- By Camila Ante
Searching for a business on this social network and seeing that it doesn't have a Facebook page generates the same reaction as when you search for a business on Google and it doesn't have a website: it doesn't look like a real business.
Once you've created that business page, establishing a Facebook presence is a separate issue. How often should you post? When should you post? Why are all your images pixelated and how can you fix them? Do you really have to respond to a troll?
A good portion of the most common mistakes businesses make on Facebook are totally avoidable. To help you with these issues and manage your Facebook page smoothly, we've made a list of some of the most common mistakes businesses make on Facebook. Here's what not to do on your Facebook business page.
1. Create a profile instead of a business page.
This may seem like elementary advice, but you'd be surprised how many people make this mistake. Facebook profiles are made for people, while Facebook pages are made for businesses.
The main difference between a Facebook user profile and a page is that profiles are geared towards protecting your own privacy, while pages aim to maximize advertising for businesses.
For example: the content of Facebook pages can be seen even by people who do not log in from a Facebook account. On the other hand, a user's profile can only be viewed by authorized persons or friends of the authorized person.
2. Not being clear about your audience
When you don't know who you want to reach, you will hardly be able to establish a communication that connects.
A common mistake for some companies is to talk to everyone, issuing a general message that becomes cold and even incomprehensible for some sectors.
Remember that with inbound marketing the basis is your buyer persona, that is, the representation of your ideal customer. If you develop this and have it clear, everything you do will have a meaning focused on this buyer persona.
3. Not reviewing posts or comments on your site
Laurie Meacham, JetBlue's customer engagement manager, once told us: "What matters most to us is people, so being on social media is a natural consequence. It's the same in all areas of the company." This is a fact, regardless of the industry in which you move. The goal of using Facebook is to interact with your customers and target the audience that is on this social network. (And considering that Facebook has more than 2.7 billion monthly active users, it is very likely that your customers are on this social network).
If you ignore comments and interactions it's like you're telling your customers: "I don't care what you have to say." To avoid this, you should start by making sure your profile's desired posting options are enabled.
While some companies allow users to post and leave comments on their page, without review, others prefer to manually approve them, and some don't grant posting permission at all.
This decision is entirely up to you. We recommend that you view your page as a two-way channel rather than a medium that solely and exclusively conveys your voice.
Once you have corrected this situation, be sure to review comments on a daily basis and respond to them when appropriate.
4. Ignore negative comments
What do you do if they complain? What do you do if they post provocative, troll-style messages? You can't stop people from saying things, good or bad, about your brand. What you can do is respond respectfully and offer valuable information.
The fact that you respond not only shows people that you care about their satisfaction, but also that you are committed to what you do.
5. Leave the meta description as is
When you paste a link into a new Facebook post, the metadata for it (an image and a short description) is automatically collected. That doesn't mean you just have to click "Publish".
Instead, add some text from a relevant post, such as a quote or statistic from the article you're linking to. Consider incorporating relevant keywords in the description as a matter of course.
In addition to editing the text of the post, you'll probably want to remove the URL from the box before making the post. Keeping in mind that Facebook automatically populates the metadata when you paste a link, removing the extra URL will help the post look cleaner.
6. Post photos only
In the past, images dominated the news feed. However, things have changed, and images no longer have the level of organic reach they once did.
Now, video is the best post type for organic reach, thanks to Facebook's most recent strategy of focusing its attention on videos. At HubSpot, we've found that videos are the best post type for engagement, as well as link posts that include a large preview image (484 x 252).
Instead of sticking to one or two types of content, experiment a bit. Facebook is a place where you can let your brand's personality shine through. Post images with company culture and get people to tag themselves.
Consider having Q&A sessions on Facebook. Post links with one-word text, and others with multi-paragraph text. Figure out what works best for your audience, and remember that your audience is always changing. So test it frequently.
7. Posting too long
Here again, it is clear that the best way to assess what your audience wants is to test the length of your posts. The optimal length of your Facebook Timeline posts will vary by company.
For some, longer, more informative Facebook posts work best. For others, like BuzzFeed, shorter ones perform flawlessly.
While it's important to experiment to see which one your audience responds best to, here are our findings: there's strong evidence that shorter posts generate more engagement. Jeff Bullas found that posts with a length of less than 80 characters received 66% more interest than longer posts. The most concise (1 to 40 characters) generated the most interest.
8. Post images of any size
Visual documents that are pixelated, cluttered or difficult to read not only frustrate users, but also generate a bad reputation.
Facebook not only has specific dimensions for images in profile and cover photos (although these measurements are important), it also provides ideal dimensions for the images you post in your timeline, the ones you use in sponsored posts, sidebar ads and others.
9. Resorting to click-baits
When you include a link to a web page in your Facebook post, the platform measures how much time people spend on that page to get an indicator of its usefulness and quality. What's the lesson? Don't post sensationalist flashy headlines that don't deliver what you promise for the sole purpose of getting more clicks, as even Facebook takes this into account in its advertising guidelines as a misleading experience.
So if you're looking to meet the needs of your Facebook audience, consider posting links to clear and informative blog articles. When the headline meets the right expectations about what users can expect from the content, it's easier for them to see the value of what you're offering and stay on the page to read the article. When this doesn't happen, they leave the page, and Facebook takes note of what happened.
10. Posting only during business hours
You need to know your audience, their behavior and on what days they interact with you the most on Facebook. A big mistake is to have activity on the social network only during working hours, which most likely correspond to those when your audience is also working and not browsing the platform.
This can be achieved by reviewing the Statistics of your business page and determining the best days and times. In general it is said that the best times for Facebook users are from 15:00 to 16:00 hours, from 18:30 to 19:00 hours and from 20:30 to 21:30 hours; being Fridays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Thursdays the best days to publish. This is only an average or a generality, because it can vary depending on the type of industry, your products or services.
The bottom line is to publish posts at various times; i.e., afternoons, evenings and weekends. This is especially useful for companies with international audiences whose users are awake at different times of the day.
11. Posting without a strategy
Yes, you should post periodically to keep your audience engaged, showing them that you are present, listening to their comments and answering their questions and concerns.
What you certainly don't want to do is overwhelm them with hundreds and thousands of posts. Businesses that are selective about what they post, i.e., those that take the time to produce a small number of high-quality Facebook posts rather than a large number, have better results.
12. Not experimenting with different target audiences for your ads
As a result of the gradual decline in organic reach on Facebook, many businesses are advertising on Facebook to capture the attention of a more qualified audience. When advertising on Facebook, you can specifically target people who have visited your website, used your app or given permission for a mailing list. You can also target similar audiences or create campaigns aimed at getting "Likes" on your page.
Still, you can't just spend your money on Facebook advertising and expect it all to work. All of this will pay off if you act smart, which means experimenting with your advertising plan and tweaking it to see how it works.
Where should you start? You can check out our list of examples of real Facebook ads that have worked very well for brands.
13. Not including a call to action
When you are sharing high-value offers on Facebook, this channel can be a very good opportunity to get leads. Now, if you don't include a clear call to action in your post you will be missing that opportunity.
For example, if you have just published a report with valuable information, we recommend you to publish this information on your Facebook and include a clear call to action for them to see more information.
14. Losing sight of the account you're posting from
The Facebook news feed looks basically the same, whether you're logged into your personal account or your company's account, which makes it easy for page administrators to forget which account they're posting from. You don't want to reply from your personal account to people making comments when you should be replying from your company account or vice versa.
15. Leaving an incomplete profile
Your Facebook page is one of the most easily accessible places for people to get more information about your business. Don't leave this information blank and fill it with relevant information.
When completing your profile, be sure to include all the information that your potential customers would want to know about you, such as visiting hours (in case you have a physical store), address, phone number, email, website, etc.
Don't make your visitors struggle to find this information, but make it as easy as possible for them to find it.
16. Having multiple Facebook accounts
From a professional point of view, there are two reasons why you should not have two accounts. The main one is that Facebook does not allow users to have two personal accounts, as it is against their Terms of Service.
Therefore, if Facebook finds out that you have two personal accounts, they will close them. Even if you didn't abide by the social network's terms, it would still be very difficult to maintain two personal accounts.
Do you have enough content on both accounts to establish your presence? Where do you draw the line between the two? Which account will you show to a friend who works in the same industry as you? Instead of having to define yourself between two areas of your life, you should take advantage of Facebook's privacy settings.
From a professional point of view, Facebook does not set such restrictions. You can make several pages for your company without the social network even noticing. But should you do it?
For most businesses, we don't recommend it. Since you don't have that much time in a day to dedicate to Facebook, why run multiple projects simultaneously and maintain multiple pages at once?
Besides, there are many other options at your disposal. First of all, you can take advantage of Facebook to target a specific audience and you don't need to pay to send updates to certain segments of your audience. So instead of creating a page for a segment of your audience, you can post personalized content that only they can see.
Secondly, if you have a large audience that lives all over the world, you can consider implementing a global page. If you would like to create your global page, you should contact Facebook directly. (Note to consider: you will probably have to have a significant budget allocated to Facebook to make it happen).
In short: keep things simple. Don't create more accounts and pages than you need.
17. Posting personal problems
The purpose of a business page on Facebook is precisely that you do not have to reflect personal issues, but leave your brand in the field that corresponds to it so that it is positioned as an expert in what it does.
When you enter a platform to learn more about a company, the last thing you want to see is a person's problems. Therefore, the management must be strategic and professional so that your audience captures you in this way.
18. Not measuring or having metrics
Having a Facebook business page just for the sake of having it is not the most appropriate thing to do. You need an objective and a strategy that supports all the efforts you will make through this platform. If you have no notion of the results that your publications and ads are giving you, you will not know how to improve.
It is important to measure and have indicators so that you know the course of your content and thus make increasingly strategic investments, with greater and better results. Use HubSpot's online campaign management software to analyze them in depth.
19. Using content without value
Just as it makes no sense to create a business page on Facebook just because you know you have it there, it makes less sense if you don't take advantage of it and publish content that has no value, is inconsequential and may even go against your brand.
That is why it is important to create a strategy and a content plan. There are many Facebook business pages that replicate content found on the network and use it as if it were a personal page. This is a serious mistake, no doubt.
Your content must seek something, motivate action and provide value for the audience you want to reach.
20. Buying followers
It has become common to buy followers on Facebook, a bad practice that is misleading on all sides, since boasting an inflated number does not mean that the brand will have results.
Besides, users pick up on this and will let you know. Keep in mind that you will not be able to have real indicators to improve your action on this platform.
21. Not being authentic or being dishonest
Linked to the previous point, your brand must communicate with coherence, that is why there is a brand voice in which you specify how it behaves, what phrases it uses, what its attitude is, etc., so that every message you send complies with these parameters.
It is a big mistake to lose authenticity and be a brand that is only pretending to go with a trend. It will be worse if you try to deceive users. This can not only be sanctioned by Facebook, but the users themselves will tell you so.
22. Lack of interaction
Posting is not interacting with your community and even just replying to comments is an understatement. A social network requires you to push your followers towards something, so it is a mistake not to interact with them.
You need to be active, invite your community to answer a question and give their opinion; you can generate dynamics so that they are attentive and participate.
23. Not using Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messenger has become a powerful tool. Beyond its direct messaging or quick communication, it is emerging as a resource for interaction, conversation, attention and sales.
If you do not use it to accompany your strategies on your Facebook business page, you are missing many opportunities, since this tool allows you to automate responses, follow-ups and you can even advertise through this channel in a very effective way.
24. Delegating its management to the wrong person
Maintaining a Facebook business page requires time and is definitely a worthwhile investment. But many businesses have less time, and if they do not have a person or area that can manage this social network, they decide to delegate its management.
Delegating the management of your Facebook business page is not in itself the mistake; in fact there are companies that do it with a professional or an agency and can find a good way to do it this way. But some companies have made the mistake of entrusting it to a family member or a person within the same company who has no idea what is needed. Needless to say, the results will be adverse.
25. Being impatient
Every social network needs time to adjust to its audience, position itself and increase its results. Remember that any effort you make will add up to your goals, but don't make the mistake of impatience.
Many companies think that by opening their business pages on Facebook they will automatically have a better presence, generate impacts, go viral and sell more. Nothing of the sort. Everything is a process and requires work, discipline and perseverance.
Check if you are incurring in an inadequate practice on your Facebook business page: do not despair! You can improve from today, with the help of specialized tools.
