Social media has revolutionized the digital marketing field. Platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook offer tools for impactful internet marketing strategies, reaching new audiences for a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising outlets like print, radio, or television. As with any online marketing tool, however, there are right and wrong ways to take advantage of these powerful platforms. For your company’s Facebook page, utilizing proven best practices is the key to success.
Interaction with Facebook Followers: Hits and Misses
Facebook is an ideal way to make personal connections with audiences, including those that may become customers of your business. Facebook marketing allows business owners to share details about the company and its products or services. Additional tools like polls, likes, comments, and sharing options extend the reach even further, creating opportunities to reach people on a global scale.
Direct interaction through commenting tools is perhaps the best way to boost follower engagement. People respond favorably to companies when they believe their questions are being answered and that their voices are being heard. All too often, however, companies fail to take advantage of this powerful Facebook aspect – or they go about responding in the wrong ways. Some of the dos and don’ts include:
- Do respond quickly to each comment and message if possible. It can be a good idea to assign someone on your company’s team (or a third-party digital marketing professional) to be responsible for responding. The faster you can respond, the more likely your followers will appreciate your efforts.
- Do be professional. Your company’s brand identity and vision are directly tied to your social media profiles, so it makes sense to treat these platforms as extensions of your brand. Professionally-created posts, images, and videos are part of the process, but so are professionally-voiced comments and message responses.
- Don’t be adversarial. There will come a time when a follower has something negative to say about your company’s products or services. Treat these instances as learning opportunities, then respond directly to the follower. Arguing online about who is right or wrong is a serious mistake; instead, attempt to rectify the situation in a calm and supportive manner. Your other followers will notice the care you take in responding in this way.
The Temptation to Buy Facebook Followers
Facebook offers numerous tools for identifying audiences and reaching out to them. Third-party service providers have also created tools that take advantage of social media, particularly in the practice of purchasing followers. The temptation is great, especially for new companies or those new to the online marketing arena. However great the temptation in buying followers, the long-term drawbacks outweigh the short-lived benefits.
Purchasing followers on Facebook can provide quick engagement with new audiences and can do so at a relatively low cost. It is important to note that although engagement is strong in the beginning, performance begins to suffer soon after. Among the many drawbacks to purchasing followers are:
- The practice goes against Facebook’s community guidelines, and may ultimately result in a complete ban from Facebook. The practice also
- Engagement falls off quickly, especially as “bot” accounts are removed by Facebook.
- Even real accounts that become followers through purchasing may not stay engaged for long. Loyalty is the ultimate goal of developing a following, and buying followers simply does not produce long-term loyalty.
Instead of buying followers, a great strategy is to focus on organic engagement: creating impactful content and posts that attract followers naturally. The content and posts must be tailored to the audience in a personalized fashion, helping to build authenticity and trust among those followers.
Consider Professional Help in Managing Facebook Profiles
Managing a business is filled with daily challenges. Adding to those challenges is the need to manage Internet marketing strategies. For many companies, digital marketing is outside the knowledge base of employees; without specific industry experience and understanding, many online marketing initiatives do not have the desired outcomes. Facebook profile management for businesses is no exception. Third-party digital marketing professionals can help.
It can be worth the investment to seek the help of a professional agency to assist with social media profiles and promotion. Creating a professional business profile on Facebook that represents your brand can be a time-consuming process. Marketing agencies have the know-how needed to create profiles, add impactful content, and respond to comments. Better yet, these marketing professionals are up to date on the latest Internet marketing strategies, giving your company the ability to reach new audiences and to focus on what you do best: growing your business.
About Neilson Marketing Services
Since 1988, Neilson Marketing has been implementing innovative marketing solutions and strategies for our clients in all areas of marketing. Contact us today at (866) 816-1849 to put our talent, expertise, and vast resources to work for you. Let’s make things happen, together!
