Top 5 Mistakes Businesses Make With Facebook

July 12, 2012 by Affirm Agency

It’s safe to say that the vast majority of businesses have Facebook pages. It’s also safe to say that many of these businesses are mismanaging them. The following are the top five mistakes that businesses make with their Facebook pages.

1. Too many posts.
   Nothing will drive fans away from your page faster than too many posts.  Although it varies with the type of industry (think news outlet vs. coffee shop), the general rule of thumb is no more than 5-10 posts per week.
2. Too few posts.
   Just as important as not posting too often is, is posting too little. Fans will quickly become unengaged and you will lose your ranking, resulting in not showing up in newsfeeds. You’ll lose your ability to get any messaging out there and also any opportunity to have your post shared.
3. Sounding too “salesy.”
   No one wants advertisements constantly thrown in their face. A sale here or there is acceptable and even encouraged, but too many percentages off with exclamation points showing up will quickly get your page unliked (and possibly marked as spam).
4. Unresponsiveness.It is critical that the page is monitored daily. It’s easy to assume that a lack of responsiveness on a facebook page is translated to the business as a whole. Set up the page so that you are sent alerts when something is posted on your page so you can ensure things are taken care of in a timely manner
5. Boring content.
   It’s good to mix things up, such as a links to a news article related to your industry, YouTube videos, and photos. Keep things light-hearted and include humor. Make sure you have content that fans want to be engaged with and not something that will lead them straight to the unlike button.
   The best way to manage a business page is to design it and update it with the mindset of a consumer. Ask yourself what content you’d like to see and what you’d like to gain from a business page that you have liked. Thinking only like a marketer will get you into trouble in this case; you have to think like a social media participant, as well.