13 Deadly Facebook Mistakes—Which One(s) Are You Guilty Of?
With 1.23 billion monthly active users and growing, Facebook is such a marketing goddess! But she can be equally unforgiving for businesses that make some of these 13 lethal Facebook mistakes that kill engagement and growth. Take a read and find out which one(s) you are guilty of committing.
#1. GOING IN WITHOUT A PLAN OR VISION
If you hit the ground running without having a plan you might soon see your Facebook marketing hitting a dead-end. An approximate 3 out of 4 (76%) businesses fail with Facebook ads mainly because they do not take the time to plan and think ahead. You should have a content strategy, a posting plan, and measurable milestones to gauge progress.
#2. NOT TRAINING FOR FACEBOOK MARKETING
According to Bootcamp Digital, 8% of companies have fired and 20% of companies have disciplined an employee over inappropriate social media posts. If you don’t want an employee to cause a social media disaster, you should train not only the people managing your Facebook page but also everyone else in your organisation.
- Fired
- Disciplined
#3. POSTING TOO LITTLE OR TOO MUCH
Some businesses make a Facebook page and hardly ever post an update. Others would spam their followers with far too many posts. But how much is too much? Experts suggest posting no more than 3 or 4 quality updates in a week. Flurrying your followers’ newsfeed with back-to-back updates is likely to turn them off and make them unfollow you. On the other extreme, posting no or very few updates is not going to get you anywhere.
#4. THINKING FACEBOOK IS FREE
“WITHOUT ADVERTISING, A TERRIBLE THING HAPPENS—NOTHING!”
Yes, Facebook is free, but only if you’re using it as an individual. Building your business on Facebook is going to take more than time and expertise. It’s going to take money unless you want to grow at a snail’s pace. The good news is your Facebook ads are going to bring you more leads than any other channel, provided you have the right strategy and excellent execution. #5. USING CRAPPY (OR CREEPY) PHOTOS Users upload an average 350 million photos to Facebook each day! Needless to say, the images you share must be high quality, well planned and well executed. The idea is to post photos that stand out without getting creepy or weird. Use a professional camera, lights and a photographer if you’re not sure. Sharing dull, hazy images or just any images that you shot from the hip is not going to spark the kind of engagement that you’d like to see. #6. TALKING “I, ME, AND MINE” People don’t log into Facebook to learn how great your product or services are. They want to be entertained but yapping incessantly about your product is going to bore them to death. Storefront Social recommends 70% of a business’s post should include info that is relevant and valuable to its audience. #7. NOT HAVING A VOICE A consistent voice is imperative for communicating the brand values and building a noticeable brand. If you’re funny, serious, hip, and retro at the same time, you’ll only confuse your audience. Larsen Advertising suggests that you use three words to define your brand’s voice. Then, use three more words to limit those words. For example: #8. NOT RESPONDING TO COMMENTS Not replying to reviews, particularly negative ones might ruin your business on Facebook. If you have reviews turned on, make sure you respond to complaining customers by apologizing for the inconvenience they suffered and offering to resolve their grievance. It also won’t hurt to thank people for the kudos they gave you business. #9. NOT REPLYING TO REVIEWS Not replying to reviews, particularly negative ones might ruin your business on Facebook. If you have reviews turned on, make sure you respond to complaining customers by apologising for the inconvenience they suffered and offering to resolve their grievance. It also won’t hurt to thank people for the kudos they gave you business. #10. POSTING LENGTHY UPDATES Facebook users hate to read text. That’s why updates under 40 characters trend the most on Facebook. If you are too fond of writing long texts, write a blog post and share the link on Facebook. Some businesses now have access to a new feature that allows them to use graphic backgrounds with their text updates. It’s a powerful feature if you can write short and compelling updates. #11. TYPOS AND GRAMMAR MISTAKES What Cause the most decline in your brand interaction on Facebook. Bad grammar and spelling mistakes reflect poorly on your brand and business, apart from making your updates sound confusing and even ridiculous. Typos in pricing have cost companies millions of dollars. Always double-check your updates before you post them. #12. NOT POSTING ON A SCHEDULE Many businesses post updates when something exciting happens or is going to happen, such as a new product launch or an event. Others post on impulse. But vibrant Facebook brands have their posts planned weeks in advance. Facebook Insights tell you the days and times when most of your followers are online. You should share updates on these days and times in order to gain maximum mileage. #13. NOT USING DIFFERENT MEDIA TYPES Facebook offers a wide array of post and ad formats—image, video, animated gif, slideshow, live video, etc. Visual media typically perform better than text-only posts. Engaged brands take advantage of all these media types to offer variety to their audience and keep them engaged. So, do you plead guilty? We can help.
