Hello readers, look at your company Facebook page, now look at this: http://www.facebook.com/adidasoriginals, now back to yours, now BACK TO THAT! Sadly, I just fooled you because I am not about to do that tired Old Spice cliche. But seriously, take a look at your company Facebook page and compare it to some of the bigger companies out there. Yours might be good, but it could always be better and this two part guide is here to hold your hand down truth road. So let’s get started on taking a look at some ways that pages really suck. This is the fun part.
The First Glimpse:
So when you go to the URL for your FB page, what is the first thing that comes up? Is it the wall? Caution: you are doing it wrong! The wall is oh so boring and doesn’t say a thing about who you are. Furthermore, it is imperative you do not try too hard/seriously to sell your visitors on your product. They will find the information they are seeking without you shoving it down their throats. We consumers love it when the information is easy to find, but we also like to think we are in control (ha).
Cliches!
I started this whole guide with a cliche for a reason, everyone hates them. The Old Spice guy was brilliant… once. Okay maybe twice:
But thats it I swear! Internet goers are savvy, they are smart and they pay attention. They remember jokes they have heard and are not what you would call accepting of repeats. Paying an homage is one thing, but if it is not just as well done as the original the internet will attack it and its creator (you). Too many FB pages lack enough content, and when they do post something it is uninspired and boring. Don’t do that.
It’s the Internet:
People are going to try to mess with you. People are going to play with your content. People are going to be negative. You need to accept it and work with it. Seems pretty simple but a lot of people screw this one up, amazing how the little things get to us. And, of course, by us I mean Nestle. Here is the full story and an amusing excerpt of a conversation on the FB wall: Nestle Screwup. So basically, avoid doing that.
Most importantly, never ever ever delete negative posts. This is the big take-away. The moment you start censoring your users, the internet will turn on you. I do not think I can stress enough how important this point is. We, as consumers, value a company that works with us to right our complaints. We hate companies that try to shove everything under the rug and pretend the sky is not falling.
Other Stupid Stuff That People Have Done:
Your company FB page is not your personal following. Your users are there to follow your company, not that mad kegstand you did last week. The members on this page do not care about what drinks you had or if you go someone’s digits. In addition, your Facebook page is not self sustaining. Part of not being a jackass is being active on your own site. Your users will lose interest and feel alienated if you are not there interacting with them.
That’s It!
So there you have it, some basics on what not to do on Facebook. Now, if I wrote this correctly, you will hopefully be asking “Hey Tom, what should I do to make my Facebook page totally awesome?” Well my intrepidly interested readers, that post will come next (tomorrow in fact). So seat yourself on your hands and stay glued to the screen until I get it posted on the morrow. Either that or take a look at your FB page and reflect on what you have learned here.