When you get right down to it, a lot of the chatter surrounding using
Facebook for business
makes it seem more complicated than it really is. It is really somewhat
simple: drive engagement, stay ‘Liked’ and get to the top of the
stream. Follow these seven simple best practices and you can’t miss.
Rule 1: Ask questions.
The most straightforward approach to spur engagement is to ask for it.
Literally. There are a lot of different ways to approach asking
questions, so mix it up a bit.
For instance, you could do a real
simple question and encourage fans to ‘Like’ if they agree. Also,
questions that begin “what’s your favorite…” or “where are you going to
be…” or “who else wants…” can be great comment generators. Once you see
what gets people posting and ‘Liking,’ you’ll have the information you
need to create templates for best question formats.
Rule 2: More video.
You probably already know you should be doing more of this, right? Get
into a habit of regularly making very short videos. Maybe it is a how-to
on your products. Or a brief interview (30 seconds to 2 minutes) with
someone at your business. You can also do brief clips about topics
related to your industry but that have nothing to do with selling your
products.
Plain and simple, people love to click on video. You should be posting them regularly.
Rule 3: Ride a pop culture wave.
There are certain TV shows, movies, and current events that grow
beyond normal interest and become a genuine phenomenon. When this
happens, use it as an opportunity. Post a link to a poll about it. Make a
funny comment and ask for responses. If you can tie it to your company
in some way, do it. But that is not necessary and can be
counterproductive if you stretch it too far. Sometimes the point is just
to generate positive engagement and nothing else.
Rule 4: Keep the conversation going.
If a post is generating comments, are you making a point of posting
back? This can be as simple as posting a thank you for a compliment or
as thoughtful as asking a question about their comment. Show you care
about the conversation. And don’t forget that a larger thread often
appears higher in
Facebook feeds.
Rule 5: More photos.
This is an off-shoot of Rule 2. You already know that visual does
better, but do you have a consistent plan for generating relevant photos
to post on a regular basis? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Snap and post photos of employees in their work “habitat” with a fun
caption (don’t over-do this one). How about personifying your product in
some way? For example, how about clicking a photo of the product as if
it were attending an event? Have a brainstorming session with your staff
to come up with the zaniest photo opportunities including your product.
Rule 6: Be a content curator.
Are you concerned that people will hide your posts, or even worse,
“Unlike” you? This is a real concern. One way to maintain your value to
your fans is to seek out content your audience is likely to find
valuable, entertaining, or both. Think of your social media as not just a
channel to push content, but also as a listening station. Use social
media to follow others with your radar up for what you can pass on to
your fans.
Rule 7: Give them something! This is a
very important rule. Facebook users obviously are likely to be much
more interested in the personal posts of friends and family than they
ever will be in any particular brand. You need to give them regular
incentives to continue being fans. Regularly announce giveaways,
promotions, and discounts. If you are a retail operation, what can you
do to drive them from online to your store. If you are a service-based
business, what link can you provide to offer a special package of
services to your Facebook fans? Be consistent about offering these
incentives to keep people on board.
Facebook success is really not
that complicated. Post regularly using these 7 guidelines and you can
count on being well ‘Liked’.
