Facebook is the big kahuna of social media.

It’s also one of the must-do marketing strategies for local businesses, considering 73 percent of consumers believe Facebook is the most important social media platform for local businesses.

Businesses have gotten the message. According to a recent survey of 1,000 small business owners, 61 percent of small businesses use Facebook for marketing.

However, having a presence on Facebook and getting results from it are two different things. As you know, the recent algorithm changes on this platform have made things much harder for every business. This is especially true for smaller businesses, as some may not have the resources or staff to have a full-time Facebook expert maintaining the account.

To help you keep up with the tricks power users employ to stay ahead, we’ve gathered up the seven best tricks we know of for Facebook. These are specifically designed to make your Facebook activities go faster, and to give you a boost in tangible results.

Related Article: Is Facebook Marketing Still Worthwhile for Small Businesses?

1. Enable Reviews on Your Facebook Page

Online reviews make a big difference for small businesses. It’s one of the major ways consumers decide whether a company is worth doing business with. In fact, according to a study from G/O Digital earlier this year, 80 percent of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase from a local business if they see positive user reviews on the company’s Facebook page.

To set up reviews on your Facebook page, confirm that your page is set up under the category, “Local Business.” Then make sure you’ve got a physical address entered for your page.

Once you’ve made this change, you’ll see the Reviews tab right below your cover photo.

2. See if Someone Besides You is Logged Into Your Facebook Account

Online security is always an issue when there are so many tricksters prowling online. You need a few of your own tricks to stay safe. This is one of the best.

To find out if someone besides you is logged into your Facebook account, go to your settings page and find the “Security” folder.  Click edit on, “Where you’re logged in.” If someone besides you is in your account, you’ll see more than one entry here. It will also show their location, (usually), their IP address, browser and the device they are using.

 

3. Create an Interest List

Interest lists let you:

• Clean-up your newsfeed.
• Automatically gather posts on topics into a feed known as “content curation.”
• Track your competitors’ Facebook activity.
• Control whether anyone besides you can see your interest lists.

Here’s how to create an interest’s list:

• Go to this page: https://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/interests
• Click the “Add Interests” button.

You’ll see this:

You can follow other peoples’ interest lists or create your own.

If you choose to create your own list, in the next page you’ll see thumbnails of every page you’re currently following. Add any of those pages to your interest list or go find new pages.

Related Article: The Worst Advice We’ve Ever Heard About Social Media

4. Add More Security With Login Approval and Trusted Contacts

A login approval will require you to enter a code on your cell, and will ask for that code again if you login from a different location. Trusted contacts are a similar security measure. It’s a list of 3-5 people who are pre-authorized to help you get back into your account if something unforeseen happens.

Here’s how to create a login approval:

• Make sure you have the latest version of the Facebook app installed on your smartphone. If you don’t have a smartphone, don’t worry, there is a workaround.
• Go to Settings > Security > Login Approvals.
• You’ll be asked to check a box to, “Require a security code to access my account from unknown browsers.”
• You’ll be walked through a series of screens, which will show you what to do on your smartphone and what to do on your desktop.

 

Here’s how to add trusted contacts:

•  Go to the same Security settings page as you did before. Find the, “Trusted Contacts” option. Click “Edit.”

5. Restore Deleted Facebook Content

Sometimes things go wrong. You hit the wrong key or you hire the wrong social media consultant. Before the restore feature was added, if you deleted content on Facebook, it was gone forever. But now, you can bring it back. If you want, you can download every piece of Facebook activity from your account. It’s a nice piece of insurance.

To restore deleted content, go to your Facebook settings page. Click “Download a copy of your Facebook data” near the bottom of the page.

 On the next page you’ll see this:

Click the “Start my archive” button. You’ll be asked for your password. The system will then begin gathering up all your activity and it will send you an email with a link to download the file. For more information on exactly which data you’ll get in the file, see Facebook’s help page on the archive. 

6. Sell to Groups

Groups are very popular on Facebook.

If you’ve started one of your own, there’s a feature you should know about: there’s a way to have your group members offer sales. 

If you manage a niche group that might occasionally want to sell things to each other, this is a game-changer.

7. Create a Call to Action Button

It’s great to have a healthy following on Facebook. It’s better to be generating actual leads and sales. The best way to accomplish that is to add some strategic call to action buttons to your Facebook page.

These CTA buttons are free to set up and they let you send Facebook visitors anywhere you want. So if you’ve got a great offer, use your cover photo to urge people to click through to a landing page to get the goodies.

As of now, there are seven different CTAs available:

1. Book Now
2. Contact Us
3. Use App
4. Play Game
5. Shop Now
6. Sign Up
7. Watch Video

A study by G/O Digital from earlier this year found that discounts (especially buy-one-get-one-free discounts and discounts over 50%) are more likely to get people to click than any other tactics combined. That includes testimonials, “how to” tips, photos, videos, maps and directions, everything. Discounts get clicks.