Some companies post and post and post yet no one comments or likes. They feel like they’re talking to a wall. One of the more common mistakes in companies’ Facebook marketing strategies is constantly marketing a product and linking to their own content. In other words, their Facebook page reads like a chest thumping machine.
These tips give you ideas for creating a variety of status updates. Also play with the posting days and times. Research on posting Facebook updates reports that the better times to post are after working hours and on weekends. Again, test to see what works. You don’t have to ask employees to work after hours because Facebook allows company pages to schedule most updates.
1. Curate and share valuable links. When you find an interesting read that’s relevant to your audience, post it along with short commentary. Look around Facebook for links from other pages to share. People appreciate it when others share their content and they may return the favor.
2. Be mindful of self-serving updates. Facebook gives you plenty of opportunities to create offers and link to your content using its tabs. (Tabs are boxes for Photos, Events, etc. See screen shot.) You can create tabs that allow people to subscribe to your email newsletter, download a white paper, follow your Twitter account and so on. How often should you share self-serving content? There’s no rule of thumb other than avoid having back-to-back self-serving updates.
3. Share tips, news, facts, updates and quotes. Share a tip in your area of expertise and start it with “TIP” to make it stand out so people will instantly know what it is. You can do the same for news, facts, updates and quotes. Do you have a community like a forum or discussion board? Post a user-submitted tip and link back to the forum.
4. Invite action. This is different from asking a question because you’re asking them to do something they may not necessarily do in Facebook. For example, post your latest Instagram photo in Facebook and invite people to connect with your Instagram account. Run a contest where people take photos of using your product and share them in Instagram or Pinterest.
5. Post a diversity of updates. Don’t just have all links or all images. Post image-only updates, text-only updates and a mix.
6. Introduce employees. People connect with people, not faceless companies. Introduce a different employee every week along with a photo. It doesn’t have to be a professional headshot. Get creative! You could post photos of their desk, volunteering or celebrating.
7. Select a fan of the week or month. Before posting, contact fans to make sure it’s OK to post their photos and name. Ask a question or two that you can add to the post.
8. Share customer stories. Customers could write testimonials or share their stories of how your company helped them. These could be in a video, image or text.
9. Postpone asking questions. Some Facebook updates ask a question in every single update. It loses potency. Besides if you don’t have many fans, it’ll look like no one ever replies. Wait until you’ve built a decent fan base and they start responding.
Think of your Facebook page as a place where you meet prospects for the first time. You wouldn’t jump right into the sale or talk with a formal tone. You can be friendly and personable. Don’t be afraid to use clean humor or conversational writing in your updates.
What other tips do you have for a company’s Facebook page?