FaceBook Business Page Mistakes
By Elmalla A. on October 20, 2017
Originally written for HalalWorld.
Many businesses are feeling overwhelmed by the constant changes on Facebook and are finding it challenging to properly reach their fans. If this is you, then don’t worry. You’re not alone. Today I’ll be talking you through the Facebook business page mistakes, top five.
1. Ignoring Comments
Ignoring comments from your fans. Customers are posting a lot to Facebook business pages when they want to communicate with a brand. Whether this is a complaint, a negative comment, a question, or a positive comment, you need to be making sure that you’re responding to them. Remember, don’t argue with your fans or delete negative comments, otherwise this will come back and bite you. Unless it’s a spammer, of course. You need to be deleting those spam comments.
2. Promotional Posts
Overuse of promotional posts. Time after time I see companies overpromoting themselves, especially e-commerce companies pushing out their products. The Facebook algorithm actually changed in January 2015, to reduce the amount your promotional posts are shown. So if your Facebook strategy is based purely on pushing out promotional posts, then you really need to review this and mix up your content.
3. Posting too often or Seldom
Posting too often or seldom. Posting too often can really frustrate your target audience and may cause them to actually unlike your page. And vice versa, if you’re not posting enough, then your customers will just forget about your existence online. The recommended amount of times to actually post is about once a day.
4. Creating Differentiation
Not creating differentiation. Are you articulating what sets your business apart from your competitors? If not, why not? Most people tend to use a tactic called Me Too Marketing, which is where they will mimic their competitors’ posts. Whilst this might work in the short term, you really need to be thinking about long term on how to set yourself apart from your competitors, whether it’s pushing out your USP or just mixing up that content.
5. Boost Button
Using only the Boost button for paid advertising. Facebook really does encourage you to use the Boost button at every opportunity, and it can be very addictive to use. It’s very good to amplify your content that has done well, but it does have its limitations. Always take into consideration the Ads Manager and Power Editor tool, which gives you the options of that granular targeting, placement and bidding, which may help to promote your content a whole lot better. So think about your Facebook strategy in terms of paid posts before you hit that Boost button.
6. Violating Facebook's Terms
Not only is it critical to know how Facebook works and what tools are available, it's also important to know the rules of the road—something that many businesses miss. "Every day I see organizations endangering the communities they are growing by violating the terms they agreed to when their Facebook presence was created," says small business marketing consultant Lisa Jenkins . What are the most common violations? Some build a community on a personal page instead of a proper Facebook Page. Others fail to abide by Facebook's rules around running contests. And don't even think about "tagging" people who are in an image without their permission. "Tagging people to get their attention is not only a violation of Terms but can be reported by those you are tagging as abusive behavior on your part—which brings your violation to Facebook’s attention and opens your page’s content to review," warns Jenkins. To avoid these common mistakes, invest time in learning about the Facebook platform, educate yourself on how to build and sustain an audience, and don't forget to engage with people like you do in real life. "What sets small businesses apart from large companies is their ability to make personal connections with customers," says Ben Nesvig of FuzedMarketing . "They tend to forget this when they join Facebook, yet it's their biggest strength and asset."
So there we have it. Those are my top six Facebook business page mistakes. Not every Facebook mistake will be fatal, but most can cause a loss of momentum or opportunity.
Elmalla A. (@elmalla) is Chief Sales Officer at e-HALALWORLD, which focuses on digital marketing services.