How to Use Facebook for Local Search Marketing

Facebook is easily considered to be the number one target for social media marketing for businesses of all sizes. But how do you really target a local audience using Facebook? Here are a few ideas.

Optimize Your Facebook Page

If you haven’t yet created your business page, you can create one here. Just be sure to set it up as a local business. If you already have a business page, check to make sure you have it setup in the correct category by going to the Admin Panel, then Manage, Edit Page, then Basic Information. Here you can view and change your category.

Now make sure that your business name, address, phone number, etc. is setup and that it matches the information on your Google Places page. If you don’t want to include your street address, then at least include the city and zip code. Having this information match your Google Places page is like having another citation for your business, and a very important one at that.

Connect with Your Local Audience

Now you have a locally optimized Facebook page for your business, how do you get local fans? Here are some easy ways to get started.

• Invite Your Friends and Contacts – In your Admin Panel, click “Build Audience”, then click “Invite Email Contacts.” You can also click “Invite Friends” to ask your Facebook friends to come and Like your page.
• Like Other Local Businesses – Now don’t do this with your competitors, but once you have Liked another business page, you can interact and post on their Timeline as your business. This gives your page exposure to their audience. Don’t spam their page, but participate in their discussions.
• Target Your Posts to Locations – When updating your status, you can click the drop down that says Public, and choose Location/Language. Then target your post only to those who live in a specific area.
• Facebook Ads – Facebook has a pretty amazing and affordable ad platform that allows you to run highly targeted ad campaigns. You can target users in specific cities, and narrow it by their interests. You can even target friends of your fans so that it displays who likes your page under your ad, which is very effective.

While Google is the king when it comes to local search marketing, don’t discount social media channels, like Facebook, as a way to promote your business to your local audience.