Digital Fundraiser: 19 Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook Marketing

Monday 19 August 2013

Want some solid advice on how to use a Facebook Page? Then you’ve come to the right post (written by my good friend, Scott Ayres of PostPlanner).

He’s come up with 19 do’s and don’ts for Facebook Pages.

Keep posts short & sweet†– Posts with less than 100 characters get more engagement. Why do you think Twitter is only 140 characters!
Answer questions & respond to posts†– Your page is not a walled garden! Respond to your followers & be personal.
Ask questions & ask for feedback†– The best posts on Facebook pages tend to be questions. Ask them often & listen to what your users are saying.
Participate in the conversation†– Customers appreciate business owners who take interest.
Provide helpful links –†Be sure to help educate your fans, not just promote your products.
Follow thought leaders –†Find people in your niche & follow them — and make sure to interact with them & their followers.
Run Promotions†– Offer specials, coupons & limited time offers.
Keep Customers Informed†– If your shop’s going to be closed, let your customers know ahead of time. If you’re an online company keep people informed of outages that may be coming or have occurred.
Post Photos†– If you’re a local company post pictures of your business & employees. People love to recognize someone around town or in your store that they saw online. This doesn’t translate for online only companies IMHO.
Say Thank You†– Thank your followers & †fans often. Make them the center of your focus.

Overpost†– Only post as often as you can get good engagement.
Excessively self-promote†– I go by the 90/10 rule: 90% of your posts should be fun & informative, 10% can be promotion.
Use Bad Grammar†– Make sure you don’t have any grammar errors or misspelled words in your posts. The “Grammar Police” won’t forgive you!
Be Shy†– This is your opportunity to speak directly to your customers. Be outgoing & engaging.
Overshare†– Don’t post rants or gripe about employees or customers. Some things need not be on Facebook!
Talk Politics or Religion†– Have your opinions yes. But you’ll run off over half your potential customers if you take a stand on political or religious issues. So choose your words wisely.
Respond Hastily†– Remember your messages are public. Well thought out & correct answers are vital.
Bad Mouth Competitors†– You may think the competing burger joint down the street sucks — and they might. But don’t air your opinions on social media about it. It just makes you look juvenile.
Share Secrets- You don’t have to tell everyone all of your business secrets — again some things need to stay in house & not be aired on social media. Plus, if you share every problem you have, your customers will lose faith in you & your product.