The perfect audience

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Often they are not the same thing.

Start with these Do’s and Dont’s:

IF YOU ARE STARTING A BRAND NEW PAGE. A new page is a clean slate for picking your ideal audience. Often when people start a page, they invite everyone on their list so they will have more followers. Please DO NOT do this...and here is why: 

• You invite your Aunt Marge in Iowa to like your page. She is 86, loves kitty videos. And, she loves you and wants to support your page. So, she likes every post and sometimes comments. 
• As sweet as this is...Facebook now thinks that this is your target audience. They will push your posts to be seen by more of Aunt Marge’s demographic - 86 year old women in Iowa who watch cat videos.
• Conversely, the right followers will engage and bring you to the attention of others in their demographic - those that have expressed interest in your topic. (ever see those “suggested for you” entries that come through your feed? Those are because it’s up your alley!)

Plan your target audience carefully. Who do you want to receive your message?

• It is a misconception that having a ton of followers is best. This is called a VANITY metric.  It makes you feel good that you have a higher number, but that’s about it. What you need are the RIGHT followers. Those that are most likely to be receptive to your message and who want to be involved in your conversation.

You have created this great Facebook page for your business, and now you want to make sure everyone you know sees it and likes what’s in it. If only it was that easy!!

It is currently estimated that an average of ONLY 1.2% of your followers will see any given post. So if your following is 1,000 people...only 1 person may see this post. Discouraging, yes? Well, there are things you can do to make this number better - but it takes work.

Start with these Do’s and Dont’s:

CREATE YOUR OWN ENGAGING CONTENT. It is ok to occasionally share things from other sites to your page, but as a general rule, it can make your own site engagement % go down (especially if it takes them to a link to an article outside of Facebook)

• Use colorful photos (do NOT steal them from Google - that can cause copyright problems for your business-complete with large fines). Stock photos are fine, as long as you have permission to use them. Check sites like pexels.com or unsplash.com for free stock photos.
• Compelling text: Ask your followers a question or ask for input. Give them a solution or an education. Make it short and easy to read. The goal is to get them to engage with your post by commenting.
• Try to avoid using a hyperlink to a site outside of Facebook, even to your own website. The reason is that Facebook wants to keep you on their platform, and will “penalize” your reach when you direct people away from their site. Set up a “shop now” or “learn more” button on your profile and direct people there instead to get to your website. Only occasionally, add it to a post as a reminder of your website name.

Your goal is to outsmart the dreaded “Facebook algorithm”. Which, by the way, changes often. So these are the tips as of this writing, but the goal posts will continue to move.

Facebook determines which posts to show by ranking the post and user preferences. It will show your content to a segment of your followers and will increase it based on their engagement with it. This is why some start out with just a little traction, then suddenly take off ( or go viral ) The big key to social media is written content or pictures that take off and grow on their own. Most happen by chance, few are truly crafted. The challenge is that this part is trial and error - just keep trying!

These are considered positive ranking signals by Facebook:

• How long a page has been on FB
• Percentage of followers engaging with posts - Engagement is considered by Facebook to be:
  • likes (a love, wow, laugh, cry or angry is even better. It shows the follower gave it thought)
  • a comment. More comments are better, so start a dialog off that initial comment
  • tagging another person in a comment (ask them to do this in your text!)
  • sharing your post. This is the ultimate, as every share is a whole new set of eyes on your post. 
• Consistency of posts (this one is HUGE). A post every now and again is not likely to do you ANY favors, and will not be seen. To grow you must be very active and consistent.
• How actively the page engages with followers. Do you respond to comments? (ALWAYS DO THIS). The more engagement, the more people see it. Start a dialogue by asking questions from the original comment. Each comment brings higher ranking, plus - your followers will trust that you are interested in their question or what they have to say.

SOCIAL PROOF

What, exactly, does that mean?

62% of consumers polled say they will check a company’s social media before committing to a purchase or to make a donation. If you aren’t there, or they don’t like what they see - chances are they will quickly move on. In today’s environment you MUST have a verifiable social media presence.

• You tell people about your very important business or non-profit. Later they look you up on social media and see...nothing. Or next to nothing. Or the most recent post from July of last year.
• Active social media with tons of great information helps to prove to potential followers, or better yet potential DONORS that you are who you say you are, and doing what you say you are doing.
• You can’t grow your audience without posting good, relevant information. It’s building trust in a relationship.

So regardless of any interaction on the posts on your page - 80% of consumers are more inclined to do business with you if they find a credible, authentic page associated with your business. So, the information still needs to be there as proof that you are a legitimate business with social history. Your purchases or donations may depend on it.