How to Advertise Supplements on Facebook Like A Pro
With more than 2 billion people using Facebook – every day [i], it’s not surprising that this social media platform has become every supplement business owner’s dream for their advertising success.
If you’re interested in knowing how you can leverage the power of a Facebook business page and see sales soar through Facebook advertising campaigns, keep reading.
How to Set Up a Facebook Business Page
The first place to start is with an Facebook business page. Don't have one set up? No problem! It’s free to create an Facebook business page. Just follow these 8 easy steps! [ii]
Steps for Setting Up a Facebook Business Account
Step 1: Sign up
Open up Facebook and click the "Create" button on the top bar. Choose your page type, and since you’re a supplement brand owner, you’ll be choosing “Business or Brand.” Click on "Get Started!"
Step 2: Write Your Business Information
Enter your business information, including your business name, a category that best describes your business and other business information.
Step 3: Cover and Profile Pictures
Upload a profile picture and cover images for your business page. While uploading these, try opting for pictures that represent your brand’s identity. Many companies prefer to use their logo as their profile picture. You can too, but remember to keep your images as visually appealing as possible!
Step 4: Create a Unique Username
Next, Facebook will prompt you to create a username. This becomes your vanity URL, and it’ll help people find you on this social media platform! Use a name that’s easy to remember as well as type. [iii]
Step 5: Fill in the ’About Us’ Information
This is where you will enter the information that your audience should know about your business. This includes details like contact information, the kind of products and services you offer, your website URL, business hours, and a lot more! These are a few important sections under About Us that you need to include –
- Description - Don’t forget to fill in the 255-character description – this is what will appear in the search results!
- Category - This is where the category you chose in Step 2 can go more granular so that Facebook knows the right audience for your page.
- Business Details - Add details about your business’ contact information, location, and working hours.
Step 6: Write Your Story
Click on “See More” in the left menu, then click “About” and finally “Our Story.” This is a great place to highlight your business strengths and show your audience why they should engage with your brand.
Step 7: Get Started!
Start posting content – your own posts, blogs, and videos! You’ll want to showcase your products but also be sure to educate your customers and establish trust through the content you publish. Become familiar with the variety of posts Facebook allows, including Facebook Live, Events, and Offers.
Step 8: You’re In!
Hit the green button on the left and you're done! You've just published your Facebook business page!
What Does a Successful Supplement Business Page Look Like?
If you’re new to the business side of Facebook, it’s great to have an example of how a successful Facebook page could look like. Here’s how Osteo Bi-Flex, a joint health dietary supplement made by Rexall Sundown, has done it and done it well. (I’ll be coming back to the Osteo Bi-Flex page several times in this article.) [iv]
The target audience is aged 50 and above. Audiences are easily able to identify with their posts and videos and desire the positive outcomes associated with optimal support for bone and joint health. Their “Made to Move” video has received more than 1,800 views.
How do you market supplements on Facebook?
All brand owners want to maximize their budget and get the most from Facebook marketing campaigns. Don’t you? According to CrunchyBuzz.com, here are a few tips to keep in mind while posting on your newly created business page!
Tip 1 - Build trust
Use your Facebook business page to educate your audience by providing valuable and credible information. Osteo Bi-Flex has a business page with nearly 60,000 followers. The page proudly highlights their achievements, such as being ranked as the number one joint supplement brand most recommended by pharmacists for 13 years running by U.S. News. They also educate and inspire their audience through engaging videos and building positive brand connections.
Tip 2 - Make an offer or deal that is both visually appealing and hard to resist
Use Facebook posts to make offers or deals to your audience, so that they keep coming back to your page. Osteo Bi-Flex makes good use of offers that customers can avail through online stores or physical retail outlets. They also offer seasonal savings such as their "new year, new you" advertising campaign for the new year.
Tip 3 - Leverage the power of storytelling
The best ads tell a story that your target audience can completely identify with. It goes without saying; inspirational visuals are a key element to engagement. Here’s an example of a successful post from the same brand, Osteo Bi-Flex.
Notice they’ve taken cognizance of consumers who complained that tablets were too big to swallow!
Facebook is a wonderful place to advertise because... it allows you to finely target your audience by location, age, gender, interests, connections, relationship status, languages, education, workplaces. What you post on your business page can be boosted as an advertisement to reach your target audience through paid services. [v]
Get granular with Facebook Pixel. By far, one of Facebook's most powerful capabilities is the Facebook Pixel tool. It works by triggering cookies that track users who interact with your web page and your Facebook ads. The data that Facebook pixel provides can be used to:
- Create better Facebook ads for your customers
- Target Facebook ads more strategically to people who are more likely to convert
The desired result is what every supplement brand owner hopes for: more ROI through improved Facebook ad conversion rate. [vi]
Here’s what you can do with Facebook Pixel:
- Re-target your visitors using Facebook Pixel. There are times when your customers have abandoned their shopping cart or lingered over a product page without purchasing. How can you re-target these potential customers on Facebook? Facebook Pixel can target such customers and create recall by repeated advertisements as they browse the internet. Re-targeting ads to your most relevant audience, those who have already shown interest and engaged with your web page, is likely to yield higher ROI.[vii] [viii]
- Use lookalike audiences. No more educated guesses to create new targeting prospects. Facebook Pixel allows supplement business owners the ability to build lookalike audiences based on the existing customer profile. Facebook will automatically create a new audience that is similar to the source audience, and therefore equally as likely to purchase your product. How simple is that? [ix]
Facebook Advertising Policies
Can supplement brand owners advertise on Facebook?
Yes, Facebook allows supplement brand owners to advertise on Facebook. However, its policy states that unsafe supplements are prohibited from being advertised. Although Facebook holds the discretionary rights to discern which supplements are safe, it does provide a list of supplements (though not exhaustive) that are prohibited, such as anabolic steroids, chitosan, comfrey, dehydroepiandrosterone, ephedra, and human growth hormones.[x], [xi], [xii]
Facebook policies are often the same as Instagram ad policies, as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Marketers are always advised not to make use of false claims or misleading statements (often applicable to weight loss products) that would be deceptive.
With reference to visuals, supplement business owners should keep visuals positive, communicating a positive brand tone, free from sexual imagery and negative self-imaging.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can you advertise supplements on Facebook?
A: Yes, you can! All you need to do is set up a Facebook Business Account. Once you’ve completed that, use Facebook’s native tools and features to find your niche audience by location, age, gender, interests, etc. Through paid services, your posts and advertisements will be boosted to reach your target audience.
Q: How do I advertise my supplements on Facebook?
A: To advertise your supplements on Facebook, you will first need to set up a Facebook business account. Once you’ve done that, you will need to keep updating and developing your page with relevant information, authentic posts, engaging advertisements, and storytelling to build trust. A quick tip: Leverage the power of Facebook Pixel.
Q: Can you sell supplements on Facebook Marketplace?
A: Yes, you can, as long as you adhere to its policies. Facebook policies, like the FDA, prohibit marketers from making false claims or misleading statements regarding supplements. Learn more about advertising policies on Facebook.
Start advertising on Facebook and start selling your supplements!
In conclusion, we want to leave you with the success stories of two companies. Here’s how they used Facebook to increase outreach and raise sales, cost-effectively.
Rose-Hip Vital, an Australian-based family business, used dynamic language optimization and lookalike audiences to build a new audience. Through this, they were able to increase their landing page views by 30% and lower their cost per landing page view by 29%. [xiii]
GoSupps.com, an online nutritional supplement store, used Facebook Pixel to study their audience. They then used dynamic ads and created custom audiences to re-target and upsell to people who had already visited their website. By using Facebook Pixel, they were able to achieve a 30% lower cost per action compared to previous campaigns, and quadruple the returns on Facebook ad spend. [xiv]
You've now learned how to start a Facebook business page, went through the policies, and viewed some success stories. These things showcase how well Facebook can work for you as a marketing platform!
So, what are you waiting for? Start your journey today!
References:
[i] https://sproutsocial.com/insights/facebook-stats-for-marketers/
[ii] https://fitsmallbusiness.com/how-to-create-a-facebook-business-page/
[iii] https://blog.hootsuite.com/steps-to-create-a-facebook-business-page/
[iv] https://business.facebook.com/OsteoBiFlex/
[v] https://neilpatel.com/blog/deep-dive-facebook-advertising/
[vi] https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/facebook-ads-pixel
[vii] https://www.facebook.com/business/goals/retargeting#
[viii] https://instapage.com/blog/facebook-retargeting-pixel
[ix] https://www.facebook.com/business/help/164749007013531?id=401668390442328
[x] https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads/
[xi] https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/label-claims-conventional-foods-and-dietary-supplements
[xii] https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads/prohibited_content/unsafe_supplements