For small business owners who choose to do their own online marketing, it can be a challenge to know the Do’s and Dont’s of social media. Here is a list of practices that you should avoid when marketing your business on Facebook.
- Don’t hold promotions or contests that could have your Facebook page removed! Holding “Share” and “Like” contests from your Facebook posts could result in the disabling of your page and then you would be forced to create a new page and start all over again and no one wants that! To stay within Facebook regulations, create your promotions and contests within a 3rd-party app. Below is an example of a contest NOT within the Facebook Promotion Guidelines.
- Don’t post to Facebook when your audience will not see your posts. Sometimes I see local businesses posting at 7am or earlier and shake my head because of the missed opportunity. Most Facebook users will not even look at Facebook until they get to work in the morning or begin to start their day. Be sure to test different times to post your content and figure out which times work better for your business and fans.
- Don’t sync your Facebook account with your Twitter account (or any other social network). Audiences are different for each social network so be mindful of who your audience is when sharing content. There is nothing more frustrating than a business who has a presence on Twitter but only sends automated posts from Facebook where the post does not fit within the 140 characters allotted. This says to your readers that you aren’t really listening; just existing.
I’m sure there are plenty of Don’ts that I missed so please feel free to share your favorite Don’ts in the comments below!
Want to receive information like this in your inbox every week? Sign up for the Social Ape Weekly, a weekly newsletter chock full of social media tips, best practices and productivity tools to help you become a better marketer!
