Using Facebook As A Marketing Tool For Free

Facebook runs paid adverts but there are contradictory reports about the effectiveness of these ads. There is a question of cost-effectiveness and how many results one gets from paying for the adverts. You may be skeptical about paying for Facebook ads because of these uncertainties. The good news is that there is a strategy for generating sales from Facebook without paying for your adverts. How do you achieve this? The answer is Facebook groups.

There are millions of Facebook groups with hundreds of members. Most of these groups are free and any Facebook user can join. The groups provide a large market for you to advertise your products and services. You only need some strategy to effectively utilize these groups to your advantage.

Please note that spamming campaigns are not being encouraged here. Do not go about spamming every group with your adverts. It is an easy way to get removed from the group. It is very irritating to group members and administrators when a new member begins to post adverts that are unrelated to the topic of the group. You can’t just join a group and start posting ads all over the place within five minutes. It shows desperation and it’s very unethical. You will be removed immediately and you would have lost that potential market. You need to follow a systematic, organized and consensual approach. Your plan for the campaign should be executed in four stages. These stages are outlined below.

1. Create Your Own Group

Creating your own Facebook group or business page, helps you build an online presence around your products and services. As new members join your group, you will have a ready-made audience for your adverts whenever you decide to launch your products and services. Being the administrator of your own group gives you control over activities of the group. You can post as many adverts as you want because you make the rules.

Your page should contain information such as your business address, contact information, products, etc. There should be a profile and cover photos that show what your business does.

Post quality content regularly. Consider what your audience would like to see. Share social media images and links that are related to your business and you know they would enjoy. Have a mix of humor and educational content that will keep your audience glued to your page. If you are unsure what your audience wants to see, you can use the poll features to ask what they want to see.

You can put a promotion on your page and ask your audience to like and win the offer. Engage your customers/audience in meaningful discussions. This is a way to interact with them and get to know them better. The interaction will let you know their needs and how you can tailor your products and services to meet those needs.

2. Join Other Groups

There are many groups of other niches out there and you can join as many as you want. Become an active member of the group by contributing meaningfully to discussions regularly. This will make it easy for you to advertise your products when you launch. People will be more receptive to your advert because they know that you have been an active member of the group. There will be fewer hostilities since you have established your presence in the group.

It can be difficult to keep tabs on the different groups that you belong to so you need to make it easy to access the groups. You can do this by using your browser’s bookmark feature to create a database that will allow you to access them systematically.

3. Create An Advert Relevant To The Niche

Make sure that you do not infringe on the rules of the group. Your posts should blend with the discussion. Construct it in such a way that it won’t come off as a blatant advert. Make it look as if you are passing information. This is where many people get it wrong. They spam groups with adverts of the same nature without relating to the topic. It’s a good way to get kicked out of the group for good. You advert should blend with the topic or aim of the group.

4. Seek Permission

Before you post your advert, it is best to get the approval of the administrators. Send them a private message in advance. If you fail to do this, your post may be deleted and you will be removed from the group. This strategy works most of the time. Some admins may not allow your advert, but many will allow it and even help draw attention to it. The admins may even purchase your product and help bring more customers to you. So it is best to follow the proper channels when you want to post your adverts.

These four strategies will help you carry out an advertising campaign that can yield the same results as the paid service. In addition to the four strategies above, remember to stick to these three rules.

Do Not Post More Than Ten Ads At Once

This is against Facebook rules. You will be suspended for suspicious activity if you make many identical posts on different groups in quick succession. Take a break between posts and try to change the content of the ads a little so that each is different.

Respect The Moderator’s Decision

If the moderator declines your request to post adverts, respect his decision. There are other groups where you can post your ads so don’t make a fuss. Quietly join another group and ensure you obey the rules of the group.

Respond To Comments

Ensure that you respond to comments about your post. A group member may be interested in your post and needs clarification. Make sure you give a reply. It is good manners and it makes your post the center of the discussion.