In recent years, more people have been drawn to the cross-border e-commerce industry due to policy and market demands. However, due to the pandemic over the past two to three years, offline activities to promote and acquire customers have become difficult. As a result, many cross-border e-commerce companies have shifted from traditional offline promotions to online promotions. They utilize social media platforms to market their independent sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
According to data statistics, Facebook has a global active user base of over two billion, making it a must-use social media platform for many businesses engaging in overseas marketing. For foreign trade companies, social media platforms are not only a channel for brand marketing, but also an important tool for acquiring customers. In the following, I will discuss how foreign trade companies can use Facebook to carry out overseas marketing and acquire more potential customers.
01 Clear Marketing Objectives
Marketing channels for B2B independent sites in foreign trade are limited, and making the best use of these limited channels can bring unlimited marketing results. As a popular social media platform overseas, Facebook has many advantages in marketing and promotion, such as:
Facebook can target different periods of the company and combine different content and creative designs to carry out targeted marketing.
Facebook can provide a strong transition path for companies with less detailed website building by establishing a public page. This page is fast, free, and unrestricted by servers, domains, etc., making it easier for users to browse and improving exposure and conversion rates.
The cost of the advertising query function on Facebook is low, and its flexibility is high, making it possible to promote through various methods such as message interaction, form, fans, etc.
For cross-border B2B companies, promoting on Facebook is undoubtedly a good choice. In order to excel in marketing, sellers also need to have a clear understanding of their marketing objectives.
Generally speaking, B2B companies use Facebook to increase exposure, attract potential customers, and improve website conversion rates.
02 Advantages of Facebook Marketing for B2B Companies
What benefits can Facebook bring to B2B websites when used for marketing?
(1) Increase website traffic
B2B companies can operate main pages at a lower cost by advertising on Facebook, bringing traffic to the website and acquiring unlimited customer sources.
(2) Build a fan base
Facebook can help B2B companies build a fan matrix, operate detailed home page content, retain customers, establish long-term connections, and influence customer choices in the future.
(3) Conversion of potential customers
Facebook has columns such as messengers, private messages, leads, fan comments, etc. Interested potential customers can view related content and the main page to better improve their conversion rate and find potential customers to convert to customers.
(4) Enhance brand strength
B2B customers will compare merchants’ products, prices, brands, etc. through various channels and make more choices. By setting up interactive content on the B2B company’s Facebook home page, the brand’s visibility and customer creditworthiness can be improved, and the overall competitiveness of the brand can be enhanced.
03 Operations on Facebook for B2B Companies
Given the advantages of Facebook marketing, it is undoubtedly one of the essential platforms for cross-border sellers’ B2B overseas marketing.
(1) Page setup
Given the nature of the Facebook platform, B2B companies should make sharing stories their primary focus in Facebook marketing.
The B2B company’s Facebook account homepage is more about showcasing the company’s culture and work environment, using the company’s display to influence the company’s first impression in the minds of customers.
(2) Relevant content publishing
B2B companies can publish industry news on Facebook to attract customers, such as current hot news and customer-interested headlines. This can be a way for customers to find resources and also a source of traffic and customers for the company.
(3) In-depth market research and analysis
Using Facebook’s free voting feature, we can survey customers and potential customers for relevant information. The big data obtained after interested stakeholders vote can help companies analyze their audience and audience groups. As the saying goes, “know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.” This helps B2B companies create better products.
Using Facebook’s free voting tool can promote the company, understand user preferences, interact with fans, and increase customer engagement and trust.
(4) Advertising
B2B companies should make full use of Facebook’s self-service advertising tools, clearly target the audience, and push relevant product or company information to interested potential customers.
For customers who are hesitant or interested, Facebook’s self-service advertising tools can frequently “remind” these people of the company’s brand or product information, deepen the company’s visibility and influence, and further promote the conversion of potential customers.
B2B companies can present the advertisement content in the best way through different titles, pictures, and text and push it to the precise potential customers as needed, greatly improving the traffic and customer source of the B2B business.
(5) Sales of products
When customers go to Facebook, the product’s online purchase function can accurately and directly purchase the product, which is also a key factor for B2B companies to increase sales.
Through “big business“, merchants can present products directly to other merchants, allowing users to purchase directly, greatly increasing sales and eliminating the hassle of customers jumping to the website, and facilitating precise customer conversion.
These are some methods for overseas marketing for foreign trade enterprises using Facebook compiled by 2-Six Zoom. They can be used for reference. To do well in social media marketing, you still need to have good products and services. This is the only way to ensure customer repurchasing, maintain old customers, and continuously optimize the promotion methods of social media to adapt to market changes.
