What to Post on your Company Facebook Page

These tips were published in an article on Mashable.com by Ekaterina Walter: 10 Tips for Posting on Your Brand's Facebook Page. For the full original article please click here.

By now, the word “Facebook” has become such a household name that it’s likely your brand is already on Facebook. Company Facebook pages are a very useful social media resource when updated regularly but efficiently. In a recent Mashable article, social media strategist Ekaterina Walter poses a central question to building Facebook relationships with potential customers effectively:

“How [do] you engage those fans and sustain a meaningful online dialogue with your customers. Facebook fans will only want to engage with us if we serve up relevant content and truly participate.”

The key word there is engage, but that’s easier said than done when you’re busy in the shop and running a business and don’t have endless amounts of spare time to devote to your “desk work.” That's legitimate, and often times the only way to use a tool efficiently is to understand the components of that tool and really pin down what you're hoping to gain. If the aim of your business's Facebook is to spread awareness about your brand and build engaged consumer relationships, then knowing about which posts are seen and how is helpful.

Walker calls readers’ attention to EdgeRank, this is Facebook’s News Feed algorithm that helps display “relevant” stories. “The News Feed only displays a small subset of stories generated by the friends and brands users engage with the most,” says Walker. “The more popular your story, the more likely it is to show up in peoples' News Feed. News Feed optimization becomes as important as your content strategy.”

Okay so we’ll start with those 2 ideas, (1) Engaging, conversation-starting content (2)Newsfeed optimization. In her full article, Ekaterina elucidates ten strategies for achieving both engaging content and newsfeed optimization. I’ll boil down Ms. Walker’s first pointer below, but check out her full article for useful, in-depth info on this subject.

#1 Tip: Don’t Automate Your Status Updates

Resist the temptation to feed your blog posts or your Twitter updates directly into your Facebook Page. It may be a short-term time saver, but automated content often doesn’t make it into users’ News Feeds (which means it gets buried and they don’t see it). Your fans can also tell the difference between “auto” posts and customized one that you’ve wrote with thought, so taking the time to write legit posts carries rapport with your fans (your past or potential customers).

This doesn’t mean you have to sweat about updating your page constantly, it’s just a reminder that putting in the extra few minutes when you do get around to updating your Facebook is worthwhile to engage your fans and show up in News Feeds.

CustomMade.com is an online marketing resource for woodworkers and creators of custom products. These marketing tips are intended to help you grow your online presence as a woodworking professional seeking to build a relationship with online shoppers. For more info on online marketing and joining the CustomMade community click here.

posted in: blogs, marketing
document.write('');document.write('');

Thinking about going pro and selling your woodwork? Or just want some advice on how to market your business and make it stand out in the marketplace? Well this blog’s for you.

A joint venture between Fine Woodworking and CustomMade, The Pro Shop will give you tips on selling custom furniture or just getting started in the business.

Questions for our bloggers? Post a comment here and we’ll try to address it in an upcoming post.

About Fine Woodworking: Your source for expert advice on woodworking and furniture making since 1975.

About CustomMade: An online marketplace designed to help serious craftspeople sell their wares and help customers locate a custom maker.

Click Here and Start WoodWorking

What to Post on your Company Facebook Page - Part I

These tips were published in a recent article on Mashable.com by Ekaterina Walter. For the full original article please click here. Mashable.com is a great resource for all things social and digital media related. Check it out if you haven't already!
Once your brand is on Facebook, the question becomes: How you engage those fans and sustain a meaningful online dialogue with your customers. Facebook fans will only want to engage with us if we serve up relevant content and truly participate. We also forget about EdgeRank — Facebook’s News Feed algorithm that helps display “relevant” stories. The News Feed only displays a small subset of stories generated by the friends and brands users engage with the most. The more popular your story, the more likely it is to show up in people’s News Feed. News Feed optimization becomes as important as your content strategy.
Let’s explore ways we can create updates that are optimized for the News Feed and engagement. Below are some dos and don’ts to remember each time you tackle that all-important question, “What should we post to our Facebook Page today?”
1. Don’t Automate Your Status Updates
Don’t automatically feed your blog posts or your Twitter updates into your Page. Often, automated content doesn’t make it into users’ News Feeds. Your fans can also distinguish between “auto” posts and customized ones. For a lot of brand pages, auto posts do not engender engagement.
Don’t share the exact same content across all networks (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) in exactly the same format. We all understand the value of saving time, but respect your customers enough to manually post customized copy. You will get far better engagement and show your fans you care. Some folks who use Facebook don’t really like Twitter and get irritated when they see hashtags or other Twitter-specific content in their Facebook stream.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Show You’re Human
Thank your fans for their replies and for sharing their opinions with you. From time to time, talk about things other than your products. Wish them happy holidays. Ask them fun questions or to share their personal stories.
If you make a mistake — admit it. Everyone knows you are human, and no one expects you to be perfect. You will actually score points for admitting that instead of trying to hide it.
Don’t be afraid of negative comments or people posting on sensitive topics. You’ll find that most of the time your fans will jump in and defend you or address these comments for you. And that carries much more weight than you trying to chime in. And at the end of the day, this is your opportunity to turn haters into loyalists by providing timely responses and great customer service.
3. Do Post More Photos and Videos
Media like videos and photos always perform well on Facebook. Not only do they seem to be a favorite of the News Feed algorithm, but they just grab people’s attention in a feed full of text updates. A lot of web users choose to watch more than they read.
Facebook also offers you a nice little feature that helps bring more fans to your Page. If you post a video and a non-fan of your Page sees it, a little non-intrusive call to action will pop up in the top-left corner that invites them to Like your Page.
4. Do Put Your Fans in Charge Every Now and Then
Not afraid to crowdsource? Your Facebook Page is a perfect place for it. Not only will your fans feel valued and heard, but some of their decisions might help your content strategy in the long run. Let’s face it — sometimes we don’t always make choices that resonate with our customers.
My favorite example of this was Budweiser. They let their fans choose the commercial that would run during the 2010 Super Bowl.
5. Do Target Your Status Updates
If you are a global brand, make good use of targeting. We sometimes forget that not all of our fans want to know about campaigns or contests we are running in a specific region or country. Target your updates by country or language as necessary. In the U.S. you can even target by state and city.


Click Here and Start WoodWorking