5 Basic tips for getting the most out of your Facebook Business page

It’s 2013, Facebook has been around for the best part of a decade and has over 1-billion members. Everyone from your grandpa to your high school date is on Facebook and daily there are millions of people socialising on this social network channel. Even though all the stats regarding Facebook are pretty impressive, is it really worth all of your efforts for marketing purposes? It definitely is, if you use it correctly with a clearly laid out strategy.

Many businesses with Facebook business pages are only updating their pages with a generic comment or question, leave it alone for a few days, and then wonder why on earth are they not getting any new feedback and engagement from their network. There’s no definite rule book on what you should do on Facebook to make sure your social media efforts are not in vain, but here’s 5 tips that can help you make your Facebook Business Page more lively and to drive engagement from your network.

1. Timing your posts

Most people start their day going to work, check their email and other messages, and drinking a cup of coffee before they start with their work schedule. While this might sounds crazy, use this to your advantage to help your business connect with your network online. Do a test and see when your posts receive the most interaction. Test them three times daily. In the morning, lunch time, and early evenings to start with. When you have tested and established when you should post your updates, you will be able to connect with your network on Facebook more effectively.

2. Magnetic content

Just as you will lose interest when someone at a traditional networking event starts blabbering about something that you find dull, your community on Facebook won’t stick around if your updates are boring and over self promotional. One way to overcome this is to focus on magnetic content. This is content that your audience will find relevant, interesting, and will encourage your audience to share with their network. Share and update links to funny images, useful content and interesting facts. When you are providing good content that benefits your network, they will feel more likely to connect with your brand on Facebook.

3. Pictures

Pictures tell a story. Take advantage of this and post relevant, interesting, and captivating images along with your updates. You really don’t need an over the top fancy camera; just make sure that the pictures that you post will make an impression on your audience and that it’s relevant. A picture of news worthy items has the ability to be shared online, whereas a boring dull picture of a rock will not, unless your business and brand is about dealing with rocks or anything relevant. Funny pictures with quirky remarks also has the ability to drive engagement amongst your audience.

4. Upload a new cover photo

Your cover photo is an important space for your business on Facebook. Each new update or comment that you make while acting as your brand on Facebook will display your cover photo. It allows you to reflect your business values and culture, while it can also showcase what your business stands for. Take some time and create a cover photo that will make an impression. Keep it simple and professional. You can also use a human face on your cover photo to make it more personal.

5. Feedback

Many people online give their feedback and input regarding a specific product, service or brand. Use your business page on Facebook to get this information from your customers instead of paying for focus groups. If you are launching a new set of tools at your hardware shop, ask your network what they think about your idea. If you are getting ready to launch a new product line or you’ve recently made changes to a product or service, ask your network how they feel about it.
People want to feel like the brand and business cares about their opinion.

Put a personal spin on your Facebook page and focus on engaging with your network. This will help your brand become more memorable and appealing to your customers.