Facebook for business

Advantages and disadvantages of Facebook for business

Guide

Running a Facebook business account can help you reach and connect with your existing and potential customers. There are a number of benefits to create a Facebook business page, as well as some challenges.

Advantages of Facebook for business

Facebook is a powerful social media platform that offers many opportunities to businesses, including customer engagement, brand awareness and more.

Brand awareness

Having a Facebook page for your company can help you get noticed by potential customers. Facebook also lets you make more people aware of your product or service, whether they're already customers or not. 

Increasing visits to your website

You can link call to action buttons on Facebook page to your business' website, making it convenient for users to access your website. By posting links to your website, you can increase online visits.

Targeted advertising

Facebook advertising allows you to target users based on their demographics, location, interests, profile information and online activity. You can analyse the behaviour of your target audience and create ads that appeal to people who have looked at specific types of content, visited particular websites or used certain browsers or devices.

Business leads generation

Facebook audience and page fans can be a great starting point for gathering sales leads. You can use competitions and giveaways to collect email addresses and build your marketing lists.

Improved customer service and feedback 

Facebook allows two-way communication between businesses and their customers. This human connection allows you to deal directly with your customers. Reviews and comments can be a great way to gather customer feedback and find areas for improvement.

Improving your online presence

Use data from your page's Professional Dashboard to understand what content works best and plan improvements. As you notice data patterns, you can test different ads and learn more about your audience's preferences.

Disadvantages of Facebook for business

While Facebook can deliver plenty of benefits, it is important to be aware of the potential challenges.

Time and resources

Setting up and managing a Facebook page requires time . You may need a member of staff who can take on social media duties and have enough time to manage the page well and create engaging content.

Skills

The staff member who manages your Facebook page may need training to ensure they have the right skills. They should be able to plan and create content, reply to enquiries and complaints, and represent your business.

Budget 

To make the most of Facebook, you will probably need to invest in paid-for advertising. This will require its own budget.

Negative feedback

The two-way communication nature of Facebook means that unhappy customers can voice their complaints publicly. You should handle these complaints professionally as your audience will scrutinise your response. It is not advised to delete genuine negative comments. See how to deal with customer complaints