There are more than 307 million Facebook accounts in the US, and more than 72% of those Facebook account holders use the Facebook app on a daily basis.
This means Facebook presents you—the business owner—with a huge opportunity to increase your visibility online.
But only if you take the right approach to market your business on Facebook. If you don’t take the right approach, you could end up doing damage to your company.
To help you avoid any Facebook slip-ups, here are the 6 Facebook Marketing Mistakes That Are Killing Your Business.
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1. You’re Trying Too Hard to Sell
We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again:
People don’t use social media to be sold; they use it to be educated and entertained.
Don’t inundate your social media followers with ads—you’ll look like a spammer and turn off potential customers. There’s a time and a place for outbound marketing, but Facebook feeds are not one of them.
Instead, follow the 10-4-1 system.
For every 15 posts, you upload to Facebook, make 10 external material (unowned content), 4 your own content or message, and 1 direct sales message.
2. You Aren’t Trying Hard Enough to Sell
The reason your business has a social media account is to win more customers, so you have to do some selling.
Focus on crafting compelling sales ads, then pay to have them sponsored. Target your prospects to ensure your ads are only reaching those Facebook users who are likely to work with your business.
Remember with advertising, quality over quantity is always key. It’s better to narrow down your target audience for a particular product or service and send your ads to them rather than to the masses and hope for the best.
3. You’re Posting Inconsistently
Look at your Facebook business page.
Is your last post from three days ago? Is the post before that from two weeks ago?
That’s a problem.
Inconsistency on social media makes your business appear inconsistent overall...
And inconsistency is unprofessional.
Inconsistent postings lowers your chance of being recognized as a brand leader or industry expert. Plus remember your audience has a very small attention span.
If you’re not providing them with consistent posts, they’ll quickly lose interest in your brand and move on to one that keeps them interested.
Try using an editorial calendar to organize what you’ll post on Facebook and when. It will keep you organized, consistent, and professional in the eyes of your followers.
4. You Aren’t Offering Value
This is big.
Your Facebook followers want to be entertained or informed, so you have to meet them on that level. Give them a reason to follow you. Determine your brand messaging and stick with it. Many brands choose to use humor to connect with their audience. Others go with humanizing their brand or taking the informative approach.
Here are a few GREAT examples you can use to get the ideas flowing:
Red Bull
Red bull makes energy drinks. That’s it. Yet they’re known across the world for their involvement in extreme sports. They’ve dropped skydivers from the stratosphere. They’ve jumped motorcycles over 10-story buildings. And they do it because it matches the spirit of their brand:
To empower the individual to accomplish incredible feats.
Look at their timeline and you’ll see video after video, picture after picture of these feats. And if you look at their engagement metrics, their audience loves it. That love gives Red Bull a greater hold over their market and a big leg-up on their competitors...
And that’s exactly what Red Bull wants.
GoPro
GoPro ties its messaging to extreme sports, branding itself, not as a company that makes cameras, but as a company that allows people to capture the extraordinary in life, which is why their Facebook feed is covered in videos like this and this.
Arby’s
Arby’s caters to a social media audience that’s youthful, which is why they pair their food with pop culture references in their posts, like this...
And this...
And this...
Whether you liked Arby’s before or not, you’re now appreciative of the brand because they’ve entertained you by giving you something unique.
And that new appreciation might inspire you to pick up an Arby’s Beef and Cheddar down the road.
5. You’re Focusing Too Hard on Likes
Don’t ever ask for likes and follows—it seems desperate; a word you never want to be associated with your business.
Likes don’t really mean anything—focus on sales, form-fills, shares, and comments...In that order.
Why? Because these actions require an investment of time and energy from your audience...Likes don’t.
Get them to share your post. Get them to comment on your post. Get them to be inspired by your post so they take action in their lives.
And if you can, get them to buy your products or services.
6. You’re Neglecting Video
Video as a Facebook post is a big deal and only getting bigger. Lately, it's prioritized video content to the point that 100 million hours of video are watched every day on the platform.
And it works.
Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image combined. Combine this with the fact that Facebook videos receive 480% more organic reach than the average Facebook photo and it's easy to see why. Video is simply more captivating and engaging than any other form of content. And though the best time to take advantage of Facebook marketing through video was yesterday, the next best time is right now.
Final Thoughts
Social media marketing is meant to be fun and effective. Give people education and entertainment through your posts and they’ll love you forever. And Facebook advertising is the perfect platform for your content. More importantly, they’ll tell their friends, family, and co-workers about you. They’ll share your content, champion your business, and help your company reach a level of growth you never imagined possible.
If you’d like more information on Facebook marketing and how you can use it to grow your business Give us a Call Today at (866) 344-8852 Scorpion.co.
