I follow several Facebook pages just to see what they’re doing. Some are competition, others are pages I think are run really well, and all of them provide examples of things to do or not do on your business Facebook page.
Today, I have three examples from my Facebook feed of what not to do on your page.
1. The Over-Complicated Request
I’m all for engaging your fans to help you win contests. In fact, that’s a really smart thing to do. They already like your page so chances are, you can rely on their support.
Where this crumbles is when getting their participation asks them to take several steps to help you out, especially when they get nothing in return. The below screenshot is an example of an overly complicated request. The poster asks fans to take 6 steps to vote for the company so they can have a barbeque. The fans get nothing, why would they want to go to that much trouble?
Solution: Instead of spelling out each step, provide your fans with a clickable link that takes them directly to the voting page. Don’t ask them to search for anything or do anything complicated, just make it as easy as possible for them and you will be much more likely to get their support.
2. The All-Caps Post
I remember when my parents first really started emailing. My mom was perfect, a benefit of her college typing classes. My dad, however wasn’t ever really a typer and didn’t use a computer for work, so he wasn’t quite as elegant. I could always tell when my dad was emailing me from their account because it looked like the Facebook post below. All caps.
In the online world, all caps is considered yelling. While I don’t bother getting offended by all caps, it gives readers the impression that the status post was written by someone who isn’t very savvy and people could take it wrong. While I absolutely love the sincerity of this post, it could be off-putting to many audiences.
Solution: Don’t post in all caps. An all-cap word here and there for emphasis is fine, but entire sentences is overkill. Instead, write your posts in sentence case. An even better solution is to post a photo image that conveys what you want your message to say and just add one or two heartfelt sentences to support it. Images get the most interaction so if you want the furthest reach, opt for images supplemented by text.
3. The “We Hired a Service to Post to Facebook for Us” Post
There’s nothing wrong with enlisting a service to help manage your Facebook page, especially if you don’t have an employee to manage your page. However, a problem that can arise in doing this is cookie-cutter posts that aren’t unique to your page.
I kid you not, 8 different pages I follow posted the same exact post as shown below. Since social media has become the new customer service platform, having robo-posts show that there isn’t a live person behind your posts. Plus, robo-posts often aren’t tailored to your business.
Solution: Have a trusted employee who knows your business manage your Facebook page. They can read a few articles to learn some best practices to follow and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time. If you are set on having a company manage your page, discuss options to keep the voice of your posts unique and avoid the cookie-cutter posts shown on all of your competitor’s pages.
Biz Life Tech 