Here we go again with the Facebook page changes. No matter what you do online, something will change. This is why I tell interns, “if you don’t like constant change or challenges then marketing is not for you.”
When I heard the news in early January that Facebook was going to change, AGAIN, I couldn’t help but say, “Shocker. When aren’t they changing something?” Many businesses are very nervous about this latest change, but I tell them not to be. Facebook could be the new Florida weather motto, “If you don’t like it, wait five minutes, it’ll change.” If you live in Florida, you will totally get the joke.
Let’s get down to business, shall we? What is Facebook changing? In a short summary, basically, posts from Facebook business pages will be limited in consumers feeds. They did this a few years ago and many business pages survived. It’s almost like comparing them to the recession. You see a change, now make a plan to survive it.
Lucky for the Captevrix team, a few of us were already pros at Facebook when this happened the first time. So what did we do to keep our clients’ Facebook pages alive?
- We educated our clients in the fact that the old saying “pay to play” will become a part of their new social strategy. When Facebook made this first change, they introduced the famous “boost” button. A few bucks can go a long way on Facebook ads or boosted post when you truly know what you’re doing.
- Double up on your posts. We normally post once a day for our clients as this timing is based on analytical information we get from various software. We don’t post just on Facebook, so a lot of thought goes into our strategy and timing.
- Be Engaging. You should already be doing this. We know it’s hard not to say “Buy my stuff! Come stay with us! We want to see you and your wallet.” Get the conversation going. Get to know your customers. Get them thinking about you. If your engagement is steady, then that is a sure sign you will stay in front of them.
- No naked posts! I would like to think I coined this phrase as I have still yet to hear other marketers use this phrase eye-popping saying. Today’s consumers are fast and want their information just as fast. The old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” still rings true for social media. So add an eye-catching photo.
- RESPOND! I can’t tell you how many times I see posts that have questions or comments and their audience gets nothing but crickets! You took the time to post it. You want to know they saw your post, why wouldn’t you respond to them? For the record, having an automated thumbs up doesn’t cut it. Sometimes it’s good to give the thumbs up, but not all the time. Be ENGAGING.
Last but not least: Whoever you have running your social media, make sure they have some basic customer service skills and are a likable person, in person. If they have these two things going for them, it will trickle over to their responses on social media. If they are not a very conversational person or lack that prime customer service skill, then keep them away from your social media accounts.
If you don’t have an employee that truly understands how social media works, is ready to live on Facebook Pages (the app) or other platforms 24/7 then contact us. We can provide this service and much more, for a fraction of the cost of an employee. Plus our social media managers truly love this stuff!
I don’t always take a moment in my blog posts to give us a selfish plug, but this blog post seemed to be warranted. Facebook along with the other social accounts like Twitter and Instagram have an important part in your marketing strategy. Don’t leave it to chance and don’t brush it off. In the long run, it could show a difference of breaking even or well-deserved profits.
