Do's and Don'ts of Marketing on Facebook

Facebook is still the most powerful Social Media platform available to marketers, allowing super targeted ads and also the ability to create highly engaging communities. It has the ability to generate £1000's daily (with a matching budget) but can also generate revenue organically with more time input. Many businesses and marketers ruin the experience for others by posting spammy irrelevant content on their pages, and also in many groups. As with any Social Media platforms, there is an etiquette. In this blog post I will discuss what you should and shouldn't be doing when marketing your business of Facebook.

DON'T...

Set up an account as a business

Thus violates Facebook's Terms of Service and will result in an instant ban. Instead, give employees the relative permissions in the "Page Roles" section in your Page admin panel.

Just post sales posts

You should not just create posts that are advertising your products or services, this will only annoy your audience. Instead, post useful and valuable content your audience wants to see. Always aim to inform, educate or entertain your audience.

Spam Facebook Groups

This is one of the most annoying tactics that marketers use, and this actually stops people from engaging in groups. It's a huge pet hate of mine. As Gary Vaynerchuk says, MARKETERS RUIN EVERYTHING. You should never ever mindlessly share your posts into groups without actually engaging or worse still - posting completely irrelevant content into a group! There are better ways to market your business in Facebook groups and this is again by providing value and actually engaging with the group members. If you are going to post in Facebook groups, remember to actually engage in previous posts and don't use the same copy and paste message, often there are people in multiple groups and will see your message many times.

Automate everything

Automation definitely has its place on Facebook, however every interaction with your audience should not be automated. Never use generic replies to your audience as this is impersonal and makes them feel like you don't care about what they have to say. Keep your interactions personal by including names no replying directly to what the comment says. Make sure to include up-to-date posts showing what's going on NOW in your business.

Use click bait headlines or articles

Click bait headlines are spammy looking headlines that entice you to click, like "you will NEVER believe what this girl did..." which doesn't even state what users will find in the article. Usually these articles are used to generate clicks on pop up ads to get revenue. This is very bad practise and will often lose you your audience, plus Facebook now doesn't show as much of it. 

Leave your companies "About" section blank

Often, I visit businesses Facebook Pages and their About section is completely empty. You cannot usually tell what a business does by its name and their posts, you have to tell people. Avoid using too must industry jargon as this could confuse potential customers if they are not up-to-date. 

Take ages to reply

Don't take a long time to respond to your customers comments or queries, as most expect a reply within a few hours. Make sure to check your pages messages often, or even better - have the Pages Manager app downloaded on your phone. This means you can reply to your customers on the go. 

...Or ignore your customers

Customers will often comment on your posts either making conversation or with comments about your business. Make sure you reply to as many as possible. It's SOCIAL Media remember?

DO...

Pay attention to data

Make sure to pay attention to what the analytics are telling you about your audience. See what post times and types of content work best by going into the Insights tab at the top of your page. In the same area, you can also see your audience demographics. This gives you a much greater insight into what's working and what's not in your Facebook marketing.

Compare pages with competitors

You should always keep an eye on competitors, and Facebook allows you to do that easily. Add competitors pages into your insights tab and you can compare some of their data with yours. This is also pretty fun if you're competitive ????

Deliver great customer service

Great customer service goes a long way, and Tesco is definitely great at this. What started as a lighthearted complaint turned into a viral sensation after Rob from Tesco's Customer Care team thought up a brilliant poem in reply to this customer. Many news outlets across the world covered this, this could be your chance for some press coverage!

Stay true to your brand

Even when you're not sharing your own content, make sure you are still sharing content that is relevant to your brand and its mission. 

Take advantage of Facebook check-ins

This can be a great way to raise awareness of your event or your brick and mortar store. Encourage customers to check-in to your business in Facebook by offering them discounts or freebies when they're in store. This means that their friends will see that they are at your shop which can encourage word-of-mouth advertising, which is still the most powerful form of advertising.

Ask people to join a group

If you have a group dedicated to your business on Facebook, never just invite people willy nilly as it will annoy the, and they may not be interested. Always ask first. Think small and engaged rather than large and empty. 

Add a "like" button on your blog or newsletter

To encourage potential customers to stay in contact and up to date with your business, place a like button onto your website with a reason for them to like your page. 

Tag other businesses in posts

When you are at an event, tag the businesses that are in the photos and videos as often as possible as this will show your content to their audience. This can work very well if you are sharing their content like a blog post or page on their website, and can even encourage industry leaders to engage with your page. Make sure not to post the same businesses multiple times in a short period as this can irritate them. 

Be a human!

Nobody likes talking to a robot! Show a human side the my our brand by giving an insight to behind the scenes and of your business and showing the people behind your brand. Participate in Internet challenges,take the odd selfie with a purpose, have fun with Social Media. People like to see the businesses they are working with or buying from. 

What do you want to know about Facebook marketing? Ask us in the comment box below!