Below are seven things to consider when crafting that perfect post. Figment, an online community for writers to share and connect with other writers, has a great Facebook page that illustrates a few key points.
1. Audience
Here's the obvious: your company's Facebook page is not your personal page. Depending on your personal Facebook use, this can mean a lot of things. On a business page, use restraint when posting, post more frequently, keep in mind that you are reaching a broader audience. Also, know who your business's Facebook audience is. More importantly, consider who you'd want that audience to be. Then, speak to them when you are posting for your company Facebook page.
2. Voice and Tone
The voice of your Facebook page should reflect the image the business wants to project. Unlike a personal network, your Facebook fans may not know you personally very well. Therefore, as they meet you via Facebook, and get to know you, how do you want them to characterize you and the business? Is your firm's brand one that's quirky? Is your company all business? Keep in mind that the Facebook culture leans toward the more casual, so make sure you are not coming across as too stiff.
3. Content
Your posts shouldn't solely be promotional material about your company and products. That gets old quickly. Rather posts should engage fans and offer value. News, humor, entertainment and insider insights grab your audience's attention and motivate them to return to your page for more. Simply pouring out post after post of advertising copy will mean losing fans and readership. People want to be engaged with the material, not spammed.
Content that leads people to interact on your page is particularly powerful. You can use your posts to drive fans to quizzes like personality tests, surveys, and Facebook sweepstakes that are in your Favorite Apps/ tabs slots. This type of content is also an important way to get Likes, Shares, and more.
Also, be positive-don't trash talk your competitors-- no one likes a negative Nellie.
Figment uses Tabs/ Favorite Apps slots to add in content: contests, quizzes, photos and more. Its Could you Catch a Killer? quiz is one of dozens of quizzes that Figment creates and publishes to its page on a regular basis in order to drive interaction and give visitors a reason to explore the site and come back regularly. It is also a clever way to promote products such as the book I Hunt Killers.
4. Context
Post as part of a series, or to announce an offline event, or in response to customer feedback. That greater context gives people a reason to keep coming back to your page looking for the next piece of information and means you can catch them up on what you have been doing in the interim.
After posting the quiz as a tab, Figment adds it to the News Feed. Visitors who take the Could you Catch a killer? quiz can continue to engage with the quiz/book and others via comments and posts on the site.
5. Timing
The best time to post to Facebook is a matter of much debate. In general, think about who you are trying to reach and when they are most likely to be spending time catching up on their Facebook activity. The best posts go live when your fans have time to read and digest them andhopefullyreact. Chances are this is not when they are hard at work, but rather during lunch time, evenings, weekends. Experiment and see what makes the most sense for your page.
Figment makes sure to post frequently on its page often times several times a day-this is a great way to stay top of mind with the Figment audience.
6. Interaction
Drive interaction on Facebook by asking for advice, opinions or related stories. Each time a customer responds to your post, he signs up to get a bump from you every time somebody else responds. That kind of conversation gets real results in social media. Personality tests and surveys, where people can share their opinions and results are effective ways to get interaction and information that you can really use! To get things started, don't be afraid to prime the pump by having a friend, employee or loyal customer be the first to comment.
In this example, Figment comes right out and asks for participating: Share your six-word story now!
7. Responsiveness
Once people have responded to your initial post, make your own comment to keep the conversation going. Now that individuals can private message your company, there is a huge opportunity to really engage in a dialog. Make sure that you are not letting your Facebook page go unattended. For better or for worse, most of us have come to expected immediate results online.
About SnapApp
SnapApp is a marketing platform that empowers brands, publishers and agencies to foster conversations across the web. With the SnapApp platform companies can easily create engaging content including quizzes, surveys, sweepstakes and contests that can be published on Facebook, Websites, in emails, Twitter and more. Companies can use this content to drive results including registrations, likes, follows, +1s, shares, subscriptions, time on site and ad revenue.
Seth Lieberman is the CEO of Pangea Media/ SnapApp. Under his leadership Pangea Media's platforms have facilitated 300+ million customer engagements. Lieberman has 15 years of experience in online advertising, customer acquisition, lead generation and customer engagement.
Current Issue - May 2024