Facebook has come a long way from the friend-finder and local network site that it once was. With their widely used ad platform and a user base recently surpassing 1 billion people, there’s no reason why you can’t use Facebook to reach people would be interested in purchasing from you. However, there are many pitfalls you might not be aware of that could be throwing your Facebook campaign off track.
1) You feed the trolls
Everyone wants to be heard. Not everyone is going to give you constructive criticism about your product or service.
In some cases, you’ll find people just seeking attention for themselves by antagonizing your business page (you DID set up a business page, right?). Your business and Facebook presence are too important to get caught up in baseless debates and antagonizing.
Dealing with hecklers is a part of the internet experience when growing a business, but it doesn’t have to affect your public image or your bottom line.
Don’t engage them. Block them. Immediately.
2) You’re not giving people something to DO
Don’t just post photos, ask people’s opinions. Post links to your offers and articles. GET. PEOPLE. CLICKING.
Offering people something to do allows you to test how the effectiveness of your calls to action and the attractiveness of your offers. After a 2-5 minute brainstorm you should have some ideas for different mini-experiments to find out what people will respond to.
Your customers matter and you should know what it is that concerns them and keeps them up at night (besides browsing through their friends’ photos). You want to find out what their pain points are so your business can solve their problems better. By prompting your Facebook fans to take an action, or learn more about a product or service, you can discover what they really want.
Lately, Facebook has been incorporating more call-to-action buttons to do things like making purchases and reservations. From your customer’s point of view, this lowers the friction of getting OUT of Facebook to do something on another page. It’s also good for you because you can get your customer into your sales funnel more efficiently.
3) Buying ads is fine… but NEVER purchase “likes”
A “like” means that people want to hear more from your business through the medium of Facebook. The overall purpose of a “like” in the case of your business is bringing your leads one step closer to becoming customers and advocates for your business online. Sorry to disappoint the hopeless romantics among you, but the “like” button is nothing more than a lead generation tool.
Spammers and robots have never purchased anything in the history of the world, and they will not start with buying from you. Yes, having a lot of likes has the surface-level social proof value of “a lot of people like this page, it must be good!” However, you’re better off getting attention from real people who are interested in your offerings. Facebook is a long-term, long-tail marketing channel. Purchasing likes is a short-term tactic with little (if any) return on investment.
4) You’re not serving your community a balanced diet of content
A “balanced diet” approach to content can help your Facebook page stand out from others and keep people interested in what you have to say.
Sometimes you can talk about your industry in terms of updates, news, and interesting soundbites. Once in a while, a cat picture wishing everyone a great day is fine.
Keep in mind, at the end of the day your page is being seen and clicked on by another person. You might have an idea of who they are but as to what keeps them interested and engaged is anyone’s guess.
In order to keep your relationship fresh it’s always good to have relevant and valuable content.
What does a “balanced diet” look like for a Facebook page?
- 75% – Brand message content. These are posts about you and your business.
- 15% General news in your industry, events (not specific to your business)
- 10% – Off-message and accessible with wide appeal (think cat photos, motivational quotes)
This mixture allows you to gain likes and shares and stay engaged with your audience. It’s is often just as effective as paid advertising.
Keeping your page interesting opens up more eyes to your message, giving the impression that your brand is approachable and not simply out for profit.
5) You’re thinking in terms of desktops, not phones.
Most Facebook users access the service via mobile apps. If your images and posts aren’t mobile-friendly (can you read it clearly on your phone screen?) you have a long journey ahead of you.
Imagine all the fans you could be getting if you only sized your images for phones or made your text 1% easier to read on a smartphone. This not only frees up brain power for the user, (making them unconsciously like you more), it also puts you ahead of your competition who isn’t optimizing their approach for smartphones. Point-and-tap rather than point-and-click is rapidly becoming the way of the world. Jumping on this bandwagon can only help your efforts.
Using Facebook the right way
At the end of the day, Facebook is just a tool, and your results depend on how you use it. There are countless pages using Facebook the right way to get their business in front of more screens. Countless others fall into the common traps outlined above. The best Facebook pages are managed by savvy marketers who stay up-to-date with the latest trends and constantly test new ways of doing things to achieve better results.
Experimarketing can handle your Facebook presence to create an engaging and consistently updated page that will generate leads and increase repeat business for your firm. Learn more about our social media services or send us a message to discuss how we can help you achieve your goals today!