All too often, beginners in social media marketing treat their corporate accounts like a dumping ground for links. Of course, link building is an important part of any social media campaign. However, the concept of “too much of a good thing” certainly applies. Posting as many links as you can to your social media profiles can backfire quickly and cost you the attention of your audience.
In general, you have to be very careful to avoid being overly self promotional and focus on providing innovative and informative content to your social media channels. Excessive self promotion, advertising, and linking can undermine your company’s credibility and make your content seem “spammy.”
Your company website, product pages, and SEM efforts can handle your advertising. Successful social media campaigns are ones that engage users. Get others to talk to your brand and interact with your posts. By encouraging this interaction, you get the chance to learn about the thoughts and preferences of your consumers – which is invaluable marketing data. If you are having trouble creating content, have a look at our list of content ideas.
As you establish authority and gain more followers, self promoting or linking to your site’s other content is advisable in moderation – so long as it is relevant to the topic and/or channel to do so. Try to think like your consumer. If you think a status update is going to look like spam in a newsfeed – you’re probably right.
A quick look at several of the corporate pages on Facebook can reveal a number of sparse, even abandoned looking pages. Maintaining your corporate Facebook page with interesting content can be tough. But if you have good ideas, content will flow naturally. Here are a few tips you can use to liven up your Facebook page and connect with your users.
Giveaways: These are perhaps one of the most common types of consumer engagement for companies on Facebook. However, there are all sorts of twists you can add to them to stand out in people’s news feeds. Invite users to try and come up with creative captions to pictures you post, or have them submit a story about using your products. By asking your users to answer a call to action to be eligible for the giveaway, you have the opportunity to learn more about them and how to market to them.
A Company Exposé: Loyal customers will be keen to learn more about your company. Post “behind-the-scenes” photos and videos, share comments from employees, or talk about the founding of the company. Use your posts to tell a story. This will humanize your brand – making your company trustworthy, authentic, and relatable.
Industry Specific Updates: Being able to comment on developments in your industry helps establish you as a trustworthy authority. You can post:
Keeping a lively Facebook page is all about posting content that gets your fans to interact with you. By maintaining this type of engagement, you’ll have your finger on the pulse of what your target audience thinks of your brand and its products.