Blogger: Mary Keeley
Location: Books & Such Midwest Office, IL
Today’s information is taken from an article by Charles Lauller, posted on iMediaConnection.com. The author lists nine things a brand should never to on Facebook. Some of them will undoubtedly seem obvious but are still good reminders. I’ll attempt to translate each one for our promotions purposes.
- Don’t do all the talking. Don’t be the person who just loves to hear himself or herself talk. On Facebook—and all other social media as well—there should be an ebb and flow of ideas. An author who monopolizes the conversation, continually talking about his or her book, will “end up losing ‘likes’ in a heartbeat.” Have you viewed others doing this or been guilty of it yourself?
- Don’t forget, it’s social. Invite others you know well to contribute to your Facebook page from time to time. You could choose other members of your critique group, mentors, and author friends, especially those your fans will recognize. Let them promote you. It will ease burnout on your part and potential boredom for your fans. An added bonus is that it will connect you with your contributor’s fans! What do you think about this idea?
- Don’t come across as an infomercial. In other words don’t come across like your primary focus is to market your book. Your fans and visitors are potential “likes,” and most everyone can quickly spot a marking ploy these days. Instead, simply share great content, tips, some humor. But always remember that you represent your brand, so anything you say should reflect your brand. As fans and visitors get to know you this way, they will connect the dots between you and your brand, and the benefits will come to you.
- Don’t restrict users. Lauller stresses that, “When there are only positive comments on your Facebook updates, it’s obvious that every comment is closely moderated.” The more open and honest you are about not blocking negative comments, the more “likes” you’ll receive. Why? Because you’ll present yourself as authentic, genuine. And that’s very likable. How comfortable are you about doing this?
- Don’t be a self-proclaimed social media expert. However, you are the expert of your own brand, so communicate to your Facebook fans what your brand is about, rather than trying to be a sales guru, which in Lauller’s words “is a complete turnoff to your fan base.” When you’re simply educating fans about your brand without a “sell job” approach, your fans will receive it well. He made a great comment here: “I learned earlier in my career that it’s easier to educate than it is to sell. Any objections about your Facebook updates simply mean requests for more information. That’s how I view it, and so should you.” In other words, if you receive a negative comment to a communication about your brand (that isn’t a sales pitch), assume you just need to provide more information.
- Don’t forget to connect the dots. This one has been discussed in previous blogs and surely will be again as Facebook changes continue. Make sure all your social media accounts are integrated. Lauller calls this a “healthy web ecosystem,” and it’s an important factor in creating a growing community for your brand.
- Don’t fail to allow enough time. You need to invest all the necessary time and effort to plan and implement your accounts. And consistency is imperative. Do you find it hard to allow enough time to manage these well?
- Don’t forget to use the insights tool (likes, interactions, demographics, and activity). It provides information on how well you’re connecting with your audience, time of day you get the most activity, overall tone of voice, and more. Have you been using this tool?
- Don’t forget to think before you post. Try to read what you’ve written from viewers’ perspectives before updating your feed. You can’t always please everyone, but is anything you’re about to say going to be an obvious offense to someone?
I can’t wait to read your comments. The link to the complete article is http://www.imediaconnection.com/article_full.aspx?id=29273 if you want to read the entire article. But be prepared for the corporate marketer audience approach.
Laura Christenson from the Blogging Bistro has some great advice about Facebook/Twitter posts. She says only 1 out of 10 posts/tweets should be about buying your product. The rest should still pertain to your brand, but should have benefits for the reader.
I especially like the idea of inviting someone else onto your page. Very similiar to guest posts in the blogging world. Good advice.
Can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve for us tomorrow. 🙂
This is a very important post, because Facebook makes us so visible to everyone. I end up deleting a lot of friends or groups I belong to on Facebook because they are just advertisements, not about networking. It’s annoying.
I’m careful not to share controversial topics there either. This is my public face, and so I need to remember that in all I do. If I have to stop and think if a post will offend someone, then I just don’t post it or respond to it.
Thanks for reminding us of these important tips.
Oooh. Thinking before you post. So obvious and so easy to skip right over. I cringe every time I post with any kind of error or, well, weirdness. And yes, my mom WILL point it out in the comments section!
Your post includes some great points (I’m sure the article does, too — will have to check that out later).
I stopped following a well known publishing person because it seemed like I got 20 FB updates or tweets a day, and most of them pointed you to one of that person’s products. I can still learn a lot from this person, I just don’t follow as closely anymore.
My author FB page is still relatively new, so I’m learning a lot there. I’d never thought of having a guest on my FB page, but it makes a lot of sense. I’ll have to think about that.
Thanks for the great info!
Wonderful post. Thanks.
I have seen authors who seem to talk more about themselves than anything else. It’s not only that they shouldn’t talk about their books, they shouldn’t even talk about their lives so much, I don’t think. I think an author who goes on Facebook twice a day and clicks the like button and leaves little comments on several posts by others will do better than the author who goes on several times a day to tell us about a Bible verse that’s meaningful, or a trip the grocery store he’s about to take. (Unless, of course, he’s very deep or very funny and he make us cry or laugh about the trip the grocery store.)
I also agree completely with the bit about allowing negative comments. People who constantly link to glowing reviews and never link to less than glowing reviews come across as self-serving.
The authors who do not allow you to comment on their Facebook pages are a turn off. I’ve gone over to wish a happy birthday or make a comment to their post, only to find you cannot comment at all on their page. FB is definitely a place that is a two-way street.
However, I do realize it is a risk to put out a comment and suddenly get 60 comments on it! I think I was commenting about flowers or something and half-way through it turned into a political discussion and one of my commentators got called a “Kool Aide drinker.” I had to clean up the mess because it was on MY page. Not nice. Normally the people involved aren’t that way so there was behind-the-scenes pleading. I’m not going for controversial, so controlling your brand is essential monitoring! Sigh. Good topic, Mary.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips. Great point about staying away from controversial topics on FB, Cheryl.
Thanks for a great post Mary. I appreciate the advice and need to print a copy and pin it on my bulletin board.
I also follow the Blogging Bistro and find Laura Christensen’s hints helpful.
Thank you, Mary. Your advice is just what I need at this point with my FB posts. I’m relatively new to FB but find that I am very comfortable with the friendliness of FB interaction. I still have so much to learn though!
I’m not on Facebook, but I am very active on Twitter. And all of these tips can go for Twitter, as well.
I’ve been especially blessed by the social aspect of Twitter. The possibilities for building community have been encouraging and amazing. Plus, it’s much more fun as a conversation rather than just one-sided promotion!
Thank you for sharing these tips today, Mary!