I’d imagine that you’ve probably thought long and hard about getting onto social media. There are obstacles, for sure. There are dangers, too, especially when it comes to expending resources on something that may not get the results you desire. The last thing you want to do is waste time on Facebook.
…And believe me, wasting time on Facebook is easy to do!
Over the years, I’ve seen every level of marketer and every level of expertise waste time on Facebook. No one’s perfect and 99% of the time, it’s been ‘learn as you go.’
With the added handicap of Facebook changing the game nearly every week, it’s easy to see how someone would waste time doing things that are counter to their goals.
Time is money.
To avoid any worsening of your Facebook productivity, I’ve come up with a list of ways you could be mismanaging important social media minutes…and potential client connections.
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1. Lacking a completed About section.
Here’s a chance to give all the details about your business. It’s ‘free’ social media real estate, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of it?
Don’t risk the confusion among those people who are interested in your business and want to know more.
2. Not scheduling your content.
As a busy entrepreneur, there’s no good reason to waste time worrying about making sure there’s something posted on your page.
Sit down once a week and plan your posts – schedule them out – and you’ll have more time to engage customers.
Pro Tip: Leverage the use of a content calendar to plan your month ahead of time.
3. Not using tools to save time (and your sanity)
Once you’ve decided to create a process for your content publishing, you’ll need tools to help.
One of the best is PostPlanner. The other one I recommend is Buffer. I use both of these tools daily but PostPlanner allows more freedom to schedule posts, including repeat posts to Facebook and Twitter.
4. Reposting videos from external sources.
Native Facebook videos perform much better than links to outside sources like YouTube. Videos uploaded natively on Facebook see an average of 110% more interactions, and 611% more shares!
Additionally, the autoplay feature within Facebook’s native video tool encourages your followers to spend more time engaging with your content. This registers with the network’s algorithm and helps your video get seen by more users.
5. Not investing in Facebook ads.
Facebook is pay to play now. “Organic Reach” (aka: not paid for) is down to a minimum and you must now pay Facebook to show your page’s content to people.
Depending on your specific goals, Facebook ads can be very cost-effective. A few hundred dollars a month can do wonders for building your brand and business.
6. Getting in comment wars.
Moderating the comments on Facebook posts can sometimes be daunting. As your page grows, so will the instance of trolls, naysayers and – once in a while – a disgruntled customer.
Use Facebook Messenger to engage with any disgruntled customer instead of the comment section under a post. If a disgruntled customer comments on your Facebook post, reply quickly and reach out to them via Messenger.
With trolls and naysayers, each situation is different. Sometimes, other commenters chime in and you won’t need to. After running a large Facebook page for over 5 years, I’ve become very grateful for the “hide comment”, “delete comment” and “ban user” options.
7. Republishing on Facebook without reformatting.
Even though it may seem like a timesaving tactic, refrain from automatically posting content from other platforms. Instagram images look great on Facebook but all the #hashtags are a turnoff to users. Automatically posting from Facebook to Twitter produces a lame “fb” link only (no image). Same goes for posting from Instagram to Twitter.
8. Posting overly promotional content.
There’s absolutely nothing about benign product images and sales jargon that promises something of value to the customer.
There’s a time and place for promotional content and the bulk of it is in Facebook ads. Overly promotional content published on your page is never a good look.
9. Not focusing on meaningful metrics.
The top Facebook KPI’s (key performance indicators) are:
- Audience profile
- Audience reach
- Audience engagement
- Leads
- Conversions
- Negative actions (unfollows, negative reviews)
10. Not having a social media strategy.
This is perhaps the biggest time waster because without a plan, you will fail.
What you post is governed by WHY you post. Defined within your social media strategy plan should be:
- Goals you want to reach
- Timeframe to reach each goal
- Roadmap of how you’ll achieve the goals
- Definitive metrics
Social Media Strategy will tie this all together.
Should you find yourself having more questions than answers, please reach out to me and we’ll get things moving in the direction that’s right for your business.