Is your Facebook Page receiving less activity? Have you noticed your posts are reaching fewer of your fans?
If so, you are not alone. The reason this is happening is because Facebook implemented major changes to business pages. These changes were necessitated by Facebook’s massive growth. There are now 1.3 billion Facebook users, and 757 million of them log onto Facebook every day, sharing pictures, links to websites, videos and other content. Over 4.75 billon items are shared on Facebook every day!
Every time a user opens Facebook 1,500 potential pieces of new content could be displayed in their Newsfeed from their friends, family, and business pages they have liked. Without a better filtering system, people would have to skim through more and more unwanted content to see what is most interesting to them.
On December 5th Facebook announced that they did away with Edge Rank, their old Newsfeed filtering system, and implemented a new algorithm program to filter the content that is seen in everyone’s Newsfeed. Changes were made to this algorithm in January and February. Each of these changes brought substantial decreases to organic reach for most business pages.
In spite of these changes, jewelers should not despair. There is still hope for a successful marketing plan for your jewelry store utilizing Facebook. With over 72% of adult Americans active on Facebook, it remains the best media and most economical means to reach your target audience with your marketing message.
Here is a list of Dos and Don’ts to take advantage of the new rules and help your Facebook Marketing succeed. This month we will look at the Don’ts, all the things you should no longer be doing on your page. Next month we will continue with the Dos, all the best practices you should be implementing on your Facebook Page.
Facebook Marketing Don’ts
Don’t Obsess Over Fans
He who has the most Fans does not win! The number of Fans your Facebook page has, was never a good measure of success. Today with Facebook’s lower organic reach this is even truer. Concentrate on creating great content that your customers will be interested in and will want to share with their friends and family. Let the growth of your Fanbase come naturally from presenting interesting content to your target audience, and not from buying fans or from manipulative contests or other campaigns designed to increase Fans.
Getting more Fans on your Facebook page does NOT pay the bills. Focus on building your authority as a knowledgeable jeweler and the place in town to shop for jewelry rather than building Fans, and in the long run your marketing efforts will pay off. Share interesting content about jewelry that your customers want to hear and your Fanbase will grow naturally.
Don’t Like Bait
Asking your Fans to Like, Comment, or Share your content was a great way to build engagement. But not anymore! Facebook now frowns on forced engagement and could penalize your page if overdone. Engagement is still important, but only if it is natural engagement because people actually like your content and not because you asked for it.
So, no more pictures with 3 pieces of jewelry asking them if they like A, B, or C. No more informal polls asking to click ‘Like’ if they prefer #1 or click ‘Share’ if they prefer #2. No more telling them to click ‘Like’ if they agree. Let your Likes, Comments, and Shares come from the fact that you created an interesting post and shared a picture of jewelry they actually like without them having to be told to do so.
Don’t Post Off Topic
People became a fan of your page because they like jewelry, like your jewelry store, or both. Your Fans want to hear about jewelry and your store, not discuss the weather or their favorite movies or books.
When Facebook sees that you post off topic content they see it as non-relevant. The more unrelated content you post, the more Facebook will come to see your page as producing unnecessary content that only clogs the Newsfeed. As a result Facebook will begin showing less and less of your posts to your Fans.
Facebook now treats Personal Profiles and Business Pages differently. Content shared to chit chat with friends and family is acceptable on Personal Profiles and even encouraged. However, the same type of “Social Content” is not highly regarded by Facebook anymore when it comes from a Business Page.
Don’t force the social aspect of Facebook by posting off topic. Share interesting content about jewelry and let the socializing flow naturally in the comments and replies you make with your customers in the comments on each post.
In addition, Google and the other search engines monitor Facebook Business Pages. If your content is all jewelry related they can and will rank your Facebook Page in their search result when potential customers search for jewelry related items in your area. If your content is often off topic, they will have no idea what your store is about and will not be able to rank your page when it matters.
Don’t Post Sporadically
Do you just post to your page every once in a while? Are your posts only a weekly picture from a supplier or an advertisement for an upcoming event? Maybe you post several times in a row then nothing for a week or more. If so, Facebook sees that you do not take your page seriously. If you don’t take it seriously, why should they?
If you are not creating regular daily posts to your page, Facebook will treat your page the same way you treat it. They will add your content sporadically to your Fan’s Newsfeeds… if at all.
Don’t Always Talk About Your Store
The number 1 reason fans ‘Unlike’ a page is because the page only talks about their business. If the only time you post on your page is to tell your Fans about an event or promotion you are having, or about new jewelry you now carry, they may grow tired of hearing about you and ignore your post, ‘Unlike’ your page, or block your content.
Facebook takes note of any of these happenings, and it factors into how they share your content in your Fan’s Newsfeed. Not only will more of your Fans ignore your posts, but Facebook will begin showing it to fewer and fewer Fans.
So what should you be posting to your Facebook Page? Next month we will look at the best content to post on your Facebook page with our ‘Do’ list, and share a number of items that you should be implementing to make your Facebook Marketing more successful.
Brad Simon is co-owner of Internet 4 Jewelers and specializes in Social Media Marketing, Mobile Marketing, and Local Search Marketing exclusively for retail jewelry stores. For more information you can contact him at 864-680-4416 or Brad@Internet4Jewelers.com.
