Just like everyone else, Facebook marketers make mistakes. Just like any other type of mistake, some are acceptable and some are flat out inexcusable. In Facebook marketing, it’s important to avoid these blunders, as some can result in negative feedback from your fans, which is “the silent killer” of Facebook Pages. Let’s take a look at some of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Warning – this post might come off as a bit too harsh. But let’s be real, I’m not here to pamper you, I’m here to make you a better Facebook marketer.
1. Buying Facebook Fans
***To be clear, this is referring to buying sites from websites like this. This is not referring to Facebook ads, which are actually a great way to buy targeted, relevant fans.***
When you first create a Facebook Page, you’ll face a sad reality– there aren’t thousands (or even hundreds) of people flocking to your Page and clicking the oh-so-important ‘Like’ button. You’ll be tempted by a laundry list of third-party services that promise to deliver fans for fractions of a cent– or even free. Don’t take the bait. These ‘likes’ are completely worthless to you. In fact, they can even hurt you, as the lack of engagement from these fans will effectively tell Facebook that your posts aren’t engaging and can lead to Facebook not showing your posts to your other fans– ya know, the real people who like your page.
Solution: If you have no budget, patience is the best solution. Increase the visibility of your page by adding a ‘like’ button to your website or blog– it’s easy. If you do have a budget (even a very small budget), use Facebook ads and Sponsored Stories (how to) to target relevant Facebook users who are or may become customers in the future.
2. Posting Totally Irrelevant Content
This drives me (and I’d imagine many other Facebook users) absolutely bizerk. Posting totally irrelevant content (usually photos) will garner some engagement– but it comes at a cost. These types of post get the most negative feedback– and that comes at a great cost, especially if it’s from some of your most loyal fans. For example, don’t post this:
Yes, I understand this picture has thousands of engagements. It’s okay for George Takei to post this because that’s what his page is– a page of silly memes and photos and things he finds interesting. If your page is your business, stick to your business. It’s ok to have some fun occasionally– a post like this might be a good way to have fun once every week or two– but it still should be relevant. The photo above might qualify as fun-but-relevant if your page is for a pet store or pet grooming business.
Solution: Be relevant with your posts, and don’t have too much fun too often. Negative feedback hurts more than engagement helps. Here’s a great example of how you can be fun while still being relevant. Constant Contact (the Page below) often posts social media tips for small businesses. In this photo, they ask about social media pet peeves while including a funny photo. Well done, Constant Contact, well done.
3. Posting Targeted Content to ALL YOUR FANS
When your fans see your post in their news feed, it should provide some sort of value to them. If it only provides value to some of them, target those fans. There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re missing out on something. Check out this example below from one of my favorite bands.
Solution: Use Facebook’s targeting feature when it makes sense to do so. If you don’t, you’re likely to disappoint your fans (like I was) or annoy them. It’s really simple to do so, as you can read here or see below.
4. Failing to Delete the URL in a Link-type Post
This one probably isn’t the end of the world, but it just looks so sloppy. Plus, it’s unnecessary when users have A GIANT BOX they can click on to go to your link. If someone can explain to me why they do this, I’d love to hear an explanation. I’m probably in the minority here, but I will not click on a post with a double link like this. It seems too pushy.
Solution: Delete the link after the link preview comes up. It’s really that simple. If you’re posting a link as a photo-type post, the link in the body of the post is obviously necessary– but if it’s a link-type post, delete it! If you can’t remember to do it on your own, sign up for PostRocket, we do it (and much more) automatically for you.
5. Failing to Respond to User Posts/Comments
The whole point of this Facebook-Marketing-thing is to engage with your community, right? It baffles me that Pages don’t acknowledge fans who are kind enough to comment on their posts or give some feedback by posting on a Page’s wall. It’s so easy to go to your Page and ‘like’ a comment or post by a fan, you have no excuse not to.
Additionally, whether you like it or not, Facebook Pages have become a place where customers/users go for support when they run into problems with products or services. You wouldn’t ignore a support email or phone call, so don’t ignore your Facebook fans either.
Source – [PostRocket]
