It can be tough to keep up with the latest social media trends for business, can’t it? In this constantly changing world of best practices online, it seems we just learned how to adjust to the last change…when another one appears. But take heart, refreshing your social strategy can be expertly achieved without too much confusion. To get you back on the right track, here are eight Facebook do’s and don’ts to keep in mind.
1. Do Craft Buzzworthy Posts
A buzzworthy post must be one that others find interesting enough to share with their friends. It all starts with having a purpose beyond pushing your product or service. Show your fans that you’re not only an industry expert, but that you care about their needs and can answer their questions…before they even ask.
2. Don’t Guess
Take the guesswork out of it; always experiment to see what works (or what doesn’t work) for you. Run tests and analyze the results to find out what kind of content (and when) resonates with your audience best. Then refine your strategy to best respond to that data.
3. Do Consider Word Count
True, shorter posts should be used for Twitter, but on Facebook, a (little) longer word count is encouraged to build trust and credibility. But not too long. Facebook’s character limit for status updates is 63,206, though that’s far from ideal. Take advantage of the extra space for catchy headliners and calls to action by using the status updates as well as the space in the meta title and meta description that displays when you insert a link into your post.
4. Don’t Overdo It
It’s never about quantity. Much of your success on ranking in the Facebook algorithm depends on the quality of your content and how your audience engages with it on the newsfeed. It can be easy to fall into the trap of over-posting when you’re trying to fill in the gaps. But don’t overdo it, studies have shown that posting just once or twice a day results in more engagement than posting more often. Resist the urge to force-fill your Facebook Page with too much content; instead, post with a strategy in mind.
5. Do Repurpose Content
Sharing popular content is a great way to get traction. This works really well if you have a library of evergreen blogs that will still be fresh a year (or years) from now rather than trending topics. If you have a killer blog that got a lot of attention (but it’s an obvious blast-from-the-past) take this opportunity to refresh the content on your website and repost it, or toss it up on your Facebook on a Thursday (as is) for #ThrowBackThursday.
6. Don’t Give Up
Facebook’s News Feed algorithm seems to be in a constant state of flux; now Facebook has announced that it will bury links to low-quality sites that come from posts or ads. They define a low-quality site as one “containing little substantive content, and that is covered in disruptive, shocking or malicious ads.” Sure, Facebook doesn’t make it easy for businesses to reach their audience, but don’t give up, just post smarter.
7. Do Have a Consistent Voice
Treat your Facebook Page like you treat any other marketing efforts. For example, your profile and cover images should be branded with your company’s colors, font and logo. Keep your posts in line with the brand voice and image that you want to project to your audience. For example: Be funny, yet professional. Be informative, yet interesting.
8. Don’t Waste Time
Don’t make the mistake of letting social media turn into a time-suck. The key is to create the content you need in advance and then schedule them in batches so you don’t have to worry about it every day. This will free up your time to focus on other important business tasks.
Start the Conversation on Facebook…the Right Way
Ready to update your social media strategy? Turn to Post Café; we make it easy for businesses to get started with all the content to get noticed online; call us at 732-218-9377 to learn more.
