15 Common Mistakes Your Business Can Avoid On Facebook
These common mistakes are not to be overlooked. They each play an important part with the success your business is going to have on Facebook. If you are looking to have a successful page, you want it to have a stronger presence against the competitors in your industry, avoiding these common mistakes will ensure your business will succeed on Facebook.
With 2.6 Billion monthly users you want to be using this power user base to your advantage. With people getting more comfortable with searching for businesses and products through Facebook having a strong presence will help your business thrive on the platform.
#1 – Only promoting their product on their page as content.
Your page should not just be used for promoting your business or service. Clogging your page with nothing but your business’s offerings does not work. It doesn’t help grow your business, it will only annoy people.
Filling your page with valuable content that is relevant to your industry is the best way to start the potential relationship with your customer. This will avoid you being perceived as a shady, untrustworthy and dishonest business. You have Give Give Give, then Take.
#2 – Ignoring Negative Feedback.
All feedback is valuable, even the negative, so not considering it is a big mistake. When replying to the feedback you can justify yourself and stand behind your product. Not addressing negative feedback shows other potential customers that it’s true, as there has been no justification or response from the business.
#3 – Replying late to messages.
Replying late to messages is harmful in more ways than one. Firstly it can jeopardize your potential relationship with the person who sent the message. Secondly, if you don’t reply you’ll have a long “typically replies within” which reduces the chance of someone initiating a message.
Making sure that notifications are enabled will avoid missing any messages. This will increase your chances of building a positive relationship and to receive the green badge within Messenger.
#4 – Not Engaging With Comments
Engaging with comments is super important, it encourages other users to comment and engage. People are less inclined to leave comments when they feel they won’t get a response. It’s simply seen as a waste of time for them.
Before posting, put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think about what questions they will ask or if the post will stir any questions. This allows you to expect and anticipate the comments and questions that will appear.
#5 – Only Boosting Posts
When businesses promote their post and think that they are using Facebook to advertise, Facebook wins. Sadly this is how they capture the majority of businesses who don’t have the knowledge or time to look into how to run a successful campaign.
Understanding that Boosting/Promoting is only a fraction of what Facebook has to offer will help you realise what Facebook can really produce. Either learning how to run a “proper” Facebook Campaign that’s successful or outsourcing the process will increase your success on the platform.
#6 – Using a Profile instead of a Business page
This may seem super obvious but I’ve seen it happen before, where a business has opened up a profile instead of a page. Making sure that it is set up correctly (as a page, not a profile) from day 1 will encourage people to like your page as it’s a lot less intimidating to like a page compared to accepting a friend request from a business.
#7 – Overcomplicated or Boring Profile Photo
If your profile isn’t the best logo you have, if the photo is weak and overcomplicated it’s not going to capture that split second of attention you have with your potential customer.
Don’t over complicate it… Simplicity works best!
#8 – Weak Cover Photo
2 Seconds… That’s the amount of time that you have to capture someone’s attention. The cover photo should work with the profile photo to tell people what it is you do. If it’s too complicated then youtube just lost them and they’ve clicked off and gone forever…
Take a step back and consume your cover photo like you’re in “incognito mode”, within 2 seconds you should be able to understand what the business does or who it serves.
#9 – Not an in-depth“Our Story”
Adding depth to your business is key, in order to show what your point of difference is or why you are in business. Without it, you are just a business with no context and they will likely think that you are just here to take their money.
Using this space to explain what your business does and why you created it in the first place is important. This will give them a deeper understanding of what motivated you to open doors and how you think you can help them.
“We created Digital Simple because we saw that most agencies over complicate it. Our solution is to simplify the process and make sure we don’t bombard you with confusing words and just get you the results you need.
#10 – Not having a CTA (Call to Action) Button
Having no button at the top of your Page is a simple mistake, you’re missing out on a feature that Facebook has kindly given us. It can increase your chances of the people on your page to take the preferred action. Whether that be, Call Now, Visit website or Book A meeting, making sure you have the appropriate button will help to increase your chances of users taking that action.
#11 – Not posting consistently
Not posting consistently is a common problem, this can affect the transparency of the page which means that Facebook can limit the organic reach. If you post more consistently you can increase the number of engagements and reach your page will get. Being “top of mind” is always a good thing, so make sure that it’s you and not your competitors.
#12 – Not posting at all.
Having little, to no post on your page hurts. The first impression is important and when someone visits your page to see no content has been posted, they are likely to exit your page since there is no relevant information.
Starting out with one post a week and setting a Non – Negotiable reminder will help in posting relevant information on your page and show that your business hasn’t perished into the abyss.
#13 – No video introduction pinned
Having an introduction video pinned to the top of your page is a no brainer, they add personality, credibility and show that your business has character. In the video, you can introduce what your business does and how they could benefit from your service or product.
Without a video pinned and no introduction from your business or service, you are unable to connect with your potential customers.
#14 – Using groups just to advertise products
Leveraging groups just to advertise your business is a big NO, NO. Firstly you will be kicked out pretty quick also, you will soon clog up the feed and have a bad name associated with your business.
Using groups to add value and engage with either customers or businesses in the same industry will avoid getting a bad name. The groups should be used for sharing ideas and networking, not your product or service clogging the feed.
#15 – Posting times (maximum reach) statistics
Posting on a frequent basis is a challenge, especially staying consistent with your intended schedule. With that said, you want the posts to have the best possible chance to do well. Doing some research on when to post will make all the difference in how your post will perform.