There’s a lot of discussion about the role of social media in our world. But how important is facebook marketing, specifically? Businesses practically have to be on platforms like Facebook in order to succeed.

You’d be hard-pressed to list more than a few companies that don’t have any presence on social media. A large percentage of those are active on Facebook. In fact, most companies go above and beyond to highlight their presence on the world’s biggest social platform. They know customers will look for them there, and many companies take advantage of the platform’s extensive marketing capabilities.

Not all companies have jumped on the Facebook bandwagon, though, for various reasons. This might not be the smartest idea, especially in today’s day-and-age. If you are one of the few businesses that ditched all Facebook marketing efforts, here are some of the repercussions you might face over time.

You’ll Experience a Disconnect With Your Target Audience

Facebook encourages businesses to define their “Facebook Audience.” This is powerful. In many ways, it’s similar to detailing a buyer persona or a target consumer group. Not only does the site help businesses decide who they’re trying to reach, it takes it a step further. Facebook actively allows those businesses to reach their focus groups.

You can target a core audience through Facebook advertising via many factors, such as:

• Age group
• Location (country, state, region, city, etc.)
• Gender
• Income level
• Interests
• Political beliefs
• Devices
• Education

At this point in the world of technology, consumers practically expect businesses to use their social media platforms to directly advertise to relevant users. Almost half of the site’s users (49 percent) like a Facebook page in an effort to support a brand they like. Almost everyone follows at least some kind of brand page.

If you (and your business) were to be absent from Facebook, you’d likely experience a massive disconnect with your true target audience. Facebook’s audience-selecting capabilities and vast array of user information is a gold-mine. Without it, marketing to a niche group of customers would become exponentially more of a challenge.

You Need to Be Where Your Customers Are

As of June 30, 2019, there were more than 2.4 billion monthly Facebook users. Regardless of who you attempt to reach through social media marketing, that’s a huge pool of potential customers. It’s never been easier to advertise directly to Facebook users and to be selective about your target audience.

Additionally, people are interested in communicating with brands via Facebook. They want to see what you post and ask questions about products. Occasionally, they like to share content with others. By forgoing any Facebook marketing efforts (or even having a Facebook profile at all), you risk losing this possible sense of community.

For example, visit Trustpilot on Facebook. The brand uses the platform to inform people about their business and promote certain features of their services. Additionally, they go above and beyond to respond to comments that don’t have anything to do with their company. They talk about summertime, donuts, and other random trends. The brand has built a community, not just a marketing hub.

Trustpilot’s followers experience a personal relationship with the brand. If your company skips such efforts, it will certainly experience less of a connection with potential customers.

Your SEO Will Suffer

Did you know even Google wants you to be active on Facebook? At least, it rewards websites that have marketing campaigns on Facebook by increasing their search index rankings. The more people see links to your content and products, especially on social media, the more shares and traffic your website will get. As a result, the more Google and other search engines will (ideally) highlight your site.

The great thing about any Facebook advertisements is they direct business back to your website. You get to absorb all of those ad clicks as your own website traffic.

Take a look at this diagram from Infographic World. Nowadays, SEO and content aren’t the only two components that drive search engine rankings. There are many resources to help you optimize SEO. Social networks complete the Venn diagram. They provide a method of public awareness and marketing that the other two categories desperately need.

Facebook is especially important for this aspect of social media advertising – it reaches the largest network of people on the entire planet. If you were to skip marketing on Facebook, you’d likely struggle to increase your SEO rankings. This is especially true when all of your competitors are active on the social media platform. Why would Google recommend your website over another if it’s not nearly as popular with users?

Your Competition Will Be More Visible

Let’s face it: your competition already has a Facebook page. Even if you don’t care about marketing your products on FB, other brands do. And they’re going the extra mile to reach potential customers. If you don’t follow, you’ll struggle to increase brand awareness as substantially as your competitors do.

There are currently over 80 million active business pages on Facebook. Chances are, the biggest threats in your industry have claimed several of those business pages. They also have people who follow their advertisements and updates. If you don’t join in this trend, your competitors have more access to your customers.

Let’s say I need a digital ad agency to help keep my costs low. Who will I go with? The brand AnyPromo that often appears in my newsfeed right when I need them, or some brand I for whom I have to dig while conducting my own research? Chances are, I’d select the readily available choice.

That’s not to say that you should copy all your competitors’ actions. However, if they have a larger presence online, they’re going to attract more customers. The more you can compete with the positive online attention they receive, the better chance you’ll be able to rival their success.

At the end of the day, not having a Facebook page (and not using it well) will cost you opportunities other companies are taking advantage of. That’s a big risk to take, especially in a world where social media is such a powerful, influential marketing tool.

In Conclusion 

Whether you post ads, create audience groups, or respond to customer messages, your marketing actions on Facebook are pivotal to the overall success of your business. You might balk at being “forced” to use Facebook, the largest social media platform, in order to succeed. The truth is we’re all in the same boat. Facebook simply has the largest powers and capabilities to reach audiences right now, and it’s silly to underestimate the platform’s power.

Author Bio: Jaykishan Panchal is an SEO and Content Marketing Manager at E2M Solutions Inc. He loves to implement cutting-edge SEO strategies to help businesses strengthen their online presences. He also jots down valuable resources for Entrepreneurs, Startups, and Technology Geeks.