Facebook has become a place where people overshare, our feeds are full of baby pictures, food and injuries that make us wince. But Facebook for Business is a whole different world and you need to adapt how you use the platform to ensure you look like you kind of know what you’re doing and your page looks professional. It’s hard to know the do’s and don’ts when everyone manages their page differently so we’ve compiled 5 of our top tips to point you in the right direction. These are things we see happening time and time again when we log onto Facebook and they’re so easy to rectify in order to make your page look professional.
1. Don’t ‘like’ your own content
We see this happen daily. Everyone knows you like your post-that’s why you put it up! Make sure you’re logged into your personal account before you like anything on your business page-at least then it’s a little more subtle. If several people have access to your Facebook account, ensure they’re doing the same too-it can often just be one member of staff who is logging onto the office computer for a browse of the newsfeed and liking your post as the business.
2. Don’t respond to comments from your personal account
In contrast to tip number 1 this time you need to make sure you aren’t logged into your personal Facebook account when responding to comments. Make sure you’re logged in as your business to ensure the response looks authentic.
3. Don’t Ignore Reviews
We get it-it’s heart-breaking when you receive a bad review about your business. But don’t ignore it, you need to nip it in the bud by responding and ALWAYS try and direct the complaint to a private conversation rather then arguing in the comments. Has the review made you angry? Don’t respond while you’re still seeing red-give yourself time to calm down and maybe even get a second opinion of how you should respond. Yes, you might have received a negative review but future visitors to your page will see your response and see you tried to resolve the issue which will help repair their view of you. Always thank people for their positive reviews too and they’ll be more inclined to leave another one!
4. Don’t make Giveaways too Complicated
Giveaways are a great way to increase engagement on your page. They don’t have to be big-maybe just a bottle of prosecco or hamper of food-we’re seeing a lot of Easter eggs being given away at the moment! However, the most important thing to consider is the entry requirements. You can’t ask people to share as it breaks Facebook competition rules which could result in your page being closed down. We see some giveaways which ask for photos to be posted in the comments and they don’t do so well as it’s just too much effort, make it easy and you’ll have plenty of entries.
5. Don’t use hashtags
Hashtags belong on Twitter and Instagram-using them on Facebook is a basic mistake which will make you look like you don’t know how to write content for the platform. Hashtags are great on the other networks to engage in conversation and help your content be found but Facebook uses algorithms to help with this based around engagement-write great content and you wont need hashtags. Also avoid sharing content from your Instagram onto Facebook as doing this copies across the hashtags and it’s plainly obvious you’ve re-used the content. Spend the extra 30 seconds taking the hashtags out and your page will look much more professional.
We often have clients approach us asking us to take their business Facebook page off their hands-it can all be a bit overwhelming trying to ensure everything runs smoothly offline never mind throwing a few social networks into the mix! If you feel like you need a helping hand, we can offer everything from training sessions to writing content and managing your accounts on your behalf. Get in touch to see how we could help!