Last Updated: Jan 3, 2014
Promoting your business with Facebook isn’t as easy as creating a page and posting your sales. If you want to use Facebook to the fullest, be sure you aren’t making one of these five common mistakes.
So, you did what you’re supposed to do and got yourself a Facebook page for your business. That’s a great first step. Then, you set up the page, included some good-looking graphics, started posting, and gained a few followers.
After a whole lot of rinse and repeat, you’re seeing the same problem as so many other business owners: You’re putting a whole lot of time into it but not seeing much in the way of results.
It might be that you’re making some of these five mistakes.
You’re Asking Instead of Giving
Do you go to Facebook anxiously hoping to see a bunch of ads and specials? Very few people would answer, “yes” to that question but if that’s how you’re using your page, don’t expect people to respond.
Don’t take the social out of social media. People use Facebook to connect with others and consume information that’s valuable to them – all for free.
If you run a bakery, Facebook is the perfect place to post a cookie recipe. If you repair mobile devices, post a review of a new product or little known tips and tricks on its operation.
If you gear the bulk of your content toward giving to your customers, you can throw in an occasional sales announcement.
Related: 7 Reasons People Aren’t Engaging With Your Business on Facebook
You Aren’t Using the Apps
Look on the right side of your page just below your big image at the top. Those boxes are areas to install apps. There are apps to link your Twitter or YouTube page or you can create custom pages using HTML. A whole host of other features can transform your Facebook page into a feature-rich experience much like your website.
If you’re not as tech-savvy as you would like, you might need help with this task but increasingly pages that use the apps to their advantage are finding better engagement rates.
Before you decide that this is too techy for you to figure out, click on one of the app boxes and explore. Some of the apps are easy to use.
It’s All Text
Long before images and videos were easy to make, it was all about text but those days are over. Text is still important but people looking at your posts don’t want just to read your words, they want to see and hear what’s going on with your business through other media.
Make a video. Your social media audience doesn’t care if it’s cinematic quality. They’re fine with a candid video and from time to time, something a little nicer.
Post some images. You don’t have to be an amazing photographer. Take a picture of an event, something being made at your facility, or something else that fits your business.
Your Posts Are Too Long
Save all of those words for your blog. A Facebook post should be just long enough to say what you need to say. That means a couple of lines at the most. Check out your Facebook news feed. Have you seen those posts that say “see more”? Never let a post get so long that a reader has to “click to see more.”
It doesn’t have to be as short as your Twitter posts but remember that your readers are skimming your content. They aren’t going to take the time to read many words and there’s a better than average chance that they won’t leave their news feed. You only have a few words to make a big impact.
You Aren’t Paying
To what extent this is true is the subject of much debate but what is becoming increasingly clear is that being noticed on Facebook means paying to get your page and its content in front of more eyes.
Those big businesses that seem to have Facebook figured out are paying. The good news is that you don’t need to have a multimillion-dollar budget to get started.
You could “boost” a single post or promote your page. There are different targeting options so your page is in front of the right audience and you can start with as little as $5 per day or a fixed amount per post.
You can read more about promotion in the help section of Facebook.
Bottom Line
There are many businesses just like yours on Facebook and they set up a presence to take advantage of the free advertising that comes with social media.
If you did the same thing, change your way of thinking. Set out to give something to your customers. Make it valuable—something they can only find on your page, and give it away free. If you see that it’s getting positive feedback, pay to promote it and drive more people to your page.
Repeat all or some of these tips and you will see your page begin to give back to you.
© 2013 Attard Communications, Inc., DBA Business Know-How®. May not be reproduced, reprinted or redistributed without written permission.
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