Social Media Series, Part 1: Facebook, Gen Z, Branding, (And Alligators)

As a part of my new social media article series, I’ll write about most prominent social networks of 2022. In these articles, I’ll cover:

• The basics about the platform with the latest statistics,
• Pros and cons,
• How and why it can be used for marketing (or why not), and
• Best practices for brand building

Some of these posts will also contain affiliate links to products you might find valuable to grow your business. I'll earn a small commission if you decide to purchase a product/subscribe to services, at no additional cost to you.

As a blogger, I have first-hand experience in social media. I’ve explored all the nooks and crannies of each platform in hopes to promote my content. This is what I’ve found out after years of living and breathing online.

Today’s topic is Facebook. We start with the king of social media, as I like to call it. Let’s cover the numbers first.

Facebook Stats

As of Q3 2021, Facebook had 2.9 billion monthly users globally and a cumulative astonishing 3.58 billion users accessing other core products like WhatsApp or Messenger. (Source: Statista)

Your target audience must be there, right? Let’s go deeper.

As of October 2021, men aged 18–24 accounted for 13.4% of Facebook users, while there were 9.3% of women in the same age span. Men aged 25–34 accounted for 19% of Facebook users and 12.5% of women were in the same age group.

There were about 2.5% and 3.2% female and male teens, respectively. On the other side of the spectrum, the percentages remain similar for people aged 65 and over. (Source: Statista)

This means that once you publish your ad, you have the highest chances of hitting people aged 18–34. Naturally, you’ll want to segment your audience further than the gender and age groups, but this gives you a brief overview of what type of people you can expect to reach with your ads — Gen Z and Millennials.

Gen Zs are known for their love of games and music. They love messaging and social networks, care about trends but are quick to learn more about top issues like sustainability, inclusion, LGBTQ, and similar.

Still, don’t expect a Gen Z to be silent — they love to communicate their thoughts. After all, they grew up online, where everything matters, especially their opinion.

On the other hand, you have Millennials, who are somewhat tired from what they see online but still fascinated by what’s coming (I know, I’m a Millennial as well). We do share some features with Gen Zs. We all hope to find meaning and are motivated to contribute to the world.

However, we crave a personalized experience. Both generations need to feel heard and respected. If you can also entertain us at the same time, that’s a bonus!

The best way to catch the attention of a Gen Z or a Millennial is by using a video.

Back to Facebook.

What I observed in the last few years is an evident shift in the topics on Facebook. The platform went through some changes (naturally) but there is more political content than before. It could be because more millennials are still in the space but some older generations are getting on it as well.

When it comes to the appearance of the platform, I’ve also noticed more ads than ever before, as more brands are trying to push through. Keep in mind that many ads on the homepage may cause a shift (of your target audience) to another platform that doesn’t serve that many ads.

Pros and Cons of Facebook

The overall appearance of Facebook stayed true to its primary look when it was published and that familiarity of the platform is exactly what users love — with the exception of night more that’s available now. However, Facebook grew and followed trends, meaning it included Stories and Videos (the For You page) to cater to the young audience.

This is both a great idea and a bad one. Right now, there are too many things to see on Facebook, as it has become a mashup of other platforms. If I was a new Facebook user, I’d be overwhelmed by all the tools and features on the platform.

I believe that Facebook should have reduced the number of ads served on the homepage and omitted the video section to keep it simple.

When it comes to pages, they’re packed with features that are easy to use if you wish to build your brand. Facebook (Meta) for Business is there to guide you through your first ad setup.

Facebook Ad Center is also pretty straightforward. Still, ads aren’t as affordable as they used to be and you’ll likely have to do a lot of testing to see what works for your brand. Unfortunately, this could mean you’d have to spend more on Facebook ads to find what’s turning the gears.

Still, Marketers Complain

On the other hand, I see Facebook users complain about their ads being stopped for no reason, or their websites getting banned from posting. Many marketers have issues with Facebook that simply shouldn’t happen on a platform that lives from paid advertisements.

The worst part is that you can’t reason with Facebook. Getting to the live chat feature is nearly impossible and even then the support team will likely do nothing to solve your problem.

Another severe problem is the hacking of Business accounts. People complain about being hacked and that their cards are still active with the hacker spending their funds on random ads. However, nobody can say why these hacks occur. Chances are these people simply clicked a malicious link that opened the back door to hackers.

Overall, the biggest pro of Facebook is that it has so many active monthly users. With the right campaign, you’ll hit the nail on the head.

The biggest con is that Facebook simply does what it wants. If it deems your new website is breaking community rules, you can say goodbye to this platform and move on.

How to Brand and Promote on Facebook

It seems that branding on Facebook has a lot to do with your advertising budget. The biggest catch is that once you start paying ads, you’ll have to keep paying them if you want to be seen.

On the other hand, building a page naturally is simply too hard to do at this point. Plus, you might get overwhelmed with all the features you’re supposed to use.

The best advice I can give is to find someone who knows Facebook inside and out and has a proven track record of helping businesses grow.

AKA outsource Facebook branding to someone who does it for a living.

Otherwise, you’ll have to spend time learning how to set up campaigns, lead the community, answering comments, and it will distract you from leading your business.

When you find the right marketer, they’ll likely use tools like Canva or Photoshop (I know, other marketers hate Canva but it served me well!) to create content for your page. Let them make diverse content and promote videos, photos, articles, blog posts, products, etc.

Your marketer may also recommend using chatbots to answer the common questions so that they have more time to manage your accounts. What’s more, you and your marketer can work on scheduling ads and posts so that you both have more time to work on important things and grow your business.

What Not to Do on Facebook

If you decide to deal with Facebook branding on your own, don’t do this:

• Post too often
• Post only in your time zone
• Post same content
• Post same type of content (for example only blog posts)
• Ignore the community
• Be exclusive
• Not offer support
• Not automate posts/ads
• Not conduct testing

Best Practices for Brand Building

Brand building on Facebook is equally important as it is on other networks. You’ll want to stay focused on how you want the audience to perceive your brand. Luckily, you can easily accomplish this with automation tools.

One of the platforms that help you automate content generation for Facebook is Tailwind. With Tailwind, you’ll have access to Tailwind Create — a tool that creates social media posts in a second.

What’s more, Tailwind Create lets you keep your brand voice and color palette that matches the design of your website. Remember, people love pretty things and will stick with the brand that has something to offer.

Tailwind Create helps you marry the two and produce powerful yet gorgeous content that fits your industry.

However, to showcase your product, you’ll have to test how your audience reacts to images, videos, and blog posts. Since Facebook is focusing on videos, chances are your Stories will do better than an article.

Keep in mind that you should also be patient. Many small businesses across industries are trying to kill competition on Facebook. They might bid more on their ads, but you must focus on providing value to your audience.

Brand building on Facebook is not just sharing your products and paying ads. It’s about how your products can change someone’s life. Listen to what your audience wants and try to answer their needs.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to Facebook, it’s important to stay true to your brand and don’t deviate. Since your audience will most likely be Gen Zs and Millennials, show that you care and give them space to state their opinion. Remain open to criticism as these two generations won’t stop at anything to openly say what they mean.

Remember that Facebook is an alligator and might eat you if you get in too deep. However, testing the waters with your toes should be fine. After all, if you get stuck, don’t hesitate to call a professional marketer for help.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.