With all the changes that Facebook makes on a weekly basis sometimes it is hard to keep up with things ~ so today I wanted to give you a few tips on some key mistakes you may be making with you personal Facebook profile and your Business Fan Page.
#1 Mistake Not linking your “Employer” link in your personal profile to your Fan Page.
If you go to your personal Facebook profile and click on the link for your employer it will automatically take you to a Facebook auto-generated community page for your employer instead of your Fan Page … so you need to go in and manually change this link so that if you own your own business and have a Fan Page for your business it will link straight to your Fan Page(instead of a blank community page) giving your Fan Page some great exposure.
Here’s how to do this:
- Go to edit profile and then go to the work section
- Type the name of your Fan page in the employer field (Your Fan Page should show up in the drop down section as you begin to type, then select it)
- If your Fan Page does not show up in the drop down menu try deleting the job you had entered originally and start over and that usually will solve the issue and your Fan Page should show up as an option.
- Then fill out the remaining information and click add job
Simple as that!
The creation of the community pages by Facebook caused some confusion for many people, for more detailed information on how the community pages work I highly suggest reading this post at social media examiner.
In Facebook’s own words this is what a community page is ~
Community Pages are a new type of Facebook Page dedicated to a topic or experience that is owned collectively by the community connected to it. Just like Official Pages for businesses, organizations and public figures, Community Pages let you connect with others who share similar interests and experiences.
Just like with many things Facebook decides to change and implement as they continue to grow there is always ways to work around it or work with it, you just need to make sure to stay on top of what’s new and changing and make adjustments as needed.
#2 Mistake
Using your business name as your personal profile ~ this is a big no, no … and against Facebook rules. Make sure if you are using Facebook to promote your business that you are doing it appropriately by setting up a Facebook Business Fan Page.
You are in luck though if you already have a personal profile that you have been using for business with a large following and would like to switch over because Facebook now allows users to convert their personal profiles into Business Pages (read this helpful post for more info on how this works). My opinion on this is to use with caution ~ anytime you automatically change someone else’s status of how they are communicating with you, you risk the chance of upsetting people so make sure if you decide to do this you give your friends some notice so they know what to expect. Also there have been some known issues and bugs with the conversion process so make sure to check out the blog post I mentioned above for all of the details!
#3 Mistake
Not using the 5 picture strip at the top of your Fan Page as a call to action or promotion for your business.
This section of your Fan Page is prime realestate when it comes to drawing the attention of your visitors so make sure you are using this space to it’s full extent. Checkout this blog post on tips for setting these pictures up correctly!
#4 Mistake
Spamming other people’s pages and profiles with your business link! Spamming is a big no, no ~ please don’t do it! Instead of spamming try engaging and building relationships. If you want a great explanation of a great way to engage on Facebook check out this post on Facebook @ Tagging etiquette this post gives some great tips on the proper way to engage with other people on Facebook.
Just going to someone else’s page or profile and posting your business link is really not appropriate unless the page owner invites you to do so or you have made an arrangement with them prior to doing so. It also is normally a waste of time because most page owners will just delete your post all together and possibly ban you from posting again … so please be appropriate and respectful of others when posting on other’s people’s walls. (Quick tip: If you are a self employed mom one place you are welcome to post a link to your business Fan page is the Self Employed Moms Rock Fan Page We would love for you to share your business with us and stop by and network!)
#5 Mistake
Not creating a custom url for your Fan Page after 25 likes! Did you know that after you receive 25 fans on your Fan Page you can create a custom url. This is a great option since the url that you receive when your first set up your page is very long and has a bunch of numbers in it making it hard to direct people to. Make sure to use a targeted keyword and/or your business name within your url so that it is easy to find for your target market. (If you are struggling to get those first 25 Fans make sure to check out our services page for a solution)
#6 Mistake
Not adding a “Like Box” to your blog or website! This is a great way to get visitors to your blog to become a Fan of your page and also shows social credibility by letting your blog visitors see who is a Fan of yours already.
Now that you know what not to do ~ make sure to read what you should be doing daily for your Facebook Marketing Strategy with my 6 Simple Steps!
Make sure to comment below and share some of the mistakes you have come across so we can benefit from your experiences too!
To Your Success!
Kate Wilber
The Marketing Momma