12 Mar Facebook marketing for businesses in 2021 | Civic Web Media

Despite the court cases, heavy fines and mass walkouts, Facebook is still the world’s biggest social media site in 2021 and that’s not likely to change any time soon.

Many recent updates to Facebook have been aimed at improving its reputation, such as helping users to secure their accounts and promoting support services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Businesses have also been well catered for, with new features helping to make social media marketing simpler and more effective. Here are some of the most significant changes from the past year that SMBs should know about.

Dynamic ads

As social shopping becomes more common, users are reportedly more comfortable with ads in their feeds, especially when they’re relevant to their interests. Facebook’s new Dynamic ads use machine learning to display truly personalised ads to users, based on their history of interactions with other ads.

The algorithm determines the most appropriate messaging, location and call to action when displaying precision-targeted ads. Facebook claims that Dynamic ads offer a 34% improved return on advertising spend (ROAS) and lower costs compared to standard carousel ads.

Groups marketing

Since opening Groups to businesses in 2017, Facebook has introduced a wide range of tools to help brands market to their captive audience. This has become increasingly important since Facebook shifted to a more community-driven platform in 2019 and Groups became its primary focus.

Joining Groups or creating your own can be a big commitment, but the rewards will be a more engaged audience, who may be more receptive to visiting your site and making in-app purchases, and greater prominence in feeds.

Messenger updates

Facebook Messenger is becoming a more effective marketing tool every year. Last year saw the introduction of a wealth of new features for businesses, including automated workflows for lead generation, in-app appointment booking to increase conversions and Stories ads displayed in Messenger.

This year saw Facebook give brands a 24-hour time limit to reply to users’ questions in Messenger, encouraging businesses to respond promptly or lose a potential customer. New messaging tags make it easier to notify users about deliveries, events and other specifics, while the long-awaited launch of the Messenger desktop app in April could bring even more people to the platform.

Creator Studio updates

Creator Studio is the central hub where users publish and manage Facebook video content. In February, Facebook released Creator Studio as a standalone mobile app with a streamlined interface for easier management on the move. The past year has also seen the range of tools in Creator Studio expanded to include new monetisation options, more detailed analytics and integration with Instagram and IGTV to simplify cross-platform video marketing.

If you’re not already promoting your business on Facebook, or you’re not using it to its full potential, you could be missing out on your biggest local audience and highly targeted advertising tools. Find out what you need to know about Facebook for business by reading our Facebook advertising guide.