When brands and businesses begin life on social media, they tend to do so with caution. They pick one tool, try it to get their feet wet and then wait to see what happens. It is quite natural that a brand wants to test a few channels of marketing without a brand-wide commitment from the word go. In this time and age, social media does allow for experimentation (within limits!), building upto strategy and tactics.
So, if you want just one social media platform to start with, then our experience says your best pick would be Facebook. Don’t misunderstand us – we love our Pinterest, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram accounts; but to start with, Facebook is a great place to begin your social media journey.
Here is why we think so:
- Like many Social Media platforms, it offers a text and visual medium to work with.
- It is easy to set up your Page and get started, with just you or with team members to help.
- It is also perfect to identify and attract your desired Target Audience/Market via its very cool targeting tools.
Having picked Facebook, we give you our 5 top tips for making the most of your Facebook presence.
Get Visual – The main idea is to get noticed. Take a moment and think of what posts catch your eye on your own Newsfeed, friend’s photos right? It works exactly the same for brand pages! This is regardless of whether you are retail or service brand. Use images and videos always!
Be Local – Your content and visuals need to make the cut on Facebook. So even if you love the 140 characters on Twitter or are familiar with the different filters available on Instagram – Don’t apply them here! Hashtags are common between Twitter and Facebook, but let’s face it……how often do you look for hashtagged content on FB?
Get Chatty – Facebook is NOT a one-way street! You cannot keep posting unidirectional and expect phenomenal results. Ask questions, get interactive and above all – use language that is understandable! No long-winding sentences or 10-letter words are welcome here!
Invite Engagement Or Action – Every post that you put other there must get either of 2 reactions – either engage your audience positively by getting their attention and hence likes/shares OR get them to act on your post by visiting your website/blog link. Mix it up, track it and gauge your audience response to arrive at the right mix!
Give & Take – Don’t expect other brand pages to like and share your content often. You need to share and like other pages’ content every once in a while to maintain your credibility in promoting the culture of engagement. Keep an eye on Trending topics, evaluate the connect to your brand, assess if the brand sharing the topic is one you are ok to be associated with and SHARE!
With these tips, you should be well on your way to activating your FB page and engaging your audience. To get more from your page, Facebook has many tools that you can use. More on that in another blog post. Tell us if these tips work for you. And drop us a note if you want more insights on making Facebook work for you.
