This blog is for anyone who has ever been so confident about a Facebook post, believing that it’s going to attract lots of likes and comments, to only be disappointed that it ended up a complete failure. I’ll be covering what makes a good Facebook social media post and uncovering the truth about those pesky Facebook robots!
If you’re looking for Facebook content guidance because your posts don’t seem to do very well, it might not be the quality of your content, it’s more likely that you made one of these six Facebook mistakes.
Don’t worry, once you know how to create wide reaching Facebook posts and know the Facebook mistakes to avoid, you’ll rid those feelings of despair and get your posts the attention, and visibility, they deserve.
Do you know about Facebook’s army of robots?
When you continually get low reach on Facebook posts it’s important that you know how this social media platform operates and what are deemed to be Facebook errors.
In the nanosecond between your finger pressing the ‘post’ button and your post going live, the Facebook robots (commonly known as algorithms) will scan the content making sure it conforms! If the robots see something they don’t like, they’ll only allow a limited amount of your followers see your efforts. And believe me, they’re harsh.
My Industry-Proven Facebook Social Media Content Tips:
Top Tip #1 :
Don’t put links in your social media posts
This is a sure-fire way of killing reach. The last thing Facebook wants is for its users to encourage other users to step away from the platform – they want people to stay on it! The vigilant robots will pick up on this and limit your post’s reach no matter how well-crafted your introductory content is.
Instead, summarise why you want to share it and place the link in the comments section. But, a word of warning, the robots may pick up on this if you word your post in a way that’s easy for them to spot your plan! You may consider using an emoji to direct your followers to look in the comments.
Top Tip #2
Don’t use images with a lot of text on them
However tempting it may be to head over to Canva, find a beautiful image and overlay it with text – take a moment to think about how the robots will react to this. One of the best Facebook posts tips is to use images with people’s faces on them. You will be penalised for using an image which has more than 20% text on it – and that includes text in logos too. If ever, you’ve tried to use an image with a lot of text on it for a Facebook Ad, you’ll know that they never get approved.
The good news is that there is a way of checking that the text comes under the 20% limit. Here’s a link to the Facebook Image Text Check Tool to help you measure correctly and please the robots!
Top Tip #3
Don’t constantly sell
This is one of my favourite tips for a good Facebook post – probably because I love hearing more about the people behind the brand! Facebook is all about being social, it’s not about selling – not even the Business Pages. When a customer is in ‘buying mode’ they’ll head to Google or to your website directly. Promoting your business on Facebook is all about building communities, strengthening relationships, gaining trust and being likeable. Posts that consistently contain words and phrases connected to selling won’t achieve a great reach as it simply goes against Facebook’s sociable values.
Try and follow the 80:20 rule. 80% of your Facebook content should be informative, fun and helpful. 20% should promote your services and products to influence a purchasing decision.
I’ve more Facebook content advice in my blog titled, Why B2B Should Be On Facebook. Or, if you fancy watching a video instead, tune in to my YouTube livestream from October last year covering a plethora of Facebook Content Top Tips.
Top Tip #4
Do use hashtags
Wait … what! Yes, you read that right, use hashtags at the end of your Facebook posts. This is one of the lesser-known Facebook marketing mistakes. Granted, they are not as powerful as when you use them on Twitter or Instagram, but they are a useful marketing tools and add a lot of value.
Allow me to demonstrate with my own example. My followers will recognise my hashtag as being #GetSocial. I always use this as well as other hashtags relating to the post across all platforms – it’s part of my brand identity. So, for example, if a customer typed in “Get Social” into Facebook’s search facility I would pop up, they would also see my business page if they typed in “Getsocial” or “#GetSocial”. It massively increases the chances of my business being seen.
Plus, not many business owners use them on Facebook, this fact alone increases your chances of being found.
I’d recommend using a maximum of 3 at the end of your post. They should be relevant to your business and your post. As always, think how your customer thinks – what would they type into the search bar to find someone like you?
Top Tip #5
Don’t create short posts for your social media
Many people create succinct messages to cram in everything they want to say into the first 5 lines before Facebook cuts if off and adds the “See more” button. They’re missing a trick when they do this.
The “See more” button is incredibly valuable to you. The robots reward you and circulate your posts further afield when they see that your followers are interested in what you have to say. They know this when your followers interact: click on the “See more” button, like, comment or share. When your followers actively want to read your full post the robots are satisfied that your post is worthy of more views.
One other valuable piece of information I’d like to share with you concerns “lurkers”, these are the people who are interested in your business but don’t interact with posts. They’ll be reading them, but they’ll not like or comment. They “lurk”. However, they are highly likely to press the “See more” button – and, from experience, they often become actual customers.
Top Tip #6
Know when your customers are using their social media platforms
If your timing is off your Facebook posts won’t do very well at all. Ideally, you want your followers to start interacting with your posts within the first hour of them being published. Again, the robots will see this early interaction and identify your post as adding value – in turn they will keep sending it out to more and more followers’ newsfeeds as well as friends of your followers.
I can’t stress enough how powerful knowledge is when it comes to your ideal customer. It could be that your customers are most likely to be scrolling through social media on their morning commute to work, during a lunch hour, waiting to pick their children up at the school gate, after 7pm when the dinner has been eaten and the family are settled and relaxing in their downtime, etc. Know when they are online and publish your posts to coincide with this time.
Now you know the top six Facebook mistakes to avoid I believe you’ll be creating good Facebook posts in no time and achieving your well-deserved business leads.
If you’d like more help transforming your Facebook page into a hub of activity, where customers and potential customers engage with your page, shower you with fantastic reviews and share your content far and wide then check out my online Facebook course “Creating and Managing Successful Facebook Pages”.
Bye for now,
Becs
