Many brands set up a Facebook account without any idea of what to do with it. Just like with a blog, website, or even a Twitter account, you have to have a plan. To just randomly post topics and hope they stick will lead to inconsistency and confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Facebook is constantly changing the rules for brands and brand pages, and to enter into Facebook marketing blindly without any planning and research on your part can mean Facebook will penalize your page \u2014 or even your personal account. A poorly executed brand page can reflect badly on you, as a social media marketer, and on your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take some time to put together a plan before you get started. If you already have a Facebook account for your brand and it needs an overhaul, pretend you\u2019re starting from scratch and plan a strategy anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first item to check off your list is your goal. What do you hope to achieve with your Facebook account? You won\u2019t be able to plan the right types of content without listing your goal first. For most brands, the goal is to build a community of advocates, which will lead to traffic to the main company website and, hopefully, sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After you know your brand\u2019s goal, you want to plan the type of content that will help lead to that goal. Now, this doesn\u2019t mean if you\u2019re looking for sales, every Facebook post should be selling something. However, you should post with sales and the people who help you achieve your goal in mind. (For more on creating content, see the section \u201cCreating Content That Sings,\u201d later in this chapter.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What follows are some ideas for the types of goals you might want to achieve with your Facebook page, as well as the content to help you best achieve each goal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u00a0You may not necessarily see your timeline cover photo as a sales tool, but as the first thing people see when they land on your Facebook page, that\u2019s exactly what it is. The photo may not be of your product or service, but it should inspire the sale. (For more on setting up your timeline cover photo, see\u00a0Chapter 1\u00a0in this minibook.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take time to understand your community. Watch them interact on the various social networks and watch how they interact on Facebook with you. Use your Facebook Insights and analytics to observe the types of content they best react to and what they shy away from. When you know your community, you can plan the most successful types of content. See the last section in this chapter for more information on Insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facebook\u2019s timeline for brands is created so that you can share your brand\u2019s story from the very beginning. This chronological approach is a beautiful opportunity for your customers to find out more about your milestones and feel connected to your history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your community enjoys being made to feel as if they\u2019re part of the brand, even learning some secrets about your brand or being regaled with tales from back in the day. When your customers feel connected to you, they\u2019re more likely to share your stories \u2014 and products or services \u2014 with their friends and family. The more stories you share, the more brand loyalty is inspired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some items you may want to include on your brand page include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have co-workers who can be \u2026 ahem \u2026 a little unpredictable, you may want to steer clear of them if you\u2019ll be live streaming. There\u2019s no time delay to edit something out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you create a Facebook content strategy, you should have some idea of what to talk about with your Facebook community. Planning content by using an editorial calendar or a spreadsheet can help to keep you from posting stale updates because you don\u2019t know what to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before creating content for your Facebook page, visit some successful pages to see how those brands handle content. Seeing how other brands are engaging their communities can inspire you to do some neat things of your own. Also, visit competitors to see what they\u2019re doing right, as well as what they\u2019re missing. There may be an opportunity to fill a void with some much-needed content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Your content isn\u2019t about the sale, but rather the conversation and engagement that may lead to the sale. Make sure to provide a mix of fun questions, photographs, videos, and informative articles and blog posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What follows are some tips for creating good content for your Facebook page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you post too many controversial topics or allow a lot of negativity on your brand page, eventually the only people who come around are those who thrive on drama and negativity. A positive attitude, with positive content, will inspire positive results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing is an important part of brand page interaction. Creating the right types of content means that same content may be seen by thousands of eyes. When your community and others share your content, it generates brand recognition and word-of-mouth marketing. If you\u2019re known for creating interesting and creative content, you gain even more fans on your Facebook page, which means more potential sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be careful not to write for Facebook, an inanimate thing, instead of people. Too many brands make the mistake of creating content for its ability to go viral, as opposed to making content that resonates with people. When all your content is obvious click-bait, your fans will grow wary of all the shocking headlines and exclamation points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People like to feel as if they discovered something wonderful. Sharing items with their friends and family sometimes can make them feel as if they created that content themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When someone clicks the Share button below something you posted, it means your content is going to show up in the news feeds of that person\u2019s friends, as well. If a dozen fans with 200 friends each share your content, your post has the potential to be seen by 2,400 people. Out of all those people, it would be terrific if ten new fans like your page as a result. However, even if they don\u2019t, sharing is creating brand recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re recognized for putting out shareable content, more people will follow and use your brand, and your brand will be seen as a respected authority in your field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what types of content do people want to share?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Say thank you to the people who share your content. When they\u2019re called out in a positive manner, they\u2019re more inclined to continue with the support. If another brand page shares your content, try to do the same for continued cross-promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t sit around waiting to be shared, however. Do some sharing of your own. Take some time each day to visit other Facebook accounts and find content relevant to your community to share. This goodwill toward other brands puts you on their radar, and they may want to reciprocate. In addition, your community will appreciate your finding discussion topics or images to share with them. This especially works if you switch your Facebook identity to that of your brand page and not your personal account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don\u2019t have to limit shared content to Facebook posts or your own content creation. Sharing blog posts, images, videos, and podcasts by others will help create goodwill among different communities and will bring in more awareness of your brand page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hashtags make topics searchable without having to use a search bar or search engine. When you use a hashtag in your Facebook post, it\u2019s visible to all who search for the topic used in your hashtag. For example, if you\u2019re posting a healthy recipe using the grain quinoa, you can use the hashtag #quinoa, #recipes, or even #healthy. Now everyone who\u2019s searching for that same hashtag will see your post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some best practices for using hashtags:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every tip you read about Facebook will come to nil if you don\u2019t have a positive, productive community. The more people you have liking your brand page, the more people you have responding to and commenting on your posts and campaigns. You want your community members to feel good about participating, and when they feel good, they share and they buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last thing you want is a timeline filled with random updates. Take some time to explore the different Facebook apps to find out how to better interact with people. When you share in different, unique ways, your community will grow, and so will sales and brand recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It used to be that people on Facebook weren\u2019t there because they wanted to buy or find a good bargain. They were there to keep in touch with family and friends near and far. But the truth is, the platform has come a long way since its inception. Now Facebook offers the perfect social shopping opportunity because people can socialize, shop, and share. In fact, people are more likely to buy something they see their friends buying and if they don\u2019t have to even leave the platform to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Facebook has specific rules about what brands can present to their communities, especially when it comes to selling, promoting, and holding contests. If not kept in check, Facebook can become a haven for spammers, so regulations are necessary. It\u2019s a good idea to familiarize yourself with Facebook\u2019s Terms of Use for brands before selling; go to\u00a0 Facebook requires the use of specific apps for selling and promotions to keep spammers out of the mix and to ensure that all opportunities are legitimate. So to sell on Facebook, you have to do so the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a couple of apps to help you sell on Facebook:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a truly interactive experience, you have to give your Facebook community the tools to get the party going. Asking questions or posting links is only a small part of growing your Facebook network. To truly tap into the power of the people, create some other fun experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Polls can be fun and frivolous, or you can use them to collect information about the consumer. People like to participate in polls because they feel as if they\u2019re part of a campaign. Plus, creating a poll isn\u2019t a big-time commitment; with a simple click of the button, you have the user\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Facebook\u2019s poll app, available at\u00a0 For even more community interaction, try creating quizzes. Quizzes aren\u2019t necessarily a way to gather information from your community, but if the quizzes are entertaining, the people who take them will share them with others in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a quiz-building app like Opinion Stage ( Contests are another way to perform community outreach and raise awareness of your brand. However, like with selling, Facebook has specific rules about contests. You don\u2019t have to download a special app to host contests, but Facebook does have specific rules as to what is and what isn\u2019t allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out this list of contest apps from Venture Harbor and try out the different options to see which one best fits your needs. ( One of the main reasons people follow brands on Facebook is that they\u2019re interested in receiving bargains, freebies, or discounts. In fact, these types of perks are a terrific way to reward your community for their loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you offer discounts and perks that are available only to your Facebook community, it makes people feel special and inclined to share your brand with others. Discounts are what fans share the most when it comes to brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can offer discounts in a variety of ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u00a0Hashtags are searchable on Facebook (see\u00a0Figure 2-1). Look to see how many people are posting about that hashtag and aim to utilize popular (but still relevant) ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Snapshot](\"https:\/\/learning.oreilly.com\/api\/v2\/epubs\/urn:orm:book:9781119931959\/files\/images\/9781119931959-fg070201.png\")
Bringing Your Community into the Mix<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Selling on Facebook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
www.facebook.com\/page_guidelines.php<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Facebook advertising is a terrific way to sell products and reach people who share similar likes and interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all your selling on Facebook has to be via apps and widgets. You can also create action terms and phrases to post on your timeline that lead your community to your website. Sharing news about a sale, new merchandise, or a discount is fine, as long as you\u2019re not spamming.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCreating polls, quizzes, and contests<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Polls<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
www.facebook.com\/simple.polls<\/code>, allows participants to add comments about why they voted as they did, and you can also configure the poll to allow participants to add their own items for folks to vote on.\u00a0Figure 2-3\u00a0shows what a poll and tab looks like on your page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Polls are best advised for big, active Facebook communities. When smaller communities put out polls and have a poor showing, they may receive only a couple of responses. The last thing you want is to promote something publicly and have a poor showing.<\/p>\n\n\n\nQuizzes<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
www.opinionstage.com<\/code>), you can take advantage of various templates (see\u00a0Figure 2-4) to make fun, creative quizzes for your page. For example, if you\u2019re representing an Italian restaurant, create a quiz seeing how many Italian words and phrases your community recognizes. If yours is a car brand, list the parts of the car and see whether your community\u00a0knows what each part does or where it\u2019s located. At the end of the quiz, have a ratings score for expertise. These quizzes are frivolous, but fun and extremely shareable. They\u2019re also great community-building tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Snapshot](\"https:\/\/learning.oreilly.com\/api\/v2\/epubs\/urn:orm:book:9781119931959\/files\/images\/9781119931959-fg070203.png\")
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Contests<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
www.ventureharbour.com\/facebook-contest-promotions-apps<\/code>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u00a0Before running a contest on Facebook, read Facebook\u2019s promotions policy. Check the policy each time you run a contest because the rules often change, and you don\u2019t want to be caught unawares. See Facebook\u2019s Terms of Use for pages at\u00a0www.facebook.com\/page_guidelines.php#promotionsguidelines<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOffering discounts to your community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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