If there was such a thing as the “Dislike” button, customers would be sure to hit it if your company was guilty of any of the top seven Facebook business blunders.
Any of these mistakes could be the culprit responsible for why “Likes” and engagement are lagging on your Facebook fan page:
1. There are no perks
You don’t have to give away free stuff on your Facebook page or offer fans special discounts. But there does need to be something about your page that makes visitors feel like they’re getting something no one else is (at least no one that’s not visiting your page).
Examples:
- “Insider’s Info” — like sneak peeks at new products
- Educational info about your products or industry
- Faster responses to questions or problems, and
- Suggested new uses for your products.
2. Every post is all text
Have you ever seen a text-only Facebook page? Probably, but you also probably never went back to it. They look dull. And it’s because Facebook was built to showcase visual content.
No matter what you’re posting, try to include an image of some sort — even if it’s an infographic or a basic bar chart.
Posts with images generate 120% more engagement than text-only posts, and that’s coming straight from Facebook’s mouth.
3. There’s far more ‘selling’ than there is ‘telling’
Facebook users — and social media users in general — don’t take kindly to the hard sell. They’re on the site first and foremost to socialize with friends and family.
If your site’s mostly trying to move product, it will fail. There needs to be an entertaining, informative or customer service element to it for your page to generate fans, comments, shares and — ultimately — ROI.
4. It only talks about you
Customers want you to talk about them — and how your products can help them in some way.
At the very least, use customer success stories to talk about how your company’s helping others.
5. The questions you ask are too broad
Behind eye-catching visuals, questions are the second most effective type of post companies can make to spark engagement.
But asking overly-broad or open-ended questions shows you’re just trying to get someone — anyone — to leave a response.
What’s best: Asking multiple-choice questions.
How? Go to the sharing tool at the top of your page and select “Question.” Then type in your question and select “Add Poll Options.”
Make sure your question serves a specific purpose — like gathering feedback that will help improve customers’ experiences or giving customers insight into what their peers are doing with your products.
6. You don’t respond to customers
Your Facebook page can’t be a one-way street and expect to collect a loyal following. Your company has to show that it’s listening to its fans by responding to their comments and questions quickly.
And that doesn’t mean you can just hit “Like” on their posts. It’s OK to do that on occasion, but fans need to see that you’re as engaged with them as they are with you. So if they’re posting comments, make sure you are, too.
It also helps to visit some of your fans’ pages and make comments on their posts. It shows you’re trying to build meaningful relationships with them.
7. Your posts are spotty
Establish a rhythm to when your company posts. You don’t have to post daily, but there shouldn’t be long stretches of inactivity either.
The best way to ensure you’re posting on a regular basis is to create an editorial calendar outlining what you want to post and when. Just make sure your posting plan is flexible enough that you can quickly react to news, as well as customer comments and questions.
