Most of us have been guilty of at least one of these Facebook pitfalls at some stage. And while they won't necessarily make or break your business, making improvements in these key areas can boost overall Facebook Page engagement, maintain loyal customers and position your small business for success with potential customers.
1. You only talk about yourself
Have you ever had a friend who can't stop talking about himself? (You know ... that friend.)
It's a major turn off to hang out with someone who's entirely self-absorbed and doesn't listen to you.
The same goes for Facebook - while it may be tempting to push as many promotional messages as possible (since it looks like a form of free advertising) doing so can come with a huge drawback: decreased engagement.
The more your social content engages your ideal customers, the more likely it is that they'll move further along the sales cycle to produce a return.
Also, Facebook will make sure your followers don't see your posts if too many of them are overly promotional.
2. You don't diversify social content on your Page
While we all love a great photo or meme, a business's Facebook Page needs to have more than that to keep up meaningful engagement. Pages that only share photos provide no reason for a follower to convert. They also don't take advantage of sharing content that can move prospects further into the sales cycle toward a conversion.
Try sharing articles and information that's interesting or useful to your potential customers, as well as relevant to your business.
You'll likely find that people will respond more positively when there's a healthy mix of content that meets their needs along with content that's directly promotional.
3. You don't reply to messages
Followers and consumers expect to be able to contact you through your Facebook Page. Even if you don't answer messages right away, make a point of treating Facebook messages like email inquiries and seek to get back to people within 1-2 business days.
It's not just good social media manners; it's good customer service.
4. You don't share useful updates about your business
Most people follow business Pages to show their support for a business (great for local businesses like yours), to get first notice of sales and promotions, to say something about their tastes and interests to other Facebook users and to stay up-to-date on important information such as business hours, products, services and employee activity.
You're missing out on a way to connect with your followers if you don't share updates on Facebook about changes to your hours for holidays or about that new mechanic or dental hygienist who's just joined your team.
5. You expect immediate results and give up when you don't see any
Success on social media is like search engine optimization - it takes time to build and effort to maintain. You won't see quick results by investing in this type of marketing, but you will grow a solid base of people and provide a valuable form of customer service - in an era where customer service is the dividing line between successful and failing businesses.
6. You have duplicate or unmanaged Facebook Pages
Unclaimed or duplicate Facebook Pages are downright confusing. People who search for your business won't have a clear idea of which one has accurate information, making it more likely that they'll move on to a competitor.
The easier you make it to find your business, and/or information related to your business, the more likely it is that prospective clients or customers will come to you.
Fix this issue by claiming unmanaged pages and merging them with your existing page or merging duplicates.
7. You don't share content geared toward your ideal customer
I like talking to people who share my interests - like the latest indie rock album or the latest episode of House of Cards (Underwood for President 2016). I'm also better at working with people with whom I've had great conversations.
Why? Mutual respect and trust. It takes time to build those relationships, but once you do it's a lot easier to work together.
Sharing content geared toward your ideal customer is like building a relationship based on mutual interests. Over time, the practice builds trust, keeps you top of mind, and creates a key point of difference between you and your competition.