It seems like everywhere you look, there are articles, research and opinions on the best practices for Facebook page marketing. However, it’s just as important to know what mistakes to avoid. Here’s our list of what NOT to do when marketing your business on Facebook.
1. Not having a Facebook page for your business
This should be a no-brainer. Millions of people log on to Facebook every day…your customers included! Creating a Facebook page for your business will help you stay connected with customers, as well as provide opportunities for potential customers to get to know your business.
2. Having an incomplete Facebook profile
Once you’ve created a business page, be sure to include important contact information such as address, phone number, website, hours of operation in the About section. Also writing a short introduction of your business and including any important “milestones” in your history are both useful ways to build your profile.
3. Choosing an ineffective cover photo
The cover photo was introduced earlier this year when Facebook converted to Timeline. The cover photo is the large image displayed across the page. It needs to be 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall in order to display correctly. The cover photo can be any unique image you believe best conveys your business – a storefront photo, a picture of your staff or popular products. Likewise, your profile photo is the smaller photo but it’s very important to use the “right” image in your profile since this is the image that will appear any time you interact throughout Facebook – commenting, liking, sharing, etc. The company logo or a professional photo of the solo-practitioner are great ideas for profile photos.
4. Using too much text
According to Facebook statistics, updates with 100-250 characters (or 1-2 lines of text) get 60% more likes than longer ones, so keep your posts short, sweet and to the point.
5. Leaving the link URL in the text field
Along the lines of keeping your updates short and sweet, if you are linking to another site (your latest blog post, for instance), first enter your link URL to the outside site into the status update text box. Once the title and thumbnail appear, delete the actual URL from the text box. Your post will look streamlined and easier to read.
6. Posting irrelevant content
Keep in mind that with a Facebook business page (as opposed to a personal page), it’s all about your brand. Keep your postings consistent with your business brand and only post useful and interesting content geared toward the interests of your customers.
7. Posting too often
Quality over quantity – a good rule of thumb to use when posting on Facebook. A few meaningful posts a week will generate more positive engagement with customers than posting multiple times a day, every single day.
8. Focusing too much on getting more Likes
Yes it is important to generate Likes for your Facebook page. However it is also important to increase the number of shares and comments on your posts. Comments and shares indicate your page is reaching the right audience, and is eliciting positive engagement. Keep building your likes, but don’t forget to focus on engagement.
9. Becoming predictable
Luckily Facebook isn’t just about status updates anymore. Take advantage of the various types of posts available: Photos, Videos, Contests, and Polls. Keep your fans coming back for more by varying your content.
10. Ignoring Insights
For pages with more than 30 likes, Facebook offers “Insights” – a tool for page admins to evaluate the effectiveness and reach of their posts. Information such as what posts generate the most activity, and the number of friends (and friends of friends) who see each post can help to determine what types of posts work best for your business.
These are just a few points to keep in mind when building and maintaining your Facebook page. Facebook is a medium with an unmatched ability to reach more people than ever before. Does your business use social media? What have you discovered works best on your page and for your audience? Please share your experiences below.
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