When Forbes reported a decline in active Facebook users in 2014, people started wondering if Facebook advertising was on the way out. With new social networks emerging regularly, it's a legitimate concern for small business owners. But to paraphrase the Brits, "Facebook is dead. Long live Facebook!"

Reach a Large Audience

As social media evolves, Facebook has proven to be a nimble competitor despite its massive size. According to its own report, in the second quarter of 2015 alone, Facebook reached 1.49 billion active monthly users and reported $4.04 billion in revenue. Put simply, Facebook offers far too large an audience for businesses to ignore.

According to Forbes, Facebook was the only social network to experience a decline in active monthly users in 2014, while others saw large jumps in activity. However, looking forward, AdWeek predicts Facebook will continue to dominate in terms of overall numbers. Its biggest competitor, Instagram (which is owned by Facebook), has nearly 100 million fewer users, and that number is still larger than the audience held by any other social media network. Facebook helps you reach a larger audience than any other social network out there, and SMBs can target their ads to make sure that the right users in that audience are seeing their ads.

In order for a business to be successful in today's digital world, it has to have a strong online presence. In fact, according to Entrepreneur, 2.5 billion people log onto the Internet every day. This constant activity provides online marketers with a multitude of opportunities to attract new potential customers. Here are some tips for getting found online.

Content Strategy

Whether you own a dog walking service, a coffee bar or a gym, a solid content marketing strategy plays an important role in your company's online presence. By providing valuable, targeted content, you can naturally boost your search engine rankings. Furthermore, you can establish yourself as a trusted resource and a leader in your field, which will help you attract new potential customers.

Facebook offers enormous value to companies that know how to maximize the platform's capabilities for their own benefit. But many businesses aren't clear on how they should manage their Facebook presence. According to Buffer, as organic reach declines, the need for a solid Facebook engagement strategy grows. If you aren't giving your audience exactly what they want, they can always go elsewhere — social media platforms are full of competitors.

But despite the high stakes, Facebook isn't some mysterious portal to your audience. Here are 10 ways to engage with your audience and get the most out of your brand's Facebook page.

Facebook has already established itself as the gold standard for social media advertising, but now the company is striving to stake a claim as an integral component of online commerce. According to Marketing Land, Facebook is testing a new shopping feature that allows brands to host catalogs and make items available for sale right through the social network itself, which eliminates the need to drive clicks through to a separate retail website. As the Facebook shopping feature removes a step in the purchasing process, it has the potential to increase consumer shopping activity.

Facebook Establishes Itself in the Online Retail Space

After installing a "Buy" button last year to more directly drive shopping referrals from Facebook business pages, the company is now creating an even more robust commerce experience. The introduction of this Facebook shopping tool is the latest — and most significant — step made by the social network to establish itself in the online retail space. If testing goes well, a platform-hosted shop may find a permanent home underneath the "About" section of a brand's profile page.

Summer is the season for baseball, America's favorite pastime. This beloved sport has left an indelible mark on American culture. Similarly, social media has had a major impact on American society and the world as a whole. Its influence even extends to baseball itself, as teams use social media to foster connections with fans and provide them with a better game experience.

But the similarities between baseball and social media aren't merely limited to the influence of these activities on our daily lives. In many ways, the actions and rhythms that define a successful social media marketing campaign are similar to the patterns that exist in a baseball game. Here are three parallels to keep in mind.

In the wake of Google's Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird updates, SEO myths are plentiful and often seem credible. Things always seem to be changing. Is linking really beneficial? Is SEO dead? Is there a magic keyword that tops all search results? What techniques should you adopt and what should you avoid? Here are four debunked myths that will help you separate fact from fiction.

When targeted well, social media ads offer far greater value than many other forms of digital or traditional marketing. As Marketing Land notes, Facebook ad revenue grew to an estimated $8.4 billion in just 10 years, and other social networks, from Twitter to LinkedIn to Pinterest, have also jumped into the mix. The current market is seeing major growth in social media advertising, and this growth is only expected to increase over the next few years. Small business owners should be excited about what this new form of targeting means for their current efforts. A well-run social campaign can offer incredible value and high returns.

Online video is gaining plenty of momentum with audience consumption and content creation, and technology is only making both easier. Now, social media platforms are stepping up their video wares by offering an advertising platform, teasing out some of the best returns ever seen online — or anywhere, for that matter.

Although some professionals might presume social video ads are as simple as posting social updates that include video content, Twitter and other platforms are enhancing their video delivery capabilities, increasing returns and bolstering the quality of their data insight. Here's a quick breakdown of social video advertising, as well as an example of how brands can cash in quickly.

Social media is becoming a more powerful force, thanks to a new partnership between Twitter and Google. According to Marketing Land, this latest deal gives Google access to Twitter's full stream of publicly tweeted content, allowing Google to more easily find and display tweets in search engine results. This new Twitter search collaboration is a definite win for marketers, providing amazing opportunities for reaching new audiences.

Publicize Deals and Timely Tweets

Have you ever wished you could change how your business appears on Google's search engine results page to reflect your current campaigns and marketing pushes? Now you can. Since Google will be running recent tweets in its search results, you can get the word out about recent promotions in a way that wasn't possible before. For instance, a local restaurant can send out tweets that include information on a half-price appetizer promotion for Twitter followers. Diners who are searching for this restaurant on Google — perhaps to see menu information, confirm hours or make a reservation — will see that tweet and follow the restaurant on Twitter before they come in to get the deal.

When crafting a paid search strategy, marketers need to research keywords, craft an effective call-to-action and target specific demographics. Along with these components, having a solid social media strategy is crucial for several reasons that marketers might not initially consider.

Social Media as a Center of Information

Though consumers can visit your brand's official website to learn about your products or make purchases and get in touch with you, research shows that they place a growing value on social media profiles as a source of information. In fact, a recent study reported on by PR Week revealed that 50 percent of consumers searching for information on a brand look at its Facebook page first. Even if you have a paid search campaign that links directly to your website, it's vital that your social networking profiles — including Facebook and Twitter — are updated and include information relevant to your paid search campaign.