Do: Use a Great Profile Photo
This may be vain. This may be shallow. But we tend to often judge a book (or business) by the cover. Moral of the story? Use an incredible profile photo! If your photo is blurry, pixelated, too busy, outdated… you risk the chance of turning away potential customers. Your profile photo is displayed at the very top of your Facebook page. It’s the first thing people see and it makes a lasting impression. Make sure that the profile photo you’ll be using is consistent with your other branding.
Don’t: Leave Your “About” Section Blank
Leaving this section blank is like leaving free likes and follows on the table. Filling out the “About” section for your business page is a must and not something to be ignored. This is one of the few parts of your page that people will look at to find out more information about your business. Include answers to frequently asked questions and show what makes your product or service unique. Put yourself in the mind of a customer and ask what you’d be most interested in knowing about your business. Include your response in the “About” section. The goal is to give your customers relevant information at first glance.
Do: Make Your Marketing Efforts Consistent
The most valuable real estate on your agency’s page is the cover photo, pinned post, and profile call to action (CTA) button. These aspects of your page are the most visible to viewers, and you’ll want to optimize and coordinate these elements for marketing purposes. Take time to make the cover photo, pinned post and CTA all coordinate with your business’s branding. Let’s say your agency wants to promote an eBook to build your email list. Consider making an image of the eBook part of your cover photo, then publish a post promoting the eBook. Use a landing page to provide a download link and then pin the whole post on your profile. Make sure to include a CTA that links to the eBook landing page. Your CTA button is a huge opportunity to convert page visitors and you can even choose the text for your button.
Don’t: Wait to Respond to Messages
Did you know 42% of consumers who voice a complaint on Facebook expect a 60-minute response time? Regardless of whether you’re dealing with negative or positive comments, postponing responses will lead to disappointment. Responding promptly to comments and messages from your customers or potential clients will make them feel valued and heard. Responding promptly also indicates that your business is alive and well online. Customers like to know that if they send a message to a company, that their queries will be answered quickly. The Facebook Messenger inbox is located at the top of your business page. This tool lets you quickly and easily engage with customers and potential clients on Facebook. Also, Facebook will track your timing and response rates and displays the average response time of a business on your profile.
Do: Schedule and Publish Organic Posts
Studies have found that posting new content on Facebook should happen at least three times per week. This will help you get the most engagement out of the platform. We know that as a small business owner you often wear many different hats and don’t have time for all of that content creation and posting. Instead, you can hire out a service like Lift Local who takes care of all social engagement for you. You can also set aside one day a month and use Facebook publishing tools to schedule out your posts. That way you can sit back and relax all month while content is being pushed. This method takes some organization and planning but is totally doable!
Don’t: Forget About Your Audience
Marketers love Facebook for several reasons. But one of the most effective methods of using Facebook to find new customers is through their cutting-edge targeting tools. When you advertise on the platform with either Facebook PPC ads or boosted posts, Facebook gives you the option to target people based on very detailed data. You can configure your ads to display to people based on their demographic information, location, and even their other interests on Facebook, i.e., other pages they’ve liked and followed. It’s important to know your target audience before you set up promotional posts and ads on the platform.
Do: Be Personable
Facebook is a social media network. People aren’t on the platform to find new businesses or products to buy. Instead, people use Facebook to do just that – socialize. You want to avoid coming off as overly sales-y on Facebook. Instead, make an effort to be personable. Put a face to your agency and use your Facebook business page to connect and engage with others.
How can you do that? Use Facebook to open up a dialogue with your ideal customer. Have conversations. Post content that is designed to get people commenting, and then respond to comments and questions. Make a point to “like” other people’s comments so they feel heard. It’s important that your business page isn’t a faceless entity trying to push products and services. Having conversations with Facebook users will help build trust with your agency and drive sales.
Don’t: Get Stuck in a Content Rut
If you’re unsure of what type of posts to publish on your insurance business page, you’re not alone. Coming up with new content ideas is one roadblock that many business owners struggle with. For your Facebook business page, consider the following content ideas for future posts:
- Post business milestones and accomplishments
- Pin posts for events
- Offer giveaways and contests
- Share relevant content from other people and businesses on Facebook
- Create engaging videos with Facebook Live
When it comes to Facebook marketing for businesses, don’t be afraid to test new ideas and post different types of content for your audience. What may work well for one kind of business may not translate for your agency on Facebook. To get the most out of your social media efforts, forego assumptions, and be bold with your content. Always use photos and striking images for your Facebook posts. The last thing you want to do is clutter your audience’s feed with mediocre content.
Do: Boost Your Posts
You’ve probably seen the “Boost Post” suggestion pop up on Facebook after you’ve posted. Facebook has recently reported that organic reach for business posts is declining. A great solution to this is boosting your posts. Your content will then reach a larger audience and you can even target this audience to fit certain demographics. Once you click “Boost Post” your content will go live. Facebook will review the content and then give you the thumbs up. As soon as this happens, your post will begin to spread across your audience’s feed. You can post messages, images, videos, links, etc. Boosting does cost money, but you will have full access and control over your budget. In fact, your budget can start as low as $1 a day.
Don’t: Post Too Often
You definitely don’t want to overwhelm your customers by posting multiple times a day. Instead, post less often but post higher quality content. Use your time to create articles and posts that will provide real value to your audience. Check out this article for 14 different studies on how many times you should be posting per week.
Do: Post During Strategic Times of Day
The best time to post varies depending on your audience, but data shows that a great overall posting time is from 1-3 pm. According to a Buffer study, engagement rates are 18% higher on Thursdays and Fridays. Posts shared during these hours and days have the best click through rates. Check out the graphic below for more info on engagement data. It really will come down to trial and error though. Try a few different times, monitor your results and make a game plan from there!
Don’t: Forget About Facebook Messenger
Facebook has recently put a lot of effort into improving their business platform and features. One of these improvements is the new emphasis on their messaging app. Facebook reports that more than 66% of people who use messaging say they have messaged a business in the past three months.
So what is the appeal of using Facebook messaging? First, it is incredibly convenient. 68% of adults in America use Facebook, which means they likely have it on their phones or open on their computers throughout the day. With messaging, your customers can feel more connected to your business with on the go messaging and easy reach after store hours. It also is a very personal form of communication which allows you, as a business owner, to connect one on one with your customers. The question now is, how can you encourage your customers to message you? Facebook suggests three easy ways.
- Add a send message button to the top of your Facebook business page.
- Create a post letting your customers know that they can contact you via message.
- Use your personalized messaging link in the signature of your emails, in social media captions or texts. Your link is m.me link, or m.me/ followed by your page username. For example, ours is m.me/liftlocal.
Do: Ask for Help
There’s nothing wrong with asking for a little outside help. You might even consider hiring a service company to give you a little boost. A huge perk of a service is that there is a real-life person monitoring your online presence. Reach out to us at Lift Local if you’re interested in a little helping hand when it comes to succeeding on Facebook.