With more than 2 billion active users, Facebook can be something of a social media marketing powerhouse. As with all such things, if done poorly, a Facebook marketing campaign can still fall flat, or even worse, act as a detriment to your brand.
So how do you protect yourself from committing a Facebook faux pas? To help you navigate the digital landscape, we’ve put together a quick list of six marketing mistakes that you should avoid in order to make your campaign a success.
1. Using Engagement-Bait
It’s all too tempting to lace your Facebook posts with lines such as "Comment on this post if you think wasps are mean." Too much of this can act more as a deterrent than a lure. Users quickly tire of seeing the same old thing, and many are now wise to the spammy engagement hacks of the past.
Facebook itself recently announced that it was going to crack down on empty clickbait posts in its algorithm, so think carefully before you ask users to "Like" and "Share".
That’s not to say you can’t encourage users to like, share, or comment on your content. Just don’t be that brand that uses the same line to open every post. There are plenty of ways to work your CTA into your copy, so get creative, and give your followers a real reason to engage with your brand.
Take a look at this post from a popular mobile game:
Credit: DML
They give followers a chance to win in-game currency by voting using Facebook reactions. They then follow up with a question that users can answer in the comments. But rather than opening the post with these requests, the first paragraph gives information about an upcoming event, which has value even to those who choose not to participate in the sweepstake.
2. Neglecting Facebook Groups
In addition to your business page, it can be a huge boost to your community to create and manage Facebook groups. These groups enable sub-demographics of your audience to form highly engaged and valuable communities that spark meaningful conversations about your brand.
These individuals are often called "super-fans" as their dedication to your brand means they are often very willing to interact with your content, discuss your business, and submit their own opinions, feedback, and content offerings. Their enthusiasm acts as powerful social proof, and when united as part of a community group, they magnify each other’s positive feeling.
One great example of using Facebook groups is Selena Robinson, an Ecwid merchant. She sells digital educational products for homeschooling. In addition to her online store+blog website and her Facebook business page, she runs a closed Facebook group to form a community of homeschooling parents and teachers.
Learn more: "Look! We’re Learning!": How to Sell Digital Goods for Homeschooling
3. Failing To Balance Automation With Interaction
You can’t be everywhere at once, or even in one place all the time. That means that at some point your Facebook accounts could be neglected, which can have severe consequences for your brand’s reputation.
Whether they are commenting positively or negatively, your followers expect acknowledgment within a certain timeframe, and a stagnant page can quickly begin to erode faith in your brand.
Automation is a great way to free up some time and ensure your content arrives on schedule. However, it is also essential that your audience knows when you will be around to respond to their posts. Otherwise, they may begin to lose interest for your content, because their comments go unanswered, and ultimately lose meaning.
A right balance of automation and interaction means there’s always something new for your audience to look at, but that they also feel that they are interacting directly with your brand. So whether you man the page yourself, or hire some VAs to ensure there’s someone to give your business its voice, take care not to leave your Facebook page unattended for too long.
4. Doing Nothing But Selling
If customers just want to see what you’re selling, they’ll go directly to your store. Of course, they almost certainly do want to hear about the new product line or that limited discount. However, these posts should be interspersed with others that provide insightful, interesting, or entertaining content.
Your business page should act as a hub that not only drives sales but also builds trust and familiarity with your brand. If every post is a sales post, all it tells your audience is that you only care about selling. Whereas if you share useful content that relates to your brand, it suggests you care about the products you sell and the people that use them.
Lush UK (an ethical beauty brand) often share content about nature, arts, and culture on Facebook. They know that just plugging their latest product release wouldn’t go down too well, so they put their efforts into meaningful content curation instead:
Credit: Lush UK
5. Not Using Paid Content
Paid advertising should not be the only avenue for your social media marketing efforts, but it still plays a part. Set aside a portion of your budget for Facebook Ads, so you can give your content a better chance of reaching the right audiences. That will become more important than ever once the platform restructures the way it delivers content to users’ news feeds. (Here are some tips on how to use Facebook Pixel on your Ecwid store).
Of course, it is possible to spend a significant amount for very little return if you do not correctly structure your campaign. Take the time to research your target demographics. What sort of content do they prefer? Are they even Facebook users? Once you know what your audience needs, you will be better equipped to deliver impactful content that engages with the right people at the right time.
6. Not Keeping Up With The Times
Staying current is essential when it comes to marketing. You need to be on top of growing trends, public feeling, seasonal events, and industry news. After all, if you want your content to be interesting and engaging, it needs to offer something that is useful to your audience. No one wants to read old news.
On top of all this, you also need to stay abreast of changes to critical algorithms that impact the visibility of your brand. That includes everything from search engine prioritization algorithms, to social media recommendation assignations.
One to keep in mind in the coming months is the impending change to the way Facebook structures its newsfeeds. Changes in the platform’s recommendation algorithms will mean that branded and public content will have less organic reach than it currently does. The aim is to enable users to see more content from friends and family than from companies.
To stay ahead of these changes, remind your followers that they can select the "see first" option on your Facebook page, so they will still see your posts.
You can also drive visibility by encouraging user-generated content. As this will be shared and posted by individuals rather than by your business page, it is more likely to show up in the news feeds of potential customers, providing they are connected with those creating and interacting with said content.
Every business runs into marketing hurdles once in a while, and not every Facebook campaign will be a sterling success. However, even when your marketing efforts fall flat, you can learn from these failings, and improve your future endeavors as a consequence.
The six tips above are all essential to keep in mind as you work to promote your brand in 2018. However, there are many other pitfalls to watch out for, so it is vital to pay close attention to the success or failure of your Facebook interactions and act on this information as swiftly as possible.
Over time, you will become more familiar with your audience, and better able to cater to their needs. And if something does go wrong, always be accountable. Your audience is far more likely to be forgiving if you are prepared to own up and make amends, than if you bury your head in the sand.
There is a lot to be gained from successful social media marketing, so don’t let the list above deter you from investing in this platform. While it will take time and dedication to make your Facebook marketing success, the returns on your efforts will be more than worth it.