17 Survival Tips for Facebook Marketing Tweet

This is the second infographic from our weekly series of infographics on Facebook Page Marketing.  Each week, we’ll be publishing a new infographic covering Facebook-related topics.  

[Update 10/5 - New post - What's Going on with your Facebook Page Reach?]

1. Completely Fill Out Your Page’s Profile - Be smart– the last thing you want is a potential fan or customer to bounce from your Facebook Page due to lack of information.  Give them a clear concise description of what your Page is all about and an easy way to connect with you on your website, Twitter, etc.

2. Don’t Ignore Facebook Insights - The vast majority of Page owners I’ve spoken to have NEVER exported their Insights data for further analysis.  It’s crazy, as most of these people depend on their Facebook Page for a significant amount of referral traffic to their website.  Don’t be one of these people please.

3. Always Write Back - This should be ingrained in the head of everyone with a Facebook Page.  It might be tough– or impossible– to respond to each and every person, especially if your posts get hundreds– or even thousands of comments– but smaller pages have no excuses.  Even if you just ‘like’ a fan’s comment– that acknowledgement could turn someone from a ‘fan’ to an advocate.

4. Don’t Oversell - Most people feel some sort of pressure– from their CEO, manager, or even themselves– to get a measurable ROI from their Facebook Marketing efforts.  The worst thing you can do in this case is oversell– as this is a sure-fire way to piss off fans.  More sales-y posts doesn’t equal more sales.  Find the right mix.

5. Moderate Spam and Negative Comments - What would you like your first impression to be when someone arrives on your page or sees a story about a friend’s interaction with your page in their newsfeed?  Thanks to some simple features (seen below), you can control this.  Quickly respond to anything negative, and hide spam.  First impressions last a lifetime!

6. Focus on Engagement, Not ‘Likes’ - How many people ‘like’ your page means nothing.  In most cases, the pages that have the most likes aren’t the pages that people actually like– it’s just the companies with the biggest advertising budgets for fan acquisition.  A funny example, you ask? Look at Audi’s Page versus the I Love Audi Page.  The community page has less than 20% of the total likes but a higher PTAT.

7. Pin the Best Posts - Although most fans don’t come back to your page after they like it, many Facebook users land on your page and make the all-important decision: to like your page, or not to like your page.  Give yourself a better chance of converting these people by pinning your best post to the top— so you can make a good first impression.

8. Keep it Short (It’s a Post, Not a Novel.) - Facebook users don’t visit the site to read paragraphs about your page.  Make your content easy to consume– i.e. a quick one-liner to go along with a photo.  You’ll get more engagement when you keep your posts below 250 characters, according to Facebook itself!

9. Post At The Right Frequency - This is one of the most controversial topics for Facebook Pages.  I’ve already said my perspective, if you want to read the long version.  There is no one answer like “Post X times per day”, as it varies from page to page.  Generally, I’d recommend 2-3x.

10. Don’t Waste Time and Money on Page Apps - Page Apps are generally a waste of resources.  It was easier when you could send traffic by default to your app pre-timeline, but look at what happened to BandPage (via TechCrunch via AppData). Prioritize your resource spending on creating quality content and getting into your fans’ Newsfeeds.

11. Know the Rules About Cover Photos - Facebook was vocal from the beginning about their rules and regulations for cover photos, yet brands continue to cross the line.  It’s only a matter of time before they start suspending/shutting down pages for these violations.  Don’t let your page be one of them.  It’s not worth losing all you’ve put into your page.

12. Always Ask, “Does This Post Help My Fans?” - Ask yourself this question before you ever hit the ‘post’ button.  Will they laugh?  Will they gain knowledge?  Will they be happy to see this?  If you can’t answer yes to at least one of these questions, scrap the post and start over.

13. Don’t Autopost from Twitter - Twitter and Facebook are two completely different beasts.  People go to each site with different expectations.  You’ll never see Starbucks or Coca Cola post the same exact message on both sites– and that’s for good reason.  Don’t do it.

14. Be Personable (No One Likes a Robot) - Your responses to comments and posts from your fans should read as if one human was speaking to another.  If you wouldn’t speak what you’re typing, don’t hit ‘enter’.  Also, sign the response with your name (-Matt from Coca Cola) adds to this human element.

15. NEVER Buy Bulk Likes - You’ll see these silly schemes all over the place.  ”$10 for 1000 likes!”  Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.  These fake likes are worthless– and now Facebook is even making moves to remove them from your page.

16. Always Stay Up-To-Date with Facebook Updates - Facebook makes changes each and every day– some minor, some significant.  Being an early-adopter can help– as Facebook typically gives new features higher visibility in the Newsfeed (i.e. Offers with it’s recent public launch).

17. Be Visual - This relates back to #8.  Grab the attention of your fans with an eye-catching photo.  It’s no secret that photos perform best on Facebook.  If you want to know why, check this out.