7 Common Facebook Marketing Mistakes

Facebook should be the first place your company looks to strengthen any marketing campaign. As a network filled with individuals looking to connect with brands that are relevant to them, Facebook is a breeding ground for viral content that has the potential to take your brand to the next level.

It can also lead to the biggest downfall your company has ever seen. Or, just as bad, a virtual flat line that’s filled with marketing initiatives that never make it off the ground. It doesn’t have to be that way. Check out these 7 common Facebook marketing mistakes to avoid at all costs:

1. Too Much Promotion: One-Sided Egotism

Here’s the thing. Facebook is different from both your website and your physical office. While your awards, achievements and other pieces of important company marketing materials matter, your customers and followers matter just as much in this playing field. Users don’t search Facebook for one-sided conversations or for shameless examples of self-promotion. They use the network to simply connect. If your brand isn’t using Facebook to ask questions, to reach out to your followers and to post information that matters to them, you’re missing out. Don’t fall into this trap.

Promote your brand with a twist on traditional promotion. For example:

The massive computer parts outlet Newegg posts a fun employee spotlight on their primary Facebook page which has over 1.4 million likes. They’re promoting company values and even more fitting, company longevity. This is her 15th anniversary and she was their first customer service representative. These type of posts humanize brands, rather than overflow fan feeds with deals and discounts.

2. Incomplete Profiles

In some cases, customers are in a hurry. Sometimes they won’t go from Facebook to your actual website or vice versa. Sometimes Facebook is your make it or break it chance to gain a customer or to lose them to the thousands of competitors that can be found online. This is why your Facebook profile matters. While it may seem tedious or unnecessary to repeat information that can also be found on your site or online listing, it is time well-spent. If a customer has a question about how to contact you, or what you actually do, and they can’t find it in the place they land on through a search (which could be Facebook), they’ll probably move on. If marketing is a priority, a complete profile should be one as well.

3. Obnoxious Posting

Yes, your followers “like” your page because what you have to share matters to them, they wouldn’t have clicked that button if it weren’t true. However, if your post updates go overboard, you could do more harm than good. You want to show up in the feeds of your followers, that’s why regular posting is essential. However, if you post information too frequently, repeat the same posts over and over again, or do anything else that fills their newsfeed and takes up too much real estate, you’re likely to end up “unliked” in a hurry. Keep it classy and think about aiming to optimal exposure levels.

Even if your business page is for an eCommerce website that has hundreds of products and dozens of deals, it doesn’t make it alright to automate propaganda. Instead, try and take a leaf from the strategies of creative Facebook pages, like the Havahart brand page:

Even though most people in America think of animal control when seeing the Havahart name, their Facebook page regularly features animal-friendly pictures aligned with days of the week. The example above is a timely photo for Mother’s Day, featuring a mother bunny and their bunny children. This is the kind of content a friend might post, which is why so many people enjoyed it.

4. Not Posting Enough

Like any online marketing endeavor, balance matters. While avoiding obnoxious posting is important, this doesn’t mean that you should avoid posting altogether or forget about your Facebook page. An empty Facebook page can send just as many negative signals as one that is overcrowded. Communities cannot grow without activity. Activity is unlikely to happen without some effort on your part. Make Facebook a regular part of your marketing strategy for best results.

5. Demonstrating Ignorance

In the same way that technology is advancing, Facebook changes regularly as well. If you don’t keep up, it will show. Customers want to know that the brands they are loyal to place a priority on keeping up with what’s important to them. This means using the tools available on Facebook for the best results. Did you know your brand could have a custom welcome page? Or that the info tab has evolved in the past few months? If not, it’s time to get with the program.

6. Not Measuring Up

If you don’t take the time to measure the impact of your activities on Facebook, what’s the point? Would you complete an offline marketing campaign without measuring the results? Probably not. Without measurement it’s impossible to modify a strategy for best results moving forward. Facebook makes it simple. The networks’ brand admin tools make it easy to measure the reach and interaction levels of specific posts while making targeted adjustments for moving forward. Take the time to look back at past campaigns to see what stood out and what didn’t make a splash. Modify future actions accordingly.

7. Not Using the Network

It should go without saying, but, in case it doesn’t, you should probably have a branded presence on Facebook. With over 1 billion users, the network has grown into the largest, most popular social network in existence, larger than most countries in the world. Chances are your target market is already using the network. If this is the case, there’s no reason you should be.

Take the time to look into Facebook if you have not already done so, and to modify your existing strategy, by avoiding these 7 common marketing mistakes listed above for best results.