Over the last five years, the shifts in digital marketing have been monumental. The focus on Inbound Marketing and social media has caused many businesses to reevaluate their entire marketing strategy. When it comes to social media in some industries and for some company, Facebook is still necessary to have a presence with their target audiences. When used efficiently, your Facebook strategy can go a long way to help your business stand out from the crowd.

Most businesses still treat social media like traditional broadcast media. They send out promotional message after promotional message, sales pitch after sales pitch, with no regard to what the consumer truly wants and expects on social media. This is not the most effective way to use Facebook, or any social media network. Engagement with current and potential clients should be the main purpose. Facebook has 1.32 billion monthly active users (as of June 30, 2014) which most likely includes a lot of people your business would like to reach. So it makes sense that we don't want to ignore this powerful network.

If you already have a Facebook page, but just aren't getting the results you want, the following five tips can help your marketing efforts. The key is to focus on customer engagement. This strategy will take your Facebook marketing to a new level.

Post The Right Kind Of Content

Always look at your Facebook posts from a consumer's point of view. What type of content do they want to read and share? It’s probably not an ad for your product or service. Add an eye-catching photo and keep your text short, no more than one paragraph. Keep your message in line with your company image, voice and brand. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Consumers can smell inauthenticity a mile away. (Don't you want to be authentic anyway?)

Build Trust Before You Try To Sell

Think of social media as a cocktail party. Don’t be that guy who walks in and immediately starts handing out his business card to everyone. It’s rude and reeks of desperation. Instead, use your time on social media to find out what your customers want and then give it to them. If you provide them with useful, relevant information they can use, they will begin to look at you as a trusted voice in your industry.

Be Consistent

Post regularly, for most businesses we recommend posting once a day. This will keep your name, products or services in front of your customers (and potential customers). Attention spans on social media are short, so be sure post something memorable.

Network

Facebook can be a great tool for market research. Connect with potential clients that are liking and interacting with your page. You should also go and “LIKE” your competitors Facebook pages. Notice what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. This will also help you to identify trends as they are happening.

The Hashtag

While hashtags are still more closely associated with Twitter, #s are increasingly popular on Facebook and other networks as well. Using a hashtag based on keywords makes them infinitely more searchable. If you have hashtags that you are currently using on Twitter, start utilizing them on Facebook for consistency. We recommend developing several hashtags and integrating them into your overall Facebook strategy.

By following these five tips, you can increase your organization's engagement on Facebook and ultimately use Facebook as well as other social networks to help keep your customers happy and introduce potential customers to your brand.