It’s 2018, and Facebook has been a go-to marketing platform for several years now. The immense social media platform sees over 2.2 billion monthly active users—an average of 1.45 billion people log on every day—and five new accounts are created every second. You know by now not to use a group or individual user profile to represent your business instead of a page, and not to mimic your competitors too much, but there are still mistakes that may be impeding your Facebook marketing efforts in ways you have not considered.
Oversharing
You are aware that you should post content regularly, but oversharing can alienate your followers. No one wants to see their timelines bombarded with your posts that grow gradually irrelevant. Share only what you believe will be of genuine interest to them: visuals, facts, stories, user-generated content, and more. Your followers do not need a play-by-play of what is happening at your office.
Depending on automation
Automation makes your life easier, so do not feel guilty for taking advantage of it. Platforms like Hootsuite enable you to schedule posts so you can regularly update your array of channels at times your followers are most active. This ability saves you the trouble of logging on several times throughout each day and provides more opportunities for experimentation (and you can focus on other facets of your business).
Becoming overly dependent on automation can be your downfall, though. If you do not set aside time to interact with your followers, you will lose them. You want your followers to feel seen and heard, so make sure you are addressing their complaints, accepting their compliments, and answering questions. Throwing numerous posts onto your Facebook timeline only to forget about them is not an efficient way of building healthy relationships with your customers.
Staying a stranger
On a related note, the more you engage with followers (don’t just tally their comments; respond to as many as you can), the better you will get to know them. People are distrustful of faceless companies, so you need to remind them that there are people on the other end of your business. To appeal to your audience as best you can, get to know them on a personal level: what do they like? Dislike? What are their thoughts regarding your brand?
Your followers are also increasingly mobile. Many of them are always on the go, so make sure your content headlines are something they will have the energy to read and optimize everything for phones and other mobile devices. This is where SEO comes into play, which drives traffic to your channels and website. If you are not an SEO specialist and do not have one working for you, you can partner with firms like 180fusion that can help you navigate the world of keywords, backlinks, and metadata to generate content that potential customers are more likely to see.
Using shortened URLs
Shortened links save you characters, but Twitter may be more appropriate for them. A recent study found that internet users click on full-length URLs three times more than shortened ones. URLs often give away bits of information regarding your content (or links to external pages), while shorter versions make it easier to hide fraudulent websites. People are cautious, so be transparent with what you post.
Engagement-baiting
Marketing is more effective if it encourages organic engagement. It is unwise to start posts with the words “Comment on/like this post if you think *opinion* about *noun*.” Not only is this technique plainly manipulative, people see it everywhere, and they are tired of it. Even if internet users agree with what you say, they may be inclined to not share your post out of pure spite. And who can blame them? No one likes being told what to do, and saying “comment on or like this post” is desperate. What if you were standing in a room full of people shouting “give me a high five if you enjoy tacos” or “come tell me how much you like Beyonce!”? You would avoid them.
You need to encourage interaction more subtly or give followers incentive to do so. Ask thought-provoking questions or reward them with something (possibly points, exclusive privileges, or insider access to future announcements depending on what is relevant). Facebook announced its intent to crack down on clickbait posts, so don’t be lazy with how you get your followers to engage with you.
Facebook is a simple platform to use, but that does not mean fully taking advantage of it is easy. What Facebook marketing mistakes have you made that you can learn from?
