Are you using Facebook for business? Are you doing it “right”?
Frankly I get a little peeved at all the self-righteous do-gooders who tell you that you are doing it “wrong”. But I definitely know that there are some no-no’s on Facebook. While there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” approach, there are some good tactics you can use to improve your strategy.
Make sure you aren’t making these mistakes with your Facebook marketing. You probably won’t die, but your business could suffer – even worse! 🙂
1. Not posting enough
Not posting enough is the deadly sin I see most often. I see Pages that haven’t been updated in months and sometimes years. Goodness gracious, if you are going to provide a link to your Facebook Page from your website, make sure that Page is active. If you have decided that Facebook Marketing isn’t working for your business, just take your Page down.
I recommend posting at least once per day. Some niches and Pages can do better by posting more often – the sweet spot is often somewhere between 2-5 times per day. Batch your work by scheduling some of your posts out ahead of time. I have a great product called the Social Media Success Planning Kit (shameless plug) that can help you create your Editorial and Activity Calendar to help you save time.
2. Not posting enough helpful content.
Your Page is not there for continually blasting out your marketing messages. Think of the radio stations you might listen to (ok, used to listen to – who listens to radio anymore?) – would you listen to a station that was all ads? No! You’d change the channel and never come back. Your posts should be 20% marketing messages max (I prefer 10%) and 80% education, helpful tips, and fun.
Sometimes it’s hard to find good content. I have a blog post that can help: How to Find the Best Content to Share on Social Media.
3. Not following Facebook’s rules.
Facebook isn’t policing Pages that tightly. We’ve all seen rule-breakers from the businesses who have set themselves up as a personal profile (think “JoesCoffee Shop wants to friend you” – no no no) to the Page who is violating the Cover photo rules (which have recently changed, see #6 of this post that will help you set up your Facebook Page the right way).
But just because everyone else is doing it and getting away with it doesn’t mean that you should. If everyone jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge would you do it too? No. Familiarize yourself with Facebook’s rules and keep updated on the changes. You could be in danger of having your Page shut down and Facebook does it without warning.
Especially watch the contest rules because those are often ignored and will put your Page at risk if you ignore them. Read this post to get the whole scoop: 3 Tips to Help You Run a Facebook Contest the Right Way.
4. Closing your Page to comments.
Remember that it’s called “social” media. Let people talk to you! Don’t close your page to comments because you are worried about “negative” comments. Most pages do not get negative comments and if you do, consider it valuable feedback and use it as an opportunity to show that you are listening.
Some industries such as healthcare or financial industries may need to close the page to comments to take regulations into consideration. If that is the case, mention that in your About Page so people know your reasoning.
5. Deleting Negative comments.
Do not delete negative comments. Don’t. Unless you have a troll. A troll is someone who attacks you (or the members of your community) and does not respond to attempts to take the situation offline. Oooo I don’t like those nasties. This doesn’t mean that the person cannot express their opinion, but if they continually attack you, you can delete and ban them.
Have a written policy on your Page to help you and your community understand how to behave on your Page. Even though Facebook is an open site, your Page is your sandbox and you make the rules there. On the Social Media Examiner Page, the rules are written on the About Page.
6. Not responding to posts.
This is almost as bad as not posting in months. If someone takes the time to ask a question or post a comment on your Facebook Page, respond! If someone came to your store and asked a question, you wouldn’t just stare at them. You would respond or acknowledge them in some way. If it’s spam, delete it.
7. Not getting your Fans onto your E-mail list.
This is not a deadly sin. But this will improve your Facebook marketing dramatically. You need to tie your Fans into your e-mail list so you can connect with them both on e-mail and on Facebook. Facebook could go away tomorrow and you would still have the ties to all of your Fans. Your e-mail list is yours. But how can you use Facebook to get people onto your list? Here are some ways:
- Have a special tab with a free report or white paper that you offer your fans. See my Facebook freebie tab.
- Occasionally post a link to your special freebie landing page and invite people to get it.
- Have a fantastic webinar and post about it on Facebook. I even have a page where people can listen to some of the best of Andrea’s webinars (I pop in occasionally). Then I post this link from time to time.
- Run a Facebook contest and let people know when they enter they will be added to your e-mail list.
So there you have it! Don’t make these Facebook mistakes on your page. What do you think? Are there more mistakes that I missed? Some on this list that shouldn’t be here? Let Grandma know in the comments below.
And don’t worry too much if you’ve made some of these mistakes – we are all getting better. We are getting older and wiser, right? Love ya!
Great list Grandma! I like advice from my grandma it is always done out of loving concern and we don’t even expect her to keep her teeth in to hear her out!
Thanks so much for the advice, you’re the BEST!
Great post. Number 7 – getting fans onto your email list demonstrates one of the best and most overlooked ways to slowly turn fans into customers (or repeat customers)!
Very useful tips, thank you!
good tips and I’m guilty on some counts but working on improveming
This post needs to be kept by every aspiring Facebook Fan Page owner. I’m now working on point 7. So glad it appeared! Thanks for sharing the useful tips.
Great comments as always – One question: I use Hootsuite to send my daily posts, but they are linked to my individual Facebook Account. Do you know if you can send messages from your Page through Hootsuite?
Thanks so much Donna! Yes, you can absolutely add your Facebook Page to Hootsuite. Just go to the profile picture in the upper left corner, just above the airplane and then add a social network and you can add your Facebook Page. Love Hootsuite!
So glad you liked it Vatsala! #7 is my favorite too!
That’s ok Tonia – we are all improving!
So glad you liked it Andrea – and I love your name 😉
Thanks Andrew! Yes, #7 is critical! Email is not dead 🙂
Love ya Tink!!
Teeth or no teeth, you definitely need to listen to your grandma 🙂 Thanks Consford!!
Nice post. I’m a bit rubbish at using Facebook. I tend to use twitter more often. I don’t break any of your rules though ( I’m well behaved like that!)
https://www.facebook.com/gamepsc
#7 is one I’ve been missing and it’s got my brain jumping with ideas for ‘giveaways’. Is there an “easy” way to get the emails of folks besides the ‘giveaways’ you mentioned?
Haha! 7 deadly facebook marketing sins! Hilarious and informational. Thanks. http://bodyimprovement.org
Good tips Mary thanks )). I’m no expert but most pages on Facebook are hopeless and we wonder why they bother ? Many only put the absolute min of information on their pages. Not much content, no profile photo and their main header often doesn’t exist or is totally without meaning. We do everything you suggest,,but its hard work getting ‘Likes’ please advise !! http://www.fleurcom.org
My constant thought when I read your posts is: “How can my posts, astrology topics, could have this gravity and potency as Andrea’s?”…ups…I meant Grandma’s, sorry – it was a raw thought! Your every post is BOOK, hardcopy by content, not by state of matter. Can I reach that with astrology, at Facebook?
Hee hee, glad I’m getting some credit here 🙂 I think if you just focus on what people are asking you, that is the main thing. People are always asking me about mistakes, best practices, specific techniques. So if you can just think about what people ask you as an astrologer, then it’s a win-win 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment! Love ya!
I know it’s hard work! And even if you are doing everything “right” you still end up talking to crickets sometimes – I know I do! Sometimes an advertising boost helps. Other times it’s just connecting on other Pages as your Page and participating in other’s communities that helps you increase your own community. There isn’t always a perfect answer to that question!
Thanks for stopping by
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you! No, you have to have some type of “opt-in” to get the e-mails – there is no way to access that from Facebook. That’s why having special offers is critical to your success on Facebook!
Glad to hear you aren’t a rule-breaker Ian! And it’s good to play to your strengths – if Twitter works better for you then that’s fantastic. I’m partial to Facebook but not everyone likes it, and that’s ok!
What about when you receive numerous comments in other languages that are difficult to translate (even with google translate)?
Thank you Grandma for the great article.
Do you advertise your Facebook Freebie Tab with Facebook Ads or do you promote it any other way?