When you’re a service-based salesperson looking to grow your business on Facebook, getting the word out about what you sell is only part of the equation. You also need to work hard to build trust and add value to the lives of your clients and prospects.

Branded Facebook ads will help you get in front of the right people with the right message—enabling you to build and maintain the relationships you need for long-term success.

Keep reading to learn how you can use branded ads to connect with more customers and close more deals.

Who is my audience?

As with any other form of marketing, your target audience shapes your messaging. When you know exactly who you’re trying to connect with, you can appeal to the sensibilities of those people.

More broadly speaking, you might ask yourself whether your ad is meant to draw in prospects, nurture existing relationships, or, perhaps, accomplish both things at once. This will influence how you target your ad.

Facebook gives you myriad options for who you want to see your ads. If you’re looking to find new leads who are interested in a certain topic or who have exhibited certain behaviors, you can narrow your search by those terms. For example, real estate agents might target people who like Zillow on Facebook, or people who are getting married in the near future.

Another option is to connect with people who have already liked your page. Because of Facebook’s algorithm, only a small portion of people who like your page will see each of your posts organically. That means you’ll get more engagement—and potentially see more return on what you post—if you spend money.

A third option is to connect with people who already like your page, as well as their Facebook friends. This could be useful for a couple reasons. The first is that you’re expanding your circle in a way that makes sense. Friends of clients you’ve worked with in the past might already have some awareness of your business, and a branded ad will increase that awareness. Another reason to choose this targeting is that people in the same network might share some of the same needs. For instance, a millennial first-time home buyer likely has several friends who are also interested in buying a home.

Depending on what you’re looking to accomplish with your ad, the target audience and content will both vary. Speaking of which…

What do I put in my ad?

When you’re promoting your business on Facebook, it’s important to remember that people don’t want to be hit over the head with constant sales pitches. 80 percent of what you post on your page should be focused on offering value and building a relationship, with 20 percent reserved for product promotion.

With that in mind, you should consider running a variety of different branded ads to provide value, establish authority, and build trust.

Promote the community

One of the quickest paths to trust is demonstrating that you know (and are invested in) the community. You can accomplish both things by sharing useful blog posts that locals will actually want to read.

Here are a few ideas:

• 4 Local Parks You Need to Visit
• The Top 5 Farmer’s Markets to Check Out This Summer
• 10 Can’t-Miss Fall Events

While these blog topics might have very little to do with what you sell, you’re establishing yourself as a community expert—increasing the likelihood that people will like your page and check it out regularly.

Create a market report

Another way to connect with relevant prospects is to show off your professional expertise without trying to make a sale. Market reports are a great way for real estate agents to demonstrate their knowledge and increase confidence among their potential clients.

If you don’t want to create a market report, consider writing a blog or recording a video that will educate potential customers in some way. When you’ve consistently shown how knowledgeable you are in your subject area, you’re far more likely to be top of mind when those people are ready to buy.

Boost your digital edition

If you’re a ReminderMedia customer, our interactive digital magazines are an amazing way to offer value to new leads and current customers, alike. Each issue consists of great articles, compelling videos, and delicious recipes that people really enjoy.

Better still, your digital edition is branded with your name and contact information, which increases top of mind awareness. You can post it to your Facebook page to connect with your current followers, and then boost the post to connect with a larger group. When people share an article or the entire magazine, your branding stays intact–potentially giving your brand an infinite audience

Say thanks to your customers

So many salespeople work with their customers once and never see another transaction or referral. This happens because of an inability to stay connected.

A simple “thank you” can go a long way. When clients feel appreciated, they’ll be that much more likely to use your services again or to refer people to you.

Create a blog post or video thanking your past customers for their business, then boost the post to your existing Facebook followers. Sure, many of them haven’t used your services just yet. But, when they see how much you appreciate your clients, you’re encouraging feelings of connection in your prospects—putting the idea into their heads that they, too, could be one of your valued customers.

How do I follow up?

Unlike other ad campaigns, which might contain a clear call to action—for example, “check out this open house,” or “click here to purchase”—branded ads are more about establishing trust and building long-term sales relationships.

Because branded ads are unlikely to result in an immediate transaction, it’s important that you follow up properly. Otherwise, you’re missing out on valuable opportunities to take those relationships to the next level.

Engage with people in the comments section

When someone goes out of their way to leave a comment or ask a question, the least you can do is to interact with them in some way.

• Like positive comments.
• Thank people for words of support.
• Answer questions.
• Take criticism as an opportunity to explain your perspective.

When your prospects see that you’re engaging with people on social media, they’ll know you’re committed to providing excellent customer service at every level.

Invite people to like your page

You probably knew that you could invite your friends, family, and colleagues to like your Facebook business page. But did you know you can invite your leads to like your page, as well?

Here’s how:

1. In your browser, click the number of reactions (likes, loves, etc.) in the bottom left-hand corner of your ad or boosted post. If you’re using the Facebook app, you’ll need to click the number of comments to bring up the post in a new window, then click the number of reactions.
2. Scroll through the list of people who’ve reacted to your post and look for any boxes that say “Invite.” Click Invite.

It’s really that easy. While not everyone will accept an invitation to like your page, those who do will see more content from you in your feed and be one step closer to becoming a paying customer.

Send direct messages

When someone has a question about your product or leaves words of support on one of your branded ads, you can also choose to send them a direct message (depending on their privacy settings). Just click onto their profile and then find the “Message” button.

This approach may not be right for every situation, but it can be a great way to let relevant leads know that you’re here to help. You can even include your email address or cell number to show that you’re committed to providing the best service possible.

Keep in mind that this message won’t be coming from your business page, but from your personal Facebook account. You’ll want to ensure your profile looks professional and doesn’t contain anything offensive.

Now that you know more about creating and targeting branded Facebook ads, you can work on building valuable client relationships that will lead you to a life of freedom.