Five Facebook Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

5 Facebook Posting Mistakes to Avoid and How to OvercomeCreating profitable Facebook pages takes time, effort, and strategy.

It is not at all a “if you build it, they will come” once and done “field of dreams” type situation.  Facebook page marketing success takes time and effort.  As a developer of apps that over 80,000 businesses use on Facebook, we’ve seen a lot of Facebook Pages!

Here are five common Facebook mistakes that small and medium businesses make on Facebook, and pointers on how your page can avoid such mistakes!

1. One Way Communication

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Social media, by its very definition, is an interactive medium where users engage with one another. One-way communication is a sure way to ensure that the fans gradually fritter away, disinterested. Even if it may not be possible to personally respond to the 1000+ comments that a post attracts, it is easy to simply like the comment, and reply to comments that do deserve a reply.

Solution: Create formal mechanisms to give feedback, post complaints or offer suggestions. The very basics of social communication needs to be met at all times – a word of thanks for suggestions, or a communication in the lines of “the complaint is being reviewed and the appropriate personnel would contact you via email” is in order.

2. Posting Primarily Sales Messages

Today’s customers have wisened up and see through obvious marketing pitches. A recent Pew Study estimates that 58% of Americans research on a product online before they make a purchase. They primarily seek information on the product, specifically how the product would fulfil their needs, and how the product is more value-for-money compared to competitor products. Businesses who are guilty of using their Facebook page as free real estate to park their ads invariably find their fan base dwindling.

Solution: Offer product and brand information through your Facebook pages in easy to digest capsules of information. Use e-books and case studies to highlight product features and benefits.  Be a resource, not just a selly sell infomercial!  Try this: 80% tips and resourcing from your content and others, 20% more direct sales type posts.

3. Auto-posting your Twitter Messages

Facebook users invariably have Twitter accounts as well, and most users subscribe to companies and people they like through all these channels. Auto-posting the same things from another social media channels may seem to make the marketer’s job easy, but provides their followers with good reasons to stop patronizing the Facebook page!  Twitter is different than Facebook!  Posting 140 characters and having your “@ replies” going to your Facebook page is NOT HELPFUL.  Different networks require different types and styles of communication.

Solution: Even when communicating the same message, marketers need to customize for the channel, and offer differentiation. In differentiating messages, marketers can leverage the unique style and culture of each different channels. Twitter, for instance, it is best to communicate a link 60-80% of the time or a short and succinct message. The link could actually be to the Facebook page that provides in-depth details, a compelling infographic, and discussions.

4. Posts that are too wordy and have no call to action

Yes, Facebook posts can accept well over 5,000 characters.  That doesn’t mean you should!

According to data by Kissmetrics and shared by Post Planner, “posts with 80 characters or less get 66% more engagement.”

Yes, we did say that being to “selly” is a problem.  However, a CTA, call to action does not have to be a pitch to buy!  Good calls to action that work, according to research data by Dan Zarrella, include actions to “Like”, “Share”, and “comment”.  These are calls to action that can be integrated!

People flock to the social media to interact with friends and do things. Posts that offer mere information, such as say prices, may attract a few likes, but the game-changers would come from posts that have definite call-to-action, something that creates an activity or engagement. Wordy and bland content, even if informative, may put off fans, harried as they are with information overload.

Solution: Offer calls to action, ranging from a link to the ecommerce page that leads to a special discount, or a fun-trivia quiz that deepens engagement, anything that would interest the followers to come back for more from time to time.

5. Not paying attention to design in images and tabs

For many businesses – guilty as charged!  Yes, you are busy but don’t just throw out a form with no offer and invitation.  That’s BORING!  Social Media in particular is visual and so you must communicate visually.  Common errors are no design or way too much competing imagery.  Images and design should not detract or deter, but should enhance and clarify.

Are you inspired to sign-up here?

constant-contact-basic-email-sign-up

This is boring.  It DOES NOT inspire me to submit my email address!

Solution: Attention to design ranks as a time tested Facebook marketing tip. Facebook users, like all Internet users, face information overload as marketers, friends, and myriad others of all vie for their attention with different content. Attractive designs in images and tabs serve to attract such users and bring them into the page, after which the content itself does its job of engaging such users.

It is not enough that the marketing content has meat, and that the strategy is in place. Successful, appropriate and helpful delivery through social media channels is critical to your success!

Any more items to add to the list?

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About Mike Gingerich

Mike Gingerich, President of Digital Hill & TabSite is a business blogger Marketer and Consultant. Part geek, part marketer, part strategist, total fitness and running junkie. Mike is an author and speaker, having presented at Social Media Week Lima, Social Media Camp (Canada) and more. Mike is a marketing, social media, and business startup enthusiast with 10+ years experience building apps, consulting, and training businesses with winning integrated strategies. Mike loves deploying tactics to increase awareness, sales, and maximize ROI in both B2B and B2C markets via digital media.