Common Facebook Mistakes Small Businesses Make
So my business is on Facebook–is yours?
If you answered “no” then it is time to get rolling and I’ll give you some resources at the end of this post to help you along the way.
If you answered “yes” then it is time to make sure you are tuned up for the best experience for you–and those who do business with you or who are considering doing business with you.
Now I find it funny how so many people are suddenly experts about Facebook.
Unless that person is Mari Smith (author of Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day)–her or she probably isn’t.
I had to chuckle when one of the pages I visited claimed to be an SEO specialist for social media accounts (places like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).
Their own page failed to include some of the vital things–such a a link to their website that was clickable.
Since I am active on the web and have been on it for a long time (since 1995), I tend to watch things and invest in learning.
Part of my unique perspective comes from the fact that I’ve made pretty much all my mistakes early on–and still do stupid things now and again.
However, I am pretty savvy due to my investment of time and because I’ve attended college classes and paid for online tutoring from some of the best business people on the web.
So, since I’ve been watching a lot of stupid things happen for so long, I thought I would share a few of my thoughts on Facebook mistakes many business people make.
Facebook Mistake: Open a business account on a profile page.
The problem with this is that it is against Facebook policies and they might shut your account down.
“Facebook profiles are meant to represent a single individual. Organizations of any type are not permitted to maintain an account under the name of their organization. If you create a profile for your business, your account may be disabled …for violating our Terms of Use. If you have questions about how to best leverage your Facebook Page, please check out our Insider’s Guide or FAQ.”
If you have a profile it is simply a matter of adding a page for your business, service or product.
There are a lot more advantages to having this kind of set up but that isn’t for this post.
Facebook Mistake: Add tons of people you don’t know to your profile.
A long time ago I decided to only let family, friends, and select colleagues into my private profile.
My life is public enough and having a small group of peeps together online without the whole world snooping in was appealing.
Some people add anyone and everyone to their profiles but not me–mine is a private profile and I interact with those people.
If you look here, notice that I offer other options to people I don’t know or have not been in contact with for eons.
That page shows a list of links where people can find my public accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Another important aspect of your profile is that you are limited to how many people you allow in–which isn’t the case with public pages.
Facebook Mistake: Fail to include your business information or link on your page.
A lot of businesses don’t know that you can include a link in the sidebar of their Facebook page so people can simply click right over to your website (and you can add an application to move your visitors over to your Facebook page too.)
Please don’t make the mistake of using your Facebook business page as a website–because like anything that is not on your domain–you don’t own it.
Facebook Mistake: Fail to find ways to bring people into your fold outside of Facebook.
It is possible to customize your business page so you can collect email addresses and build your relationship with people off of Facebook.
This is vital for any business owner.
Take a look at my customized Guerrero Ink page or Mari Smith’s active Facebook page to see how attractive they can be.
Facebook Mistake: Forget that social media pages are public.
One of the things that people tend to forget is that social media interactions and sites are public!
Always be professional online because your brand is always out on the web and reflects on you and your business.
Now I’ve only included five mistakes here and I know you could probably share a few more so why not leave a comment now?
To avoid mistakes I recommend the following resources:
Facebook Marketing An Hour A Day by Mari Smith- Mari Smith’s Facebook Page
- Mari Smith’s Website
- FacebookMktg on Twitter
- Social Media Examiner
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