Facebook Pages

Why paying for a Facebook audience is a bad, bad investment

March 23, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

Building an audience on Facebook is a bad investment. Image: mkhmarketing http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkhmarketing/8527429088/

Facebook pages were once the must-have tool in the marketers tool shed.

They’re not anymore!

Marketers need to know three things about a Facebook audience. One, you’ll need to spend money on advertising to build the audience in the first place. Two, you’ll need to spend money on advertising to get your message read by that same audience. Three, Facebook have a long history of obfuscating their intentions so expect to spend money in other ways in the future.

Want some evidence?

According Social@Ogilivy, Facebook pages now have a organic reach of just 6 percent. And they believe that number is headed to 0 percent. Yes, that’s right, zero.

What that means is that exactly zero of the thousands of people who’ve liked your page will see your posts in their newsfeed. Unless, of course, you shell out more money on a Facebook advertising campaign.

Think about that for a minute. For years now Facebook have been telling businesses to develop audiences on Facebook. They’ve been tricking businesses into paying for advertising to build the number of people who like their page. Now they want those same businesses to pay again, this time to get their message read.

That’s like buying a new car, driving off the lot and then finding out you can only buy petrol from the dealer.

And while your thinking, imagine for a moment if every business with a Facebook page decided to advertise. Clearly, Facebook won’t be able to put every page into everyone’s newsfeed so guess what’s going to happen. Yep, there’ll be a bidding war just like realestate.com.au is doing with agents in Australia. The only way to get your message in front of the audience you paid to build will be to spend even more money.

You tell me if you think that’s a smart move.

Want some alternatives?

On Facebook an audience an illusion
When you hit send button to your email list you can pretty much guarantee how many people will open it. Not so on Facebook. According to Time magazine organic reach of page posts have been steadily declining since around 2012. If you want to reach an audience get a website, a CRM system and start building an email list.

On Facebook you have close to zero control the appearance of your page
On a website you have total control over what your site looks like and how it behaves. Not on Facebook where the only substantive thing you can change is the cover pic. Like, wow man! But even that is subject to Facebook’s petty rules about the amount of text and limitations on calls to action. Spend the money you were thinking of wasting on Facebook on improving your website. It’ll be yours forever and no-one can take it away.

Still keen to invest in building a Facebook audience? Share your reasons in the comments below.

Getting and keeping loyal fans on Facebook

July 28, 2011 by Peter Fletcher

The best place to promote a fan page is through a Facebook personal profile. It’s a place where you can transition people to a place where they can read real estate related information.

People focus too much on customizing their page and not enough on creating content.

Use Facebook advertising to build your fan numbers. Use a QR code as the ad image. When people use the QR code you don’t pay for a click.

Customizations are wasted when people view the page on a mobile device.

Don’t post more than once per day. It takes away comments on Likes on other posts and knocks them out of Top News.

Tweet as much as you want.

Do brands still need a web site?

March 21, 2011 by Peter Fletcher

It’s a rhetorical question. Most marketers know the importance of owning a brand presence. A brand web site gives a brand complete control over message and method; and that’s important. While ‘leasing’ space off Facebook is quick and easy that ease comes at the cost of a loss of control.

Still, maintaining web traffic when Facebook is gobbling up so much online attention, is difficult. And often traffic to a Facebook. That’s why Jeff Bullas says.

While Facebook is becoming the biggest relationship marketing tool for brands, it seems like that instead of increasing traffic to the company website, Facebook is actually absorbing it. Marketers across the globe are wondering whether their brand websites will disappear and if there will still be a need for an official website in five years. Will the users still visit the company websites or will they only use Facebook and apps to check the news and offers?

Using iFrames, Pages can now include many features that were previously difficult to achieve.

Bullas goes on to say that there are a number of ways marketers can develop synergies between a Facebook Page and a brand web site. These include:

Providing links back to the brand web site from tabs and pages
Using blog excerpts containing a “Read More” link to build traffic to the brand blog
Displaying links to other social media platforms
Giving people a reason to leave their email address on the landing page
Creating a Facebook competition which requires finding information on your website or blog. Announce the winner will be published on the brand web site (I love this idea).
Create a special Fans Only offer that is available from the web site.
Offer Fans Only specials available only from the web site
Re-think a brand web presence as a social media destination.

What are you doing to build your web traffic with a Facebook Page?

This Week In Social Media

March 14, 2011 by Peter Fletcher

Here are the links I’ve shared during last week.

The Five Elements of Authoritative Content. It’s one thing to produce content but another altogether to produce content that moves people to action. Through personal reflection a writer conveys how information has affected them and how it’s changed or reinforced their point of view. It’s this reflection that resonates with an audience.

Charlie Sheen Not Dead, But Virus Spreads On Facebook. Charlie Sheen’s meltdown has been well documented so when news of his “death” surfaced many found it plausible, clicking on a link supposedly containing a video. The only problem was the link contained a virus affecting a large number of computers. The takeaway here is to be careful about clicking, especially on stories that haven’t broken on credible news sites.

Introducing LinkedIn Today. LinkedIn just released a newspaper style page that brings together all of the most popular content shared by connections and influencers. It has a paper.li/Flipboard feel to it but it does make using LinkedIn more interesting and interactive.

12 Things To Do After You’ve Written a Blog Post. There’s nothing really new here but I liked the reminder to tailor the comment made in a status update to the intended audience. Sharing an article a number of times makes sense too, so long as this is done with a little restraint to avoid becoming spammy.

26 Ways To Use Social Media For Lead Generation. One of the main problems facing C Suite managers is the ROI of social media. Many believe it’s a good strategy but the execs in the A and B Suite keep asking “where are the leads?” In reality this article doesn’t address the issue of gaining more direct customers but it does a great job of explaining how social media can make a brand more accessible and attractive to customers. The premise then is that brands that are well regarded will attract more business.

How To Get Thousands of Facebook Fans With a Single Video. OK, the headline is probably an exaggeration, but the point is well made. Videos are an important way to generate interactions on a Facebook Page and those interactions often lead to new Likes. That’s what marketers want, right?

Cracking The Facebook Code. This is an oldie, but a goodie. It describes the results of field research done using a new Facebook profile and outlines the ‘tricks’ to getting into the Top News tab. It’s no surprise that new accounts take a lot of work to get noticed. Surprise, surprise, interaction is the key.

EdgeRank: The Secret Sauce That Makes Facebook’s News Feed Tick. This article describes in almost mathematical terms why some posts make it to Top News and why others don’t. The concept of objects and edges provide a theoretical basis for understanding how the system ticks.

The Mystery of The Facebook News Feed: How to Optimize The Hidden Jewel of Facebook. Another close look at EdgeRank that makes uses the analogy of a diamond to explain the concept of objects and edges. The more edges (likes, comments, shares) an object (a raw diamond, a new post) has the more valuable it is and the more likely it is to find its way into Top News.

21 Creative Ways To Increase Your Facebook Fan Base. Adding a comment box on a Facebook landing page is a pretty cool idea. There’s not many doing this so it would really set a Page apart from the rest.

How-To: Add An iFrame To Your Facebook Page As a Tab. A detailed tutorial from Reggie at MyTechOpinion. The process doesn’t look that hard. For a great example of it in action check out the MyTechOpinion Facebook Page. There are lots of options to get the most from the new look Facebook Pages and this is one of them.

Image Credit: Mashable.com on Flickr.

How To Make The Most Of New Facebook Pages

March 10, 2011 by Peter Fletcher

The new look Facebook Pages were launched recently. New look Pages take on the same look and feel as personal profiles. As of March 11, 2011, all Pages will switch over to the new style.

Admins can make the switch earlier. Once a Page is upgraded there’s no going back.

Here are the main changes and how to use them to your advantage.

Using Facebook as a Page

There are now two ways to interact with a Page as an administrator and both require the page administrator to log in using their personal profile. Once logged in the administrator can interact with the page as usual or switch to using Facebook as the Page. While using Facebook as a Page an administrator can:

Post a status update, link or photo.
Like and comment on posts made by fans as a Page.
View red notifications of new Page Likes and posts created by fans.
View a newsfeed of activity of all Liked Pages that works the same as a personal profile newsfeed with Top News and Most Recent filters. It provides a real sense of what’s happening within a community of Facebook Pages.
Add posts and content as a Page on other Pages depending on that Page’s content sharing settings.
Like other Pages. Liked Pages show in the left sidebar.
Like and comment on other Page posts.
Comment and Like interactions on personal profiles where that person has their privacy setting set to Everyone (a Page can’t create a wall post on a personal profile though).

Administrators have a third option and that’s to change their posting preferences so any posts or comments they make on the Page are posted from their personal profile and not the Page. This is a great way for an administrator to build their personal brand on a Page using a business name. Using this option allows the administrator to moderate the Page and participate in the community at the same time. It’s a much sought after change.

To use this setting click Edit Info > Your Settings > Posting Preferences.

Using Facebook as a Page is not available on mobile at this stage.

Making Use of Photos

Photos on Pages work the same as those on personal profiles. The most recent photos posted by the Page (not fans) are displayed as a photo strip at the top of the page. It’s important to make these photos work for, rather than against, the brand. To remove a photo click the ‘x’ in the top right hand corner of the image. Photos removed from the photo strip are still viewable in the Page photos section. The most important photo on any Page is the profile picture. These images can be as large as 180px wide x 540px high.

Featured Pages and Administrators

Pages can make strategic use of featured Liked Pages and Administrators. Featured Pages can be used (Edit Info > Featured >Edit Featured Likes) to highlight associated businesses and brands. For example, a real estate agent might set featured Pages for associated businesses such as settlement agents, branch offices and the Pages of key sales people. In some instances a Page may want to make use of a strong brand profile of one or more Page administrators. This is done by setting the administrator as a featured administrator (Edit Info > Featured >Edit Featured Page Owners) by which the administrator is shown as a Page Owner in the left side bar. It’s a useful way to for an administrator to provide fans with access to the real world contact behind the Page. Facebook Help section states:

Note: you need to be connected to Pages from your personal profile in order to feature them on the Page you admin.

It appears this is no longer the case.

It’s possible to add as many featured Pages as you want but only five will be displayed in rotation on the Page.

Tabs Are Now Gone

Tabs have now been removed and have been shifted into the left hand sidebar as navigational links. There are a maximum of 8 links displayed in the sidebar. To make things a little confusing these links are often called tabs for lack of a more accurate term. More about creating content for tabs using iFrames later.

The old Page blurb is now located in the Info tab.

Wall Post Filters

Facebook Pages are now filtered depending on a variety of factors. The default filter for first time visitors to a Page is Most Recent but returning recent visitors are shown the Top Posts filter. This means that returning visitors see those posts Facebook believe will be relevant to their interests, and that means different fans may well see different posts depending on the way they and their friends have interacted with the Page in the past. From Facebook:

People who like your Page may view a specific filter by default, depending on when they last visited your Page. For example, if they recently visited your Page, they will see Most Recent. If they have not visited your Page recently, they will see Top Posts. People who like your Page can choose to switch between the two views by toggling the viewing option in the top right corner of the Wall.

The only way all Page visitors see the same posts on a Page is if they all use the Most Recent filter and that’s the default for returning Page visitors.

Managing Spam

New Pages offer spammers new ways to create spam and that puts the onus on Page administrators to be extra vigilant. Facebook provide two options to help.

First there’s Facebook’s spam filtering tool, which places any posts by fans suspected of being a spam into a Hidden Posts filter that’s only viewable by Administrators. By checking this regularly administrators can ensure that any legitimate posts marked as spam are be posted to the wall. Leaving it for too long means the post content may be inappropriate by the time it’s posted to the wall.

Facebook also provide a Blocklist tool allowing administrators to proactively deal with spam content as it’s posted. Keywords can be added to the blocklist (Edit Info > Manage Permissions > Moderation) and anything posted to the wall matching these keywords is immediately dropped into the spam filter for an admin to either unmark as spam or delete.

The more important tool for combatting spam is email notifications. These can be enabled in the Your Settings section of the Page (Edit Info > Your Settings > Email Notifications). When someone posts on a Page Facebook sends an email notification to the Page administrator. There are five options for Page administrators: leave the post on the wall, remove the post, remove the post and ban the person or Page, hide the post, and report the person or Page for abuse.

It’s worth noting that each Page admin must choose their own email notification setting. There is no option at this stage to allow notifications to be sent to another email address.

Forget FBML, start using iFrames

An iFrame displays a page of content within another page. Facebook Page owners can now create pages of content on their own site that can then be iFramed into tabs on their Facebook Page. Dynamic content and email opt-in boxes are now much easier to integrate into a Page. iFrames therefore offer marketers exciting opportunities for delivering customised, branded content.

After March 11, 2011 the old FBML will be deprecated and, as such, is no longer the accepted standard. There are many deprecated HTML elements across the Internet, and these still work but are no longer considered best practice. There’s no great rush to replace existing FBML tabs (most are Welcome tabs) but many marketers are embracing the opportunities that iFrames deliver.

If you have any questions please add them in the comments section below.

How Facebook Pages Are Creating The Latest Facebook Spam

March 5, 2011 by Peter Fletcher

Since the launch of the new Facebook pages spammers are running riot. Their latest trick is to use Facebook as a page then post spam links and comments on the walls of other pages.

Their goal is usually to entice people to click through and Like a Facebook page. But it’s an amateurish tactic and does little to build a credible brand.

Related to this tactic is posting the same offer on multiple business pages. Neither works.

Why?

If I use a page to post something on another page it shows up in the newsfeed of my page’s fans e.g. John’s Bricklaying > Bob’s Plumbing [Post content]. Many marketers believe that posting on another page wall will show as an interaction in the newsfeed of the other page’s fans. It doesn’t.

The other place the post shows up is on the wall of the other page. Well only sort of. With the latest round of changes to Facebook pages, the wall is filtered, and that often consigns low value posts to invisibility.

Here’s what the Facebook Help Centre has to say:

People who like your Page may view a specific filter by default, depending on when they last visited your Page. For example, if they recently visited your Page, they will see Most Recent. If they have not visited your Page recently, they will see Top Posts. People who like your Page can choose to switch between the two views by toggling the viewing option in the top right corner of the Wall.

Spam comments rarely attract many Likes or comments so it’s unlikely they’ll ever reach the Top News filter and that means that people visiting the other page for the first time won’t even see the post unless a new page visitor takes the time to change the filter settings to Most Recent.

Too bad!

Facebook has another way of dealing with hyper-activity. If I use a page to post or comment a lot within a short period of time Facebook will display only one of those comments – possibly the one that’s had the most interaction – along with the notation ‘X more similar stories’. Rather than placing repetitive, low value content into the fans’ newsfeed Facebook surfaces only one interaction and leaves it to the fans to discover more.

Of course there’s a delicate balance involved here. It takes time and effort to build a sense of community using a Facebook page. Brands with a massive following may find it easy but for most small businesses it takes work. Reaching out and building relationships with related businesses is an important strategy. But relationships don’t start with selling and they definitely don’t start with spam.

Instead of using your page to write “Please follow us by liking our page .. click the link!” on another page start with using your page to add a genuine comment on a post. Do this regularly. Participate in the conversation. Add value. Support. Encourage. Earn your stripes first.

Remember, this is another brand’s space. Treat it with respect. That’s how to build a well-regarded brand that will last the test of time.

Photo credit: pandemia on Flickr

The One-Minute Guide to New Facebook Page Profiles

February 14, 2011 by Peter Fletcher

Facebook announced some major changes to the Facebook Pages platform last week. Here is your one-minute guide to get you up and running.

Facebook Pages new profile

Page admins can now upgrade to the new page layout voluntarily until March 10, 2011. Pages not upgraded by then will automatically convert to the new profile.

To-do: Act now or do nothing, the result is the same.

Featured Admins

Now admins can feature themselves as a page owner in the left hand column. I expect to see a number of agents doing this to to build their number of friends. Admin staff will probably want to remain anonymous but principals will probably want to go public.

To-do: Go to Edit Page/Featured then choose the page owners you want to feature.

Posting as a person not the page

This is a big one!

One of the complaints agents had with the old page format was that admins became invisible. Posting as the admin meant posting as the page. There was no way out of it unless you created a second personal profile and that breeched Facebook’s Terms of Service. Now admins can chose whether they want page posts to use their profile or the page name. That’s a big advantage for agents wanting to build their personal brand, and especially for agents who chose a generic name.

To-do: Go to Edit Page/Your Settings. Decide if you want to post as your page name or as your personal profile. Make the appropriate selections.

Use Facebook as your Page

Another big one. No, make that really, really big!

Click on Account then Use Facebook as a page. Choose your page and now whatever you do on another page shows as coming from your page, not your personal profile. There’s also an option to do this from the righthand side of an upgraded Page.

To-do: Using Facebook as your page find the businesses related to yours. Hit the Like button. Now click the Home button and you’ll see all those businesses latest activity in your page newsfeed. Add comments to some of those items. That activity will show up in the newsfeed of those fans who like both pages. Newsfeed mentions are always good.

Page email notifications

Yet another big one. Close to the biggest in fact.

Why is it so big? One of the big beefs with the old page style was there was no way to know when someone wrote on your wall or commented on a post or photo without viewing the page and all its contents. It was a pain. Not anymore. Now, whenever someone does anything on your page you’ll be notified by email. Page admins can now respond to comments and posts in almost real time and that increases the level of page interaction. That’s always a good thing!

To-do: Go to Edit Page/Your Settings and make sure email notifications are turned on.

Categories

Page admins can now change their page category. That’s handy if the page was wrongly categorised during setup.

Impact level: low

To-do: Check page category and adjust accordingly.

Photo strip

The latest photos added to the page will be displayed by default. If you don’t want a photo to display hit the ‘x’ button at the top right hand corner of the photo.

To-do: Check photos regularly. Make sure they represent your brand values.