Meta for Business: How To Get the Best Results From Each Platform

During the second quarter of 2022, 3.65 billion people were using at least one Meta product each month. That’s nearly half of the world’s population. Arguably, no other brand has a larger reach, which makes using Meta for business an absolute must.

Part of the reason why Meta changed its name from Facebook was to better represent the multiple products under its umbrella. Meta has several core products including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

While there’s a large audience, not every platform will have the same impact on your business. Each social network or app requires different marketing tools and strategies to get noticed by customers. Let’s dive into how to get the best results for each!

Meta for Business

The various Meta platforms have an incredibly large and diverse audience for businesses to reach. Just take a look at the number of people on each platform:

• Facebook: 2.9 billion
• Messenger: 988 million
• Instagram: 1.4 billion
• WhatsApp: 2 billion

Let’s review each app in the Meta business suite, who uses it, and what you need to succeed on it.

Facebook for business

Creating a Facebook business page is the first step to connecting with an audience on Facebook.

A business page lets you post updates, share contact information, and promote events or products.

While Facebook marketing is completely free, you could also opt to create and post Facebook ads.

Facebook user statistics

With almost 3 billion users, your target audience is probably using it. Here’s a brief overview of the Facebook audience:

• Females aged 35-54 and males aged 25-44 are most likely to say Facebook is their favorite social media platform
• The average time spent on Facebook is 19.6 hours per month for Android users

Facebook business tools

No matter what your business is, Facebook has a business tool to help you grow online. Let’s explore some of the features available on a Facebook business page that you may want to use:

• Appointments: Have your customers book an appointment directly on Facebook.
• Events: If you’re playing a concert or launching a new product, the Events tool can promote interest in your audience and remind them of the event.
• Jobs: Hiring talented employees is tough. But you can reach more potential candidates by posting jobs on Facebook.
• Shops: Product-based businesses will benefit from enabling the Shops tool. It lets you share your inventory, and customers can buy directly on Facebook.
• Facebook Groups: Groups can be private or public communities for audiences with shared interests. It’s a more intimate way of connecting with your followers.

Still stuck on how to promote your business on Facebook? Check out our VERY complete guide on Facebook marketing.

Facebook examples

Let’s take a look at real-life examples of how businesses used Facebook to meet their business goals.

Pink Tag used Facebook Shops and Live Shopping to make over $40,000 in sales in a nearly 5-month period. By displaying products and making them available to purchase all within Facebook, it made it easy to boost their sales.

Interested in doing the same? Check out our guide on setting up a Facebook shop.

Tonal created a Facebook group to motivate customers to use its strength training system. It hosted events and community chats to encourage interaction.

This led to 95% of the most active Facebook group members saying they would be very disappointed if they could no longer use Tonal.

Is a Facebook Group the right strategy for you? Read on to learn how Facebook Groups can grow your business.

Instagram for business

Instagram started as a platform to share photos and has grown to incorporate features like Stories, Reels, and Shopping. This makes it a great platform to create an influencer marketing strategy.

Instagram user statistics

With over 1.4 billion users Instagram is the fourth most popular social media platform. Let’s explore the Instagram audience:

• Females aged 16-34 and males aged 16-24 are most likely to say Instagram is their favorite social media platform
• The average time spent on Instagram is 11.2 hours per month for Android users

Instagram business tools

Here are some tools you can consider incorporating into your Instagram strategy:

• Action Buttons: A call-to-action is an important part of any strategy. Action buttons on your profile make it easier to book an appointment, make a restaurant reservation, or order food delivery.
• Collab Posts: Instagram features Collab posts on both the brand’s and creator’s Instagram feed. Collab posts can easily boost the effectiveness of influencer and brand partnerships.
• Shopping: With Instagram Checkout, followers can find a product and purchase it without ever leaving the app.
• Story Highlights: You can choose your most important Stories and save them in a highlights section. New followers can see more content, and current followers can reference it to follow products, menus, or services.

Instagram examples

Besides static ads in an Instagram feed, consider branching out into video and Stories. Chobani used video ads in Instagram Stories to successfully boost awareness of a product launch.

Need help creating effective Instagram Story ads? We got you covered.

e.l.f. Cosmetics is using Story Highlights and a pinning feature to promote specific products.

By putting its in-demand products at the top of its feed and profile, followers are going to have a hard time missing what it is selling.

Don’t forget to read our post on some of the best tips and tricks on using Instagram Stories.

Messenger for business

Meta Messenger lets you send texts, photos, videos, and audio. It also includes features such as live group video calls and payments.

It allows you to connect with followers and provide the information they need.

Messenger user statistics

Messenger is a key component of an overall Facebook marketing strategy. A live chat function can answer questions and secure sales.

To capitalize on this, learning about the demographics of people who use Messenger will help your messaging:

• The average time spent on Messenger is 3 hours per month for Android users
• The largest advertising demographic (19%) are males between the ages of 25-34 years
• 82% of US adults say Messenger is their most regularly used messaging app

Bonus: Get a free social media strategy template to quickly and easily plan your own strategy. Also use it to track results and present the plan to your boss, teammates, and clients.

Get the template now!

Messenger business tools

Messenger is more than exchanging texts with your audience. It can support the entire customer journey from discovery to purchase.

Here are a few of the Messenger business tools you can implement to create a strong marketing campaign:

• Chatbots: Automate FAQs with chatbots. It provides a 24/7 resource for your followers and can answer questions, provide recommendations, or complete a sales process. If you need the human touch though, a chatbot can connect a person to your live customer support team.
• Connect with Instagram: Messenger also connects to your Instagram account. When someone sends a direct message to your Instagram profile, Messenger will be there to help them.
• Customer Feedback: Surveys help you learn about your customers. Messenger has a Customer Feedback tool to make it easy to ask your audience if they are happy with your service.
• Showcase Products: You can turn your Messenger into a mini-catalog to help your customers find products and purchase them.
• Accept Payments: Speaking of purchases, you can accept payments by integrating Webview. It will also send a receipt and post-purchase messages.

Messenger examples

BetterHelp uses chatbots to help followers learn how it works, answer questions, and get in touch with customer support if needed.

Not having any response to Messenger is poor etiquette. Learn 9 other tips to interact with your customers on Messenger.

Dii Supplements used its ad campaigns to encourage people to send a message on Instagram (which is connected to Messenger). With a specialist on the other side, people were able to learn about the company’s products. Below is an example from one of their clients, Lucky Shrub.

WhatsApp for Business

WhatsApp Business helps you stay connected by automating, organizing, and quickly responding to messages.

It is a great place to connect with your customers, provide excellent customer support, and share updates.

WhatsApp user statistics

WhatsApp is one of the most popular apps on the planet with over 2 billion users. Here is a quick breakdown of who is using WhatsApp:

• 15.7% of Internet users aged 16 to 64 say WhatsApp is their favorite social media platform
• Females aged 55-64 and males aged 45-64 are most likely to say WhatsApp is their favorite social media platform
• The average time spent on Whatsapp is 18.6 hours per month for Android users

WhatsApp business tools

WhatsApp can function similarly to Messenger. Here are a few business tools it includes:

• Catalog: Create an online storefront with WhatsApp. This tool lets you add your products and services to your profile and allows followers to browse the catalog.
• Status: Similar to Instagram and Facebook Stories, WhatsApp Status disappears after 24 hours. You can post text, videos, images, or GIFs to stay connected with your audience.
• Profile: WhatsApp lets business accounts create profiles. It contains a description, address, business hours, website, and social media links. This makes it easier to identify your business on WhatsApp.
• Automated messages: You can set up messages on WhatsApp to send greetings, away messages, and quick replies. If you’re looking for a fully developed chatbot feature, you’ll need a third-party vendor.

WhatsApp examples

It’s important to meet customers with the apps they already use. If your audience prefers WhatsApp over Messenger, then create an exceptional WhatsApp experience.

Omay Foods connected its WhatsApp business account to its website, Facebook page, and Instagram profile. This led to a 5x increase in customer inquiries.

Take a look at our guide to learn more about how to use WhatsApp for Business. You may also want to read our tips on using WhatsApp for customer service.

Facebook Metaverse for business

While the Metaverse is still a work in progress, it’s expected to combine the real world with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Metaverse user statistics

To get an idea of who might use the Metaverse, let’s take a look at the demographics of current virtual universes like Roblox. Here is a look at who uses online gaming currently:

• 52 million people play Roblox each day
• The fastest growing demographic for Roblox is 17 to 24-year-olds
• Users from the U.S. and Canada are the most active with nearly 3 billion hours played in the second quarter of 2022

Metaverse business tools

Creators and businesses will become a huge part of making the Metaverse. Until then, there are ways to currently get involved with AR or digital products. Here are a few business tools to think about:

• Filters: Augmented reality filters are responsible for turning your face into a dog or trying out new make-up looks.
• Digital Items: Selling digital merchandise on Fortnite led to $1.8 billion in sales. NFTs are also a popular digital item making the market worth $22 billion.
• Advertising: AR is available on Facebook advertising. It’s an interactive way for consumers to try out your products or brand.

Metaverse examples

You can already use AR for ads. Take a look at what MADE did. It used ads to encourage people to use AR to see how furniture would look in their homes. The campaign had a 2.5x conversion rate.

Creating your own Instagram AR filter is another way to encourage followers to share your brand. Disney created a filter to celebrate the launch of the TV series, Loki. The filter adds Loki’s Horned Helmet.

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