8 Ways to Generate Referral Traffic Using Facebook

SaaS owners often struggle with how to convert Facebook engagement into leads and sales. In a digital sense your website is going to be your primary lead nurturing and conversion den. Certain businesses can convert directly on Facebook, but for many success on social will be dependent on generating referral traffic from Facebook to their website so they can deliver a sales pitch. In this article we will be discussing 8 ways to generate referral traffic using Facebook as lead source.

The Facebook Opportunity

Did you know on any given day, more than 2.23 billion people sign into their Facebook account? Of those users, did you know that every person spends on average, at least 41-minutes per day inside the app? Starting with breakfast and ending with bedtime, right before people put their phone down and shut off the light, a massive chunk of the worldwide population is on Facebook, sifting through content, liking photos, sharing articles, and watching videos.

Facebook doesn’t have to be reserved simply for on network digital socialization. It can be a source of referral traffic to your website to help build brand awareness and educate your customers. It’s also free to use (unless you opt for Facebook advertising). For many SaaS businesses and others with more complex purchasing decisions, it’s better to use the platform as a website referral traffic source, since many professional and educational resources that are a core part of the purchasing process aren’t welcome on social media. Savvy business owners looking to get people from Facebook onto their websites, where they can provide more information and nurture the lead, is a core strategy.

Facebook as a Referral Traffic Source

So you’re sitting in front of your computer, with a blank business profile opened on your laptop inside of Facebook. Where do you even begin? With so many tools embedded in the business pages, as well as 12+ different forms of content that you can share with followers, how can you secure the greatest amount of steady leads to your website? Start with your business page.

Update Page Information

When you make your Facebook page, it can be overwhelming to sift through all of the different information boxes, but making sure this area is filled out completely will be the best way to maximize referral traffic from Facebook. Be sure to at least paste in your website link in the “About” section of the Facebook page.

You can also include it as the caption for the cover image, and as a caption for the profile picture. This might seem obvious, but you would be surprised at how many businesses skip over this part of the page set up.

Don’t forget that your page’s bio information can have links within the text of the bio. Make sure to put a link to your web page on your bio so people can find out more after reading.

Use Post Teasers

We’ll touch on an easier topic next. When you go to post a blog on your Facebook page, you can either share the link, or you can even copy and paste the entire blog as the post. However, when you do this, you leave little to the imagination, which will not entice followers to go visit your website.

You want to give them just enough of a teaser to entice them to click the link and read more on your website. Copy and paste the first paragraph as a post with the link, creating curiosity that will encourage them to keep reading. At this point, they will click on the website link, leave Facebook, and end up on your website to finish the blog. Enticing introductory paragraphs are a great way to generate referral traffic and clicks.

Ask a Question

People love to be heard, which is why asking questions to your business followers is a great way to get them engaged. Maybe you’d like to know which kinds of topics your followers want to read. Try inviting them to answer questions for a survey or respond to a poll that’s related to a topic or service description page on your website. After they answer the poll question, give them a reason to learn more on your website.

Use Links In Facebook Messenger

Did you know you can embed an online course right into the Facebook Messenger tool? Services like Huxly allow Facebook pages to create mini courses through a chatbot right in Messenger, leading those taking the course further to the checkout point. Whether that’s buying a product, book, or visiting a website, you can program your very own robot that has pre-defined answers to people’s impending questions. With chatbot services, you can set up interactive elements to the chatbot that helps connect individuals with the information they are seeking.

If your goal is to increase website traffic, then have your chatbot generate a website link to the individuals chatting within Facebook Messenger. In just one click, they’ll leave Facebook and end up on your website!

Host a Giveaway

Giveaways have become a popular part of social media today, especially around the holidays! More brands are offering something for free in exchange for engagement. Recently, individuals have made it harder than simply commenting on a post – they include a website link where entries must take place. It’s a great way to get people on your site, as well as collect their emails, through their entry.

Now, if you are a services business, like a landscaping company or a nail salon, you can give away gift cards to your business, such as Amazon gift cards. It’s amazing how responsive your followers will be to something free. Ask for a minor exchange of value and lead them to your website where you can tell them more about your sales pitch.

Links In Image Captions

Although Facebook makes it very easy to upload photos directly from your mobile device to your Facebook business page, sometimes, there is value in slowing down and taking the time to tag the photo, provide a caption, and even throw in a few hashtags. This is undoubtedly easier to do on the computer, which is why it’s worth some patience before the post.

When you go to post a photo, or an album, you have the option of including a caption. Simply pasting your website link as the caption is a great way to indirectly market to your followers. When you post, you will be able to write about the photo as the actual post, which is why it’s ok to fill up the caption as the link you want them to click on.

Go Live

Providing live video on Facebook has proven to be highly popular since its launch a few years ago. The Facebook algorithm favors this kind of genuine, accessible content, which is why it’s going to alert all of your followers that you are now live. Before you go live, you can “Say Something About This Video” and then click “Go Live.” In that box, after you describe in one sentence why you are live, paste a link to your website so viewers can seamlessly transfer from the video to your website. Don’t miss an opportunity to generate referral traffic to your website with live video!

Place Static HTML

This feature used to be available to all Facebook business users, but at the time of this writing you are required to have at least 2,000 page likes before you are able to include static HTML on a business page.

Source

It’s time to delve into the basics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Basically, Google reads “backlinks” as a form of SEO boost for your website. Backlinks are links that lead to your website, placed strategically around the Internet. The Google algorithm thinks the more your website is mentioned on legitimate sites, the more legitimate you must be, too.

Most backlinks on social media sites have a nofollow flag on them which basically tells search engines not to treat this as an endorsed link to a 3rd party such as your website. Basically you get backlink credit in the range of none to a small fraction of normal!

Although search engines generally devalue seo credit that social backlinks receive as part of its algorithm, marketers have figured out a way to generate a full strength backlink nonetheless.

First, log into your Facebook account, and request authorization to add static HTML to your page via this 3rd party app. Click on “Add Static HTML to a Page.” Next, select your Facebook business page (you will need to have created the page before doing this). Once you select the page, click on “Add Page Tab” and then “Set Up Tab.” You will then need to add an anchor tag to your page.

<a title="check out" href="{Your Link Here}" target="_blank" rel="dofollow">{Your Link Text}</a>. 

Replace the link and the name. Click “Save” and it’s all done. You now have a backlink pointing to your website right from your Facebook page.

The Facebook Referral Traffic Funnel

As you can see, Facebook can be leveraged for a lot more than simple likes and comments on posts; it can be fantastic lead generation tool if you use it to your advantage. Follow these 8 tips for generating referral traffic and making the most out of your Facebook efforts.

1. Update your page information
2. Use post teasers
3. Ask a question or solicit feedback
4. Create Facebook Messenger links
5. Host a Giveaway
6. Place Links In Image Captions
7. Go Live
8. Place Static HTML

We hope that you found this post useful feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
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