Social media can be a tough place for business owners. It’s even challenging for large marketing teams and agencies. But that makes it all the more rewarding in the end, doesn’t it?
A successful Facebook strategy needs to focus on creating social media campaigns that resonate with your audience. Basing your content around upcoming product releases, key features or the upcoming major holidays is an easy place to start.
Once your campaign theme is laid down, you can work on individual posts related to your topic. Trouble is, it's easier said than done.
Common pitfalls include inconsistency, content duplication and a lack of investment in social media. But not to worry, we have a few tips on how to avoid these issues when planning your Facebook campaigns.
3 reasons why your Facebook campaigns are not working
1. You’re inconsistent
It’s easy to post on social media when you have something interesting to say. But without a clear strategy, the rest of your posts may fall flat or not be seen at all.
Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm has become a bit harsh in the last couple of years. If your content isn’t achieving engagement, it’s less likely to be shown to your fans in the future. While the algorithm is unique to Facebook, the gist is the same elsewhere. Your brand voice, style and frequency of posting must continue to evolve over time.
Many marketers fall prey to the temptation of jumping on hashtag trends like #ThrowbackThursday. Or inanely celebrating every special occasion in the calendar, from Submarine Day to Chocolate Cake Day, even though they are completely unrelated to their business. It may seem fun, but these are unlikely to achieve the desired effect when used on their own.
Take care when implementing changes to your strategy. If your audience is used to seeing three posts a week, don’t overpower them with ten right away. Make small, gradual changes, week by week and track the results.
2. You’re publishing the same content over and over again
If you are active on a number of social media networks, don't publish the same content across the board. Duplicating your messages is often frowned upon and will make you look lazy in the eyes of the user.
And this includes auto publishing content from other networks. While it is tempting to publish more content, posting every Twitter reply on Facebook will bring little value to your followers. Only link to other networks when it will enhance the experience of your audience.
If you do want to leverage the power of social media to grow your business, you need to take it seriously. This involves planning ahead, which is where a social media management tool can help you stay organized and save you time. These tools allow you to schedule messages in advance, engage with users promptly and switch between social media profiles with ease.
If you are reposting messages, then using the same image for the same link is fine, just take a few minutes to write a new headline. If you have a lot of images, you can reuse them on Facebook, here’s an image size cheat sheet to help you optimize. You can also use free image editing tools like Canva to create your own unique graphics for each post.
Remember: the type of content you publish will have a direct impact on your engagement. Currently, video wins on Facebook. So, if you have video content, why not try publishing directly on Facebook instead of Vimeo or YouTube.
3. You’re not investing in your campaigns
Great content will take you only as far as your follower network goes. Once you find your sweet spot and publish great content, it's time to invest in paid advertising. Our CEO & Founder, Gavin Hammar, gave some sage advice in an interview for the Telegraph newspaper when asked about Facebook campaigns for business.
"Too many social media campaign planners spend too much time perfecting content, yet they suffer from a lack of opt-in followers."
One way to increase your audience numbers is to invest a small amount in paid Facebook advertising. Having a larger number of engaged followers also tends to lead to larger click-through rates for your website.
It’s usually a safe bet to promote content that is already successful on your Timeline by boosting your Facebook posts. This way you will be able to measure whether an extended audience on Facebook drives more business.
But if you are looking to encourage activities outside of the network, it's best to create a new campaign with Facebook Ads. You can use them to promote your website, increase trials of your products, to encourage app downloads and much more. Gavin highlights that:
“You should bear in mind that people on Facebook are browsing rather than shopping”, and that you need to "provide useful content and engaging conversation. The next stage is to provide links to further valuable content which lives on your website. This means directing potential customers onto your site."
In other words, there’s no point trying a hard sell on Facebook because most of its users are just there for entertainment. But if you build a good relationship with your followers, then they will be more interested in your services. Gavin adds:
"Your business will be front of mind when they are ready to buy because of the value and engagement you’ve created.”
Conclusion
Consistently publishing original content is vital to the success of your Facebook campaigns, whether paid or free. This is partly because of the EdgeRank algorithm and partly due to the sheer volume of content that flows through Facebook every day. Remember, that Facebook users are browsers, so they won’t respond to a hard sell.
Beautifully orchestrated, engaging social media campaigns can grow your business. When you’ve nailed the content creation, next try boosting existing posts and then investing in Facebook Ads. That way, you can extend your audience reach and in turn your customers. And that’s what social media for business is all about!
