One big social myth is that you can't increase sales or gain potential clients with Facebook. Au Contraire, Facebook's lack of privacy makes it the best social platform to target your ideal demographics.
Facebook has made it increasingly difficult to reach your current fan base organically. Their algorithms reward pages for producing engaging content with more views. For example, if your page has 1000 fans, and your post has 10 organic likes, it might receive 200 views. However, if your post has 2 likes, it will receive a much lower amount of views...maybe even as low has 20.
Does your low view count mean that your post isn't engaging? Not necessarily. This just means that your post isn't engaging to the majority your current fan's demographic.
Example 1: You are a mostly vegan restaurant with vegan customers, but customers have been requesting that you add fish to the menu. You finally comply in hopes of gaining new customers. You create a post with a delicious picture of fish, announcing your latest addition. To your dismay, however, no one likes it. Does it mean your post isn't engaging? No! It just means it's engaging to a different audience than your current vegan fans.
Example 2: You are a staffing agency with a very small fan base in a very competitive market. Your fans are mostly friends and family members of your employees. You post about how you helped a local small business find the best candidate for their business, but no one likes it. Does it mean your post isn't engaging? No! It just means that it's engaging to business owners, and not your current fan base.
The solution: Facebook Paid Ads
Facebook's paid ads sound terrifying. Most businesses don't have Facebook paid ads in their budget. However these ads are undoubtedly the best strategy to reaching your ideal demographic.
Example 1: Back to the vegan restaurant with vegan customers who just added fish to the menu. If this restaurant created a $5 targeted ad to go out to Facebook users who love spending money on going out to eat and love fish in the ideal area...they could reach a highly targeted of approximately 1000 Facebook users who would love a delicious picture of fish. What's more, they'll probably want it.
Example 2: Back to the staffing agency with a very small fan base in a highly competitive market. If this staffing agency created a $5 highly targeted post to business owners and HR directors in the area who make business purchases, they could reach approximately 500 Facebook users who are in a position to hire employees and need help with their growth. This agency could even target businesses based on the size of their companies, and the industries they are in. What's more, they'll probably need help with staffing.
Typically, even $1 behind every post you create is worth it when it's carefully crafted to increase your views to a highly targeted demographic. Promoted Facebook ads also typically increase a fan page's fan base, so you're able to increase your organic views. While it's not a traditional form of marketing, Facebook ads could help you grow your business and gain more impressions.