Writing posts on Facebook is part art and part science. Every audience is unique and has a particular way that they like to communicate. A local country band may end every post with “We love ya’ll more than mama’s apple pie.” It’s colloquial, it’s local, and it’s just plain fun. At the same time, your posts need to be predictable and elicit a reaction from your fans.
You need to tailor the style of your posts to your business and your audience. If you interact with the general public, and you have a business where humor is acceptable—such as a barber shop or ice cream shop—make your posts funny. If your business is a little more professional or conservative, such as an accounting firm or a chiropractor office, stick to delivering data and facts. You know your customers better than anyone, so make sure to deliver them the content that they want.
Your messages should reflect what your customers want to hear—not just what you want to share. Here are some ideas:
• Breaking news
• White papers on the latest research
• Pictures of new products
• How-to video demonstrations
• Jokes and other humorous posts (Refer to Figure 3.5 to see how a dry cleaner used humor to attract more Facebook fans.)
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Even the stuffiest business people like a little humor now and then, so be sure to mix up your messages to keep your users entertained.
Figure 3.5: The Geneva Cleaners dog Facebook ad.
Facebook is a space where people network and communicate primarily with their friends. As a business, you’re in a more secondary role. To blend in and not appear too pushy, you need to act more casual than you would on a strictly business forum. If your fans wanted you to be completely professional, they’d be on a different social network, such as LinkedIn.
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LinkedIn is the largest professional social networking website, with over 120 million users from around the world. The focus on LinkedIn is to network to find jobs, partners, and clients.
Developing Content
When deciding what to say, start with what you know and what you can share that’s valuable to potential fans and current customers. People love to hear about the latest and greatest features on products that they use. Start by writing a few posts that direct users to your website or blog.
For instance, if you run a deli, you might steer readers to your web page, where you provide nutritional data for all of your sandwiches and soups. If you’re a law firm, you might post a weekly legal tip. If you’re a handyman, you might feature a brief how-to video for various simple household fixes, such as tightening a leaky faucet. Another idea for a handyman is to include seasonal tips, such as “It’s that time of year again: have you cleaned the leaves and debris from your rain gutters?”
You can even push your fans to other resources. These may be products or services that you don’t offer but are still a great value. The handyman may post a link to a hardware store that shows a picture of the kinds of doors that are available to purchase. A landscaper could post a link to some famous lawns and lawn ornaments of movie stars. And a dentist might post a link to a video that explains how tooth decay forms on a tooth when it’s not properly cared for.
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Why would you ever want to push your fans to websites other than your own? Because doing so signals to your fans that you care about what’s best for your clients and customers. Such actions build trust, signaling to users that they can depend on you as a resource and that you’re not solely interested in selling your products and services. If you have something to offer, by all means, share it. If not, let users know about others who might be able to help them. Think about it this way: if it’s something you’d do for a friend, why not do it for a fan?
On a weekly or monthly basis, you should set aside some time to brainstorm original content ideas for the month. We recommend gathering your team in a creative setting (outside the office works best) and detaching yourself from cell phones, computers, and even Facebook. Your goal should be to generate original ideas, not to copy others.
Asking Your Audience What They Want to Hear
If you’re struggling to come up with ideas, consider asking your audience for suggestions. Ask your fans what they want to hear about by using the Question tool. You can even use the poll options to set up a question so that it can have multiple answers.
For example, if you run a printing company, your question might look like this:
We’re planning our editorial calendar for the next six months and would like your input on the topics we cover in our upcoming posts. So far we are planning to cover the following topics:
• Building a better business card
• Turning thank-you notes into up-sell opportunities
• Using postcards in marketing campaigns
Please provide three suggestions for topics you’d like to learn about:
• ________________________________________
• ________________________________________
• ________________________________________
By approaching content in this way, your audience is part of the team that creates. And they love the idea that you are asking them for this.
Keeping It Short and Sweet
People generally don’t actually read content on the web like they read books. Instead, they skim. This goes for Facebook, too. That means that they typically only see keywords that are meaningful to them, and they skip the rest. This is why it’s important to keep your posts short and to the point.
Facebook enables you to post up to 420 characters. If you go over this limit, Facebook won’t allow you to post your message. If you have a longer post, you may use the Facebook Note feature. While notes are great for longer posts, they aren’t as effective in terms of visibility. Use them sparingly. You can read more about notes in Chapter 7.
Can you imagine if a business page you Liked posted multiple, lengthy messages to its Facebook site every day? It wouldn’t take long for you to either Unlike the business or hide the page.
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Always keep in mind that people are on Facebook to connect to other people. If you can be spontaneous and agile enough to break out of the corporate mold, you can reach people.
The Least You Need to Know
• Write down a list of immediate, three-month, and one-year goals.
• Plan to spend at least four hours a week managing your social media presence.
• If you interact with the general public, and you have a business where humor is acceptable, make your posts funny.
• Be willing to adjust your marketing plan to account for major current events and other breaking news.