In the 12 years since Facebook started in a Harvard dorm room, there have been significant changes to the world’s biggest and best-loved social network. Not only is it home to an official user count of over a billion, but it’s also seen plenty of policy shifts over the years.
In their quest to balance advertising earnings with a quality user experience, they’ve stiffened policies on advertising, spam, and overly salesy posts. They’ve also given users the ability to block things that offend or annoy them, which means that it’s a lot tougher to get your message across.
Here’s what you can do to make the world’s biggest social network your best social marketing tool:
1. It’s Not About You
Facebook advertising is never about you, and what you want to sell. It’s always about your fans, and prospective fans and clients, and what they want to see or learn. Make it interesting, funny or thought-provoking, and you’ll get likes and shares.
2. Everyone Loves Free Stuff
Contests and timeline giveaways are still a guaranteed way to get more engagement because people always love free stuff. Use them to get more eyes on your page.
3. Sprinkle Liberally with Links
Remember that you probably going to make sales on your Facebook page. You need to drive traffic to your site for that. Add interesting links, and don’t forget to mix up your social media marketing strategy by linking to useful, non-competing content.
4. Get the CTA Right
If you’re going to use Facebook ads, make sure you use the right “Call To Action”, whether you want people to sign up, learn more or buy.
5. Images Work
In every study on nearly every social network, images are proven to increase engagement. Use relevant ones on your profile, be sure to add your URL or logo, and reap the benefits.
6. Ask Questions
Questions and polls work because people like to share their thoughts. Ask them on your page to get more engagement from fans.
7. Use Trends
Just like Google trends helps brands to be relevant, so do Facebook trends. Find ways to integrate them into your posts, and get seen on hot topic threads!
8. Hashtags Work
Hashtags do work on Facebook, albeit not as well as on Twitter. A few relevant hashtags can help increase your search results reach.
9. Spread the Love Around
Find highly engaging posts from related pages, and share those on your page. The other page will thank you, and you’ll get some trickle down engagement.
10. Don’t Forget Mentions
Social media is about relationships. That means relationships with fans and customers, and other businesses. Mention related pages in your posts, and you will find that they return the favor, and everyone wins.
Taken from my post at MaximizeSocialBusiness.com