does not possess the necessary knowledge to index their ads and make the most of advertising. It is estimated that among the thousands of followers who follow a page or join a group, only 10% of the members actually view an advertisement. And while on one hand, it would be enough to increase investments in advertising on Facebook, on the other hand, it is necessary to devise an excellent marketing strategy that can guarantee the maximum return from the simple use of a social network. It all comes down to being able to enter the mechanism underlying the platform where sharing prevails, ensuring exponential visibility based on the feedback left by users.

For an excellent web marketing strategy, one starts from identifying the target customers to whom to direct the advertising (depending on age group, type of work, territory, purchasing power, etc.) to arrive at creating an ad that is primarily communicative. Many companies owe their success to a simple, effective, and impactful advertisement, while others have failed, especially in the simplest part of the entire strategy, namely creating a need in the consumer. Moving alone could be a solution, if it weren't for the fact that social media marketing can present numerous obstacles that are difficult to identify.

In this case, a web marketing agency comes to the rescue, an indispensable partner for creating an advertising campaign on the Facebook platform. The web agency specializes in developing projects aimed at optimizing the advertising investments that a company makes for online advertising. In addition to consulting services, essential for understanding business needs, the web agency provides targeted interventions for strategic web marketing even on social channels. Thanks to in-depth knowledge of indexing, profiling, positioning, SEO language, and advertising, web marketing agencies can guide the company towards defining a strategy that is focused on maximum return, simply using the same tools that the social platform provides to its users. The results are measurable immediately, as the company will have the opportunity to create its customer portfolio in a short time at relatively low costs. All this while relying on a professional capable of meeting the entrepreneur's needs.