Last week at Facebook’s developer conference, they officially announced a re-design of the desktop and mobile user interface. Goals: more emphasis on stories, groups, events. Mobile roll-out started last week. Desktop roll-out will start any day. The News Feed has been moved and “demoted” in priority. What does this mean for Business Pages? Less visibility if you aren’t paying to play.
Even the Facebook Experts Are Promoting Email Marketing
I know you get tired of me on the soapbox. So here is Courtney Donahue Foster on HER soapbox. She’s a FACEBOOK guru but she’s promoting email marketing as a necessary alternative. So if you aren’t emailing your clients, call me today! Let’s get started!
Her recent email said –
“Imagine a marketing platform not limited by a newsfeed algorithm.
A platform that you own.
A platform that allows your followers to actually see all of your content.
A platform with the highest ROI of any marketing platform.
That platform? Email marketing.
And if that doesn’t thrill you right now, I want to change that.
Because at the end of the day, you don’t own your Facebook likes, your YouTube views, or your Instagram hearts.
But you do own your mailing list.
And if you’re in this entrepreneurship thing for real, if you’re ready to hike up your big kid business pants and start using strategies that stick, you need to build something you own.”
How to Optimize Your Facebook Post
Get the biggest bang for your buck by writing a great post.
Example: Thank you @Jean Flis for your great presentation today at @WSRG. I love your “core, pop, fizz” mantra. I can do that! @Heartlink
- Go to the person’s business page to make your post. That’s where they really need your support.
- @Jean Flis will put the post on Jean’s personal FB profile. Only do this if you think she would want the post on her personal page. If in doubt, skip the personal page.
- @WSRG will put the post on the WSRG networking group page. That’s where Jean made the presentation so you want the thank you to show up there.
- @Heartlink will put the post on another group page that you know Jean belongs to.
- Adding the comment about “core, pop, fizz” gives other people who see the post something to respond to, to “engage” with since FB wants engagement.
The @ sign tags the page. When you start typing the WSR, FB will give you a list of WSR… pages to select from.
Yes, you could add a photo of Jean doing her presentation to add more power to the post.
THANK YOU Jean Flis with Premier Design Jewelry for being my example. Jean is the go to gal for anything related to jewelry.
If you manage a Facebook Group, you need to be sure you are gathering emails from that group! Facebook owns the group. You own the emails! And having emails open so many marketing doors for you. Here are detailed instructions from Social Media Examiner on how to gather emails from a group.
Facebook Reality
https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-groups-for-business-how-to-guide-for-marketers/
The End of Using Your Facebook Personal Profile for Business
I received a notice from HootSuite which is a tool I use for scheduling social media posts. They are an official Facebook Partner.
HootSuite will no longer allow me to make a post to a personal Facebook profile. So I can make a post and schedule it to any other social media platform. I can schedule to Facebook business pages or groups. But I can’t post to a personal profile.
Why? Facebook is tightening up on people who use personal profiles for business. It has always been against their rules. But since January when the new algorithm came out, they are watching personal profiles more closely. Having HooSuite block personal profile posts is one more step.
PLEASE! Stop making business posts on your personal profile now! Set up a FB business page and use it to promote your business. I know it sometimes seems harder to make a business page work for you. But you need to abide by Facebook’s rules or they will shut down your personal profile. They can turn you off with no notice, with no recourse. You can send complaints and requests to be reinstated but who knows if you’ll get an answer.
If you need help setting up the business page or learning how to use it:
Join my Friday Free-For-All call to ask your questions.
Schedule a one-on-one meeting with me to do the set up together. I can save you time and give you suggestions to make it more beneficial
Control How Facebook Uses Your Information
Check your settings on Facebook to cut down on how Facebook uses your info and how they sell your info.
From your personal profile,
Click the drop-down arrow on the top right corner and select Settings
Go to Apps and Websites on the left side navigation.
On the Active tab,
Select an app then click the Remove button to deactivate it.
These are 3rd party apps that have access to your Facebook profile, Friends, etc.
Go to Ads > Ad Settings
Click the button at the far right beside Ads based on data from partners
Change to Not allowed
Click the button at the far right beside Ads based on your activity on Facebook Company Products that you see elsewhere
Change to Not Allowed
Click the button at the far right beside Ads that include your social status
Change to No One
How To Cultivate Community with Facebook Groups
Many of you have businesses that would benefit from Facebook Groups. But they are work! How do you grow the group? How do you get people involved? This podcast will give you some real guidance in practical steps.
Utilize Facebook’s About & Services Sub-pages
New Targeting Option for Facebook Posts
Facebook has introduced a new feature related to making posts. You can set a targeted audience for a post. Currently, your post goes to a small percentage of your Likes and some other people based on FB’s algorithm. That makes hard to be sure the right people are seeing your posts. Now you can finetune the audience to help you get to the people you need. It doesn’t matter if you reach 1000 if they aren’t interested in your information.
Some examples:
Distributor of pet products: Send your posts to dog owners, cat owners.
Realtor: Send your post to people interested in Adult Living communities.
Web developer: Send your posts to small business owners.