Every day a new story hits my inbox discussing Facebook, its changes, its current state, and ultimately, the prospects of its demise. The one fact that most people are not writing about is that Facebook is just a tool. The service was not supposed to be the Holy Grail; just one of many tools used to lead people back to your website.
I speak at many conferences where business owners ask me to take a look at their Facebook pages. What kind of advice would I give them and where would I make changes? I usually take this opportunity to navigate them towards their websites and educate them on the importance of focusing there first. In some cases, I meet with apprehension, because many businesses have not made changes to their websites in years. With CMSs like WordPress, it's very easy and affordable to create a website that anyone can update.
The reason we post to Facebook, Tweet daily, and update our LinkedIn pages, etc. is to drive people back to our websites. But some businesses may have been drawn to Facebook because they've considered it a free tool, despite the fact that no real marketing channel is in fact free.
If you want to avoid losing your audience to these tools that are ever changing, you need to follow these critical three steps:
1. Focus on your website. If you don't already have a website with a CMS (Content Managing System), invest in one this coming year. WordPress is the most popular one, owning 60% of the market share. Be careful to not set up a WordPress blog that's on a URL different from your main site. Seek professional help that will help you build the site correctly. Once complete, you will be able to create and edit content on this site without needing to understand much HTML.
2. Concentrate on your customers. Keep them coming back for more with a newsletter (but please be careful not to spam anyone, and make sure that everyone on your list has truly opted in). Provide value with every newsletter. If you don't have a lot to say, then don't. Make the newsletter as frequent or infrequent as your audience will tolerate.
3. Finally - Network! Get out there. The best way to build trust is to have real life interactions with your audience. Did you know that Taylor Swift hosts her fans at her home? She invites them to sample her music, provide feedback, and to create real connections. She understands that to build trust we must interact with our audience in real life.
Next time you are wondering what to post on Facebook, remember "shiny objects" are just that. They help us get noticed but we had better have a great message and be prepared to interact on our own terms so that we don't find ourselves in Like purgatory - where Facebook sends our so-called fans who've lost interest in what we do.