You probably know from my many ramblings (a.k.a. blog posts) that I've "Liked" a ton of Facebook pages.
Somewhere close to 3,000 pages to be exact!
Why?
Well I'm a self proclaimed Facebook addict for one -- but mainly because I like to monitor how businesses are using Facebook.
So on a daily basis I see a lot of good, a lot of bad & A LOT of ugly!
For the bad & ugly, I wanted to offer some tips that should help take your fans (and potential fans) from saying "woe" to "whoa!" about your page.
Here they are:
1. Think About Strategy Before Tactics
A business without a plan on Facebook is destined to fail. So before you start posting 50 cat memes a day, plan out a posting strategy so your posts make sense (even if they include a few cat memes).
Decide how often you're going to post to your Facebook page & what types of posts you will be using.
Once you do this, you can move on to tactics on finding awesome content to post.
2. Learn From Others
I don't recommend copying what other fan pages do *just* because it's "working" on their page(s). What works on one page doesn't always work on another.
But you should be monitoring other pages in your niche to see what types of posts are working for them.
The opposite is true as well. If you're a local hot dog joint and you notice the hamburger joint isn't getting a reaction from posting a "special of the day" using a text only status update -- learn from that.
For example, post your "special of the day" with a photo instead -- to see how it performs in comparison.
The key is to continuously monitor others in your niche & experts in your field to see what they're doing -- and then testing to see if it works on your page.
3. You Have an Imagination -- So Use It!
I hear from many page owners that they just don't know what to post on their pages.
Hogwash!
For one we've provided many resources for you that can help you figure out what to post.
But secondly you have an imagination, right?
So use it!
If you're a small local business, don't just always post updates of your menu or a photo of your staff. Whip out your iPhone and take pictures of your community on your lunch break and share those with your fans.
Above all, be creative. Your fans will love you for it.
4. Spend Some Money
Advertising on radio, TV, newspapers or direct mail isn't free. So why people think advertising on Facebook should be free is beyond me.
If you're using Facebook to market your business, you need to spend money on ads -- money on ads to gain targeted fans, money on ads to reach your existing fans, etc.
You don't have to break the bank either. I saw Jon Loomer post recently that he only spent $750 total in ads to build his business! And it's becoming very lucrative for him now.
If you haven't tried running a Facebook ad, the key is getting started. Test a $10 ad to see how it does for your page and then use those results to see what your next ad should be.
But I'll warn you -- pay attention to the budget of your campaigns -- or you may find your paypal account drained pretty quickly!
5. Don't Just Broadcast... Engage!
This is probably the number 1 mistake pages make -- and it's one of the biggest reasons people un-Like your page.
Constantly posting things no one cares about will get you no where on Facebook.
In fact it will probably cause your Edgerank to drop and cause no one to see or engage with your posts anymore.
I'm currently advising a local newspaper on how to use social media. As I'm writing this, they've posted over 30 posts in the past 24 hours! Guess what kind of engagement they got from the 230+ fans -- yep, almost ZERO!
That's because they're over-posting & posting things that fans clearly don't want to engage with.
Sure people might want to know the updated score of the high school boys baseball game -- but do we have to get an update with every pitch?
They'd be better off posting 1 photo from the game when it's over -- and then stating the score. The photo get the moms excited about seeing their baby on Facebook -- and everyone else will be appreciative that it's only 1 post.
Less is more when it comes to posting to Facebook.
6. Repeat Tips 1 through 5
No joke. That's it!
We don't need to make social media and specifically Facebook Marketing so complicated & confusing.
It's not Rocket Science!
Some methods will change -- and how we use Facebook as a business will change. But these are the 5 things you should be doing to really make a difference with your Facebook marketing.
Your Best Tips
I'm sure there are more tips we could share here, but now it's your turn.
What is the #1 tip when it comes to social media that you can give to someone? Share it below.
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