Tag : facebook

Crisis Communications 101: How to Let Your Customers Know and Keep Them Informed

Does your team know how to best communicate for your business during a public relations crisis? Creating a crisis communication plan is the key to success.
18Mar

In light of the recent Coronavirus pandemic, the team and I have been increasingly approached by many of our friends, clients, and business associates as to how to best communicate how they are dealing with the situation. So, in other words, crisis public relations or crisis PR.

What you may be surprised to hear is that there are still countless numbers of companies who are still taking their time to put together their official statement!

In situations like this, swift, informative action is an absolute must – no matter how light or severe the situation actually is. But why don’t people act fast?

The reason is, quite frankly, because they are in the middle of a crisis, and in times of crisis it is challenging to pull together your team, thoughts, and create a solid plan of action when the environment you are working within could be compromised, high stress, or in a state of panic.

If this has happened to you (or if it has not), I have some solid tips for how to deal with crisis communications in order to inform your customers, clients, as well as the community that surrounds them. These tips will help you manage your reputation, avoid costly PR crises, and enable you to respond quickly when a potential crisis occurs.

Tip 1: Circle Your Wagons Immediately

When a negative situation arises that needs immediate attention, call a crisis meeting immediately. If you are able to have this meeting pre-crisis that is ideal. The goal of this meeting is to go over the full story of what is going on and what the phases of the communications should be.

The key players who will be in charge of delivering this message must be in attendance (you can pull people in through video conferencing if you need to). In this meeting you will discuss:

  • The full situation and the factual state of affairs
  • What key elements need to be addressed first
  • Who will be delivering the messages
  • How will they be distributed
  • What is the internal messaging strategy
  • What is the external messaging strategy

Having these pieces of information immediately will help you divide and conquer the messaging strategy and keeping everything as consistent as possible when the crisis hits.

Tip 2: It’s Not About You, It’s About Me

When you are deciding what key elements need to be addressed publicly first, take a step back and consider the standpoint of the people you will be distributing the messages to. Even though the situation may be dangerous or dire, you want to ensure your clients, shareholders, and community that your organization is on top of everything and will ensure that the situation will be handled swiftly and with great care and attention.

Businesses sometimes will go into defense mode in their crisis communication strategies, but this is the wrong approach. Take accountability and reveal actionable steps to rectify the situation to ensure business continuity.

Tip 3: Get Your Story Straight

Whether you have 20 locations or just one virtual location, having everyone on the same page is an absolute must. In order to do this, you will have to make sure that you draft a message that covers all of the questions and concerns that your clients, shareholders, and the community will have.

In crisis situations, it is imperative that you communicate with your internal team FIRST. Empower them to have all of the details that they may be called on to share in the event of being questioned by anyone, including the media. Empower them also to have all of the pertinent details, and have a person they can refer questions out of their realm of expertise to.

If you have a large company, an internal email with a followup by each fo the department heads with their teams is a must. If you have a small company, direct communication is important. Never simply send a canned statement without having any followup. By having solid communication lines open you will create a united front that will benefit your public image and put peoples’ minds to rest.

Tip 4: Start Spreading the News

You should always know all of your main communication channels that you can shoot a message out electronically in order to do a blanketing of the messaging to your audience. Even better? Know how to access them!

Some of the main deterrents for sending out messages I have heard in the past from clients is: I can’t find the login details, I don’t know if we use that account, do we have an account on Facebook, etc. Yes, these are real responses.

So maybe create a crisis response list, including login details, so that if you need to move fast anyone can step up to the plate and get the message out there. Here are some of the most important channels that you should consider:

  • Email: send out a blast addressing the matter to your email lists
  • Press Release: distribute an electronic press release utilizing your preferred service
  • Website: post your statement on your website somewhere prominent (as a pop-up or as a spot on your homepage)
  • Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram): create statements that are specifically designed for each social channel and make sure that you have the full coverage needed

Internally you can also create posters or flyers to keep clients and staff updated on the process.

Tip 5: Keep the Communication Coming

Just because you sent out your initial crisis communication, doesn’t mean that you are done. Any serious situation that may cause concern or scrutiny of your practices needs to have additional communications as new developments occur. If the situation gets more serious – draft a message that reflects that. If the situation gets better – communicate that through another communication.

The level of how many of these that you would want to be sending out is really determined by the seriousness of the crisis event and the intensity of your audience in terms of how they are scrutinizing your every move. Just know that one communication never cuts it with an engaged audience.

There are still more elements and tips that can be added to this list:

  • Creating FAQs about the situation for staff to reference
  • Video communications or a live statement
  • Press conference
  • Reaching out to local media

In times of crisis, the biggest takeaway here is that swift action is the best action. The longer you leave items unaddressed, the more serious the repercussions will be. Bouncing back from backlash for some businesses can be impossible, so focusing on a proactive approach is the way forward.

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The Top 5 Holiday Content Marketing Tips You Need To Know

120919 The Top Holiday Content Marketing Tips You Need To Know
9Dec

Content marketers and designers love the holiday season. Unlike the lazy days of summer, there is more than enough inspiration to go around for email marketing, social media, blogging, and any other form of content marketing you can think of.

There’s just one catch – there are just so many great ideas out there, there’s not enough time to do them all. Fortunately, we have you covered and we’re exploring the best ideas right here.

  1. Updated festive visuals
    Add a Santa hat to your profile pic, a menorah to your cover image, flashing lights to your Snapchat Story. Above all, make sure your holiday-themed contenthas imagery.
  2. Flash sale
    Have you looked at the calendar lately? It’s a bit too late to do a “12 days of deals” type deal. However, it’s still fair game for quick “limited time” social-media-exclusive sales. These do surprisingly well, especially as many of us procrastinate. Make sure the sale is worth people opening up their wallets for them because a lot of “wish lists” are complete.
  3. Season’s greetings
    Email marketing is a fantastic avenue to send out holiday wishes to your loyal customer base. As always with E-blasts, it is important to send out content that isn’t 100% pushy promotions. A holiday greeting email will do just the trick to make your readers smile and make sure they’re thinking about you when the time to make a purchase comes around.
  4. Pics from the team
    Whether you post (not embarrassing) pictures from your Christmas party or your team reaching out to the community for a volunteer event, this idea adds a healthy dose of humanity to any marketing campaign. This type of content, above all else, should be promo-free.
  5. Content your audience will share
    Cut out some of the promo posts in your content calendar and make room for some wholesome holiday fun. Take the time to write and design content that your audience members will want to share with their friends and family. Festive videos, recipes, craft and party tips are just a few ideas that can generate engagement.

Maybe the holiday season snuck up on you this year, or you’ve been grasping at straws for what to publish. Either way, the above ideas will help you finish your holiday season content marketing on a high note so you can focus on the new year!

Contact us today to help you make design and write the kind of engaging content you need this holiday season.

Editor’s Note: This blog has been updated and republished to reflect current information. The article was cleaned up, recommendations were reassessed, and references refreshed.

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A Week in the Life of a Social Media Manager

A Week in the Life of a Social Media Manager (1)
15Jul

Nobody said being a social media manager was easy! You’ve got a lot of responsibility, and it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks if you’re not careful!

That’s why I’m here. I’ve got a simple, usable checklist that you can use every week to make sure everything gets done. Across social media, these are the steps you’ll need to take for a thriving campaign!

Facebook

  • Check Notifications: Make sure there’s nothing happening on your page that you need to handle!
  • Check Reviews: Thank positive reviewers and give thoughtful comments/questions to negative reviewers.
  • Check Check-Ins: Are people visiting your brick and mortar store? Be aware of who’s telling people about you and what they have to say!
  • Respond to Comments: Good or bad, every comment needs to get a response.
  • Check That Posts Are Correct: Always double check that your posts were published without errors!
  • Invite Engaged Users: If someone likes a post, invite them to like the page!
  • Respond to Messages: The faster, the better!

Twitter

  • Respond to Replies: They’re a great source of audience engagement. Continue the engagement!
  • Respond to Mentions: Have a hand in any conversations about your brand!
  • Check & Respond to Messages: The last thing you want is to ignore a potential customer.
  • Like Relevant Posts: This will show your audience that your business is engaged with the goings-on in your field.
  • Retweet Useful Posts: Not every post can be about your brand. Share content that creates value for your audience!
  • Pin Featured Tweets: Is there something important you want potential followers to see? Pin it!

Instagram

  • Like Relevant Posts: Get involved with your community by liking their posts and news in your industry!
  • Respond to Comments: If your followers have thoughts on something you posted, strike up a conversation! You’ll improve their sense of brand loyalty!
  • Check That Posts Are Correct: Did your caption format correctly? Is the image sized the way you wanted it? Double check!
  • Check Follower Growth: How much has your following grown? Consider your latest content and how that may have played a role. You’ll improve your overall strategy this way!
  • Spy on Competitors: See what your competition is posting and how their followers are responding. If the followers love a style of content, recreate it! If they hate another type of post, avoid it!
  • Respond to Messages: Don’t use generic responses like “Thanks!” or a thumbs up. Respond with something meaningful to the people who took the time to reach out!

LinkedIn

  • Join Groups: LinkedIn groups are one of the best places to make professional connections.
  • Send Connection Requests: The more connections you have, the more credible you’ll look. If there’s someone you want to engage with, you’re more likely to get a response with mutual connections! Search for people by location or job title and connect with them!
  • Check Posts Are Correct: Professional sites like LinkedIn are especially unforgiving of bad formatting and grammatical errors.
  • Respond to Comments: If your content is getting attention, capitalize on that by responding to commenters.
  • Respond to Messages: LinkedIn messages could lead to a business opportunity, so always respond as quickly as possible!

Wash, Rinse, Repeat
It’s true that the job of a social media manager is difficult, but that’s no excuse to let things fall by the wayside. Save and print our checklist by clicking on the image below to make sure you’re making the most of your social media following and continuing to grow toward your goals!

Do you want some individualized help with your social media marketing? Just set up a free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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4 Ways to Optimize Your Facebook Page

4 Ways to Optimize Your Facebook Page
28May

You wouldn’t believe how often I hear from businesses who want to succeed on Facebook, but have terrible business pages. You wouldn’t wear a t-shirt and jeans to an interview, so why would you expect to earn credibility on Facebook with a half-finished page?

The problem is usually that they don’t know where to begin with fixing their business page. So I’m going to review some of the most common Facebook page fails I see that you can fix!

1. Earn the Quick Response Badge
If people aren’t reaching out to you on Facebook, it’s probably because they don’t think you’re listening. For businesses that respond quickly to messages (less than 15 minutes) and often (to at least 90% of messages), Facebook rewards them with the “Very responsive to messages” badge.

Why does that matter? It encourages users to reach out with their questions since they know they’ll hear back from you quickly. It can be challenging to cut down your response time, but responding quickly will mean more attention from customers who know that you’re ready and waiting to hear from them!

2. Fill in the Bios
You would not believe how many people don’t fill in the biography sections of their Facebook business page. You want people to know what you do and who you are, right? Then fill in the space that’s made for telling them exactly that!

There are two bios for Facebook business pages, and they require different approaches. The shorter bio section should be written to be concise and punchy. This isn’t where people want to read your business’ life story—they just want to find out what you do and, ideally, get a taste of your personality.

The longer bio is where you want to talk about your business’ origins, growth, etc. Brag your heart out! Tell your followers about what sets you apart and how you ensure customer satisfaction. This is your chance to explain what makes your business unique, so don’t waste it!

3. Add a CTA
Your Facebook page will ideally inspire users to take some sort of action, so why not remind them of that? Your CTA will be right below your cover photo, which is great since this is definitely the kind of thing that you want prominently displayed. The CTA presets are:

  • Book services
  • Get in touch
  • Learn more
  • Make a purchase or donation

But honestly, those are pretty flat. Customize your CTA to have a little more oomph! Direct statements like “Buy now” or “Start shopping” work best!

4. Turn On Reviews
If you’re not letting customers post reviews on your Facebook page, that’s an immediate red flag to a new follower. It implies that you’re anticipating bad reviews, and nobody wants to buy from a company that’s expecting customer dissatisfaction.

So turn on the reviews! If you get great reviews, it’ll encourage users to buy from you. If you get negative reviews, you can still respond to them and show that your brand cares about what its customers are saying. If your business is offering a half decent product or service, then there’s no real way to lose!

Turn Your Facebook Page Around
There is always a way to make Facebook work if you’re willing to put the time into it. Instead of resigning yourself to a shoddy Facebook page, use these tips to attract new customers and engage with your audience!

Do you want to talk about other ways to optimize your Facebook page? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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How to Save Your Failing Facebook Page

How to Save Your Failing Facebook Page
22May

Everyone wants Facebook marketing to work out, but sometimes it just doesn’t. The good news is that Facebook is bigger than ever. The bad news is that means that you probably did something wrong.

It’s okay, it happens! I’ve seen a lot of business owners make choices that cause their businesses to fail, so let me show you how to make better choices that will turn your failing Facebook page around.

Solidify Brand Style
Good branding is the backbone of any marketing campaign, and it’s probably the area where I see the most business owners fail.

Make sure that all of your branded visuals are cohesive. That means that they should have similar color palettes (if you use one shade of green for your Facebook cover photo, that same shade of green should be in branded visuals) and generally look similar enough that if you saw all the images on a single flyer, it wouldn’t look jarring.

Beyond that, your brand has a certain way that it speaks, too. If half of your updates are casual and filled with emojis, then the other half shouldn’t be formal with no contractions and lots of semicolons. Your updates should look like the same person wrote them and, just as importantly, they should be written in a way that appeals to your target audience.

Curate Content
I don’t care if your business is based on skydiving with Ryan Gosling—no business is exciting enough to ONLY talk about itself 24/7. You need to spice up your content mix with industry articles, trending topics, etc.

This stops your page from getting stale. You probably want Facebook marketing to boost your revenue, but posting promotional content every day of the week just isn’t going to do it.

When you curate appealing, relevant content, your audience is much more likely to engage with it and be more interested in your future content. So while you’ll have fewer promos, you’ll also see more engagement and traffic from those posts!

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Start the Conversation
If people aren’t engaging with your business on Facebook, that doesn’t mean that all is lost. It just means that you need to engage with them instead!

One tool that I like to use is asking questions that will help spark a conversation. So maybe link to an article related to your industry and end the update copy with “What did you find most surprising?” or “What did you think of point #3?” That way there’s an easy way for them to respond without them having to do all the heavy lifting, and then your comments section is now a conversation hub as people discuss their answers to your question.

Pin Top Content
Did your big announcement post not go as well as you’d hoped? It’s probably because people didn’t see it!

With Facebook posts, content on your page will show up in chronological order. So if you make a big announcement about your exciting new product or service, it’s only going to be at the top of the page for so long before it’s buried by less important updates.

The trick is to pin top content to the top of your page so that visitors can always find the big stories first. No big announcement right now? Pin content that has already attracted a fair bit of engagement. Think of it as leading with your best foot forward—if your followers liked that content, then why not make it easier for more users to see it?

Don’t Settle for Mediocrity
Facebook fails happen, but you can’t just give up on your page as a lost cause. With some marketing know-how and time to invest in your page, you’ll find that you can turn things around for your business! These are the common solutions that I’ve seen work over and over, so try them out and tell me what results you find!

Do you have more specific concerns about your Facebook page? Tell me about them during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Why You Need to Start a Facebook Group Today

Why You Need to Start a Facebook Group Today
20May

Facebook groups are the hottest new trend in Facebook marketing. But why? What can they do that posting to your Facebook page can’t?

That’s what I’m going to show you.

Here’s everything you need to know about why Facebook groups are the new must-haves for your Facebook marketing strategy.

Better Organic Reach
Facebook has been killing business’ organic reach for years. Your posts just aren’t seen by as many people anymore; that’s where Facebook groups come in.

These present a new opportunity to engage with people interested in your industry. You get a new platform to share blogs, link to your website, and share industry tips. For example, if your company sells cosmetics, it’s in your best interest to start a makeup-lovers group where you can connect with people who care about your products.

And Facebook groups are free, people! There’s simply no reason to pass up on organic reach. Even if it’s a little more time put into your marketing strategy, it’s going to pay off when you’ve got a thriving group of potential customers who are taking cues from your brand.

Increased Brand Authority
The key to any good Facebook group is engaging conversation. But who starts that conversation? Most often that falls to the group owner, which in this case will be your business.

When you’re guiding the conversation, people will look to you for new topics about your industry: trends, best practices, etc. And that’s GREAT for your business!

You want people to look to your brand as an authority. It not only means that they’ll trust your brand, but they’ll trust your products/services, too. They’ll be more likely to make purchases from your business, recommend you to friends, etc. It pays to have people trust your brand’s expertise!

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Free, Round-the-Clock Advertising
The benefit of groups isn’t just that you can talk to people who join—groups give businesses free advertising.

When someone is in a group, they’ll get suggestions for other groups based on their interests and what groups their friends are participating in. That means that your brand’s group is going to come across newsfeeds all the time without you paying a dime! And since these recommendations are targeted, you’re likely to grow your Facebook group without ever asking people to join.

New Prospects
Your Facebook group can be a great tool for growing your prospect list. Just post an opt-in offering (an ebook, a newsletter, etc.) and ask people to submit their email addresses. You’ll be able to email them all of your offerings and track them as they move through your marketing funnel.

While you could theoretically do this with your regular Facebook updates, experience has shown me that this tactic is much more effective in active Facebook groups. If you’ve got a spot where people are engaging with your brand and having conversations about your industry, then you should absolutely use that to pick up a few new prospects!

Receptive Audience for Offerings
When you post a new product, service, or deal onto your Facebook page, you might be a little disappointed by the lackluster reaction. While your Facebook page is sure to have people in your target demographic, they might not be terribly engaged with your business.

Whereas in a Facebook group, people are commenting on your posts and asking you questions. As a marketer, I can’t imagine a better audience for rolling out an announcement. So when you’ve got something new to show off, your Facebook group will be filled with people who can’t wait to try out this new offer!

Don’t Wait
Facebook groups have a ton of benefits for your business to take advantage of, but who knows how long they’ll be there? The time to act is now, so roll up your sleeves and start making your business’ Facebook group!

Not sure what the focus of your Facebook group should be? We’ll discuss it during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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4 Reasons You Need Facebook Marketing

051519 4 Reasons You Need Facebook Marketing
15May

Two points.

One: You need Facebook marketing.

Two: Only having a Facebook business page is not nearly enough.

I think business owners tend to think that “Facebook marketing” can be summarized as having a Facebook page and sending out a couple of posts a week, but actual marketing is much more involved and strategic. It involves planning, analyzing data, and identifying new opportunities for growth.

And yes, it’s hard.

But it’s also not optional. I’m going to show you exactly why your business absolutely has to invest in Facebook marketing.

1. You need people to like your brand.

They don’t call it social networking for nothing. Facebook is a great place to create connections with customers, and those connections can pay dividends.

What makes engaging with your customers valuable? While you don’t directly get paid for likes or comments on your post, that does ensure that people are going to be thinking of your brand in a positive way. So when they’re in the market for whatever you’re selling, they’re going to want to buy from the brand that has already been talking to them for weeks or months.

Alternatively, without an active Facebook marketing strategy, people probably won’t think of your brand at all, let alone in a positive light. This will leave room for your competitors to step in and claim their attention, which has been the kiss of death for plenty of small businesses.

2. You don’t have to waste money appealing to irrelevant users.

When you’re paying for a billboard to promote your men’s fashion brand, you’re not just showing that ad to potential buyers. You’re also paying to show your ad to women, men outside of your target age range, men who don’t wear that style of clothing, etc. You might as well be throwing money away.

But when you advertise on Facebook, you can strategically target users. You’ll only pay to show that ad to men who love clothes like the ones you’re selling. Your adspend gets stretched a lot further, you know for a fact that the right audience is seeing your ad, and you’re free to reap the benefits of a successful ad campaign.

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3. Facebook marketing is great for generating web traffic.

Are you launching a new product or service? Does your business rely on online bookings or purchases? Do you want people to learn more about your business and what you offer?

Then you’re going to need to generate some web traffic.

When you post engaging content on Facebook, you’ll often be linking back to a page on your website. If you can convince your followers to click the link, then you get the reward of more eyes on your page and a much higher likelihood that your audience will learn more about your business. Which leads us to our last point, and the one you’ve been waiting for…

4. Marketing your business on Facebook can drive revenue.

That’s right! For all of the reasons above, Facebook marketing is a great way to boost your sales and generate more revenue. All that online attention will convert to sales, provided you’re doing it right.

Despite what old school marketers will tell you, utilizing Facebook does pay the bills. Don’t believe me? Install a Facebook pixel on your website and track conversions that way. You’ll be able to see how many people are coming from Facebook to buy your products, sign up for your mailing list, etc. Give it a few months of active, dedicated work, and I’m sure you’ll see exactly how lucrative Facebook marketing can be.

Stop putting it off.

Like it or not, Facebook is one of the best marketing opportunities out there. If you want your business to succeed, then you need to start putting in the work on Facebook. It won’t happen overnight, but when you follow Facebook marketing best practices, you’ll see results!

Do you know how to start marketing your business on Facebook? Let’s discuss it during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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The Worst Status Updates Ever and How to Write Better Ones

050819 Repub_ The Worst Status Updates Ever and How to Write Better Ones
8May

Status updates are the backbone of any social media account. A page can have an amazing profile photo, the best cover image in the universe and hundreds of positive reviews, but the bulk of content that people will see are the status updates. Mess them up, and it can destroy your good work in other areas.

If you’ve read the other posts in this series, you’ll be unsurprised to find out that the page we created as “The Worst Facebook Page In The World,” doesn’t do very well when it comes to their status updates.

I’m going to go through a few of their updates now and show you their issues, along with the best practices that could be used to make improvements.

Status Updates With Bad Writing

Let’s start off with the easiest issue to solve, but also the one my team and I see most often: terrible spelling and grammar.

In this day and age where every phone and computer has spell check, there’s simply no excuse to misspell anything.

Here at The Go! Agency, when my team writes status updates for clients, they use software to help check spelling and grammar. From there, the copy is proofed by another team member to make sure there aren’t any leftover errors.

While this process may be a bit too much for a small business, there’s still no excuse for not doing a quick check yourself before you hit “Publish.”

Using correct spelling and grammar isn’t going to win you any new customers, but it does ensure you look professional. Status updates filled with errors can turn customers off because they make you look sloppy and lazy.

Do you need to be the Ernest Hemingway of status updates? No. But do you need to make sure you’re not posting typos and spelling mistakes? Yes.

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Status Updates With Unappealing Photos

Your business might be in a shack in the middle of a parking lot. It could be in an unappealing strip mall with a dull storefront, or it could be the size of a postage stamp.

Many business owners don’t have the perfect location and have to do the best with what they’ve got. A lot succeed despite these weaknesses.

But showcasing those weaknesses on social media can only hurt your business.

Before you post photos from your business location, ask yourself how potential customers will respond. Sure, maybe your location isn’t the best, but do you really want to highlight that? Remember that you’re in control of how your photos look and what they show, so only show your best side.

That run-down shack might look delightful inside.

Behind that dull storefront might be a sleek, modern restaurant.

That postage-stamp-sized business might be cozy and warm inside.

You decide what people see, which means you can (and should) hide the less great parts of your business.

Which brings us to our next failure:

Status Updates With Bad Quality Photos

You can probably see a theme here: If a visual isn’t the best quality you can possibly make it, don’t post it. Remember the old quote that goes, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt”? The same rule applies with social media.

If you can’t post something of a high quality, don’t post anything. Sure you won’t be making progress toward your marketing goals, but you at least won’t be making things worse, either.

Unfiltered Status Updates

For everyday users, Facebook is a great place to share opinions. People get used to that free space to say whatever comes to mind, and they think that it’s okay to use their business page as their personal soapbox.

It’s not okay.

Your business doesn’t get to have opinions on controversial topics. It’s great to post content that your followers enjoy, but if it even comes close to the realms of politics or overly personal subjects, do yourself a favor and avoid it like the plague.

Don’t Settle for So-So Statuses

You’ll only get one chance to make a good first impression, so make sure your statuses are up to the occasion. Use our “Worst Facebook Page in the World” as an example so you can avoid these common pitfalls!

Need a little extra guidance on your Facebook updates? Schedule your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Can You Cheat the Facebook Algorithm?

050619 Go Blog_ Can You Cheat the Facebook Algorithm_
6May

If you want to succeed on Facebook, you have to learn to play by its rules. That means learning about the Facebook algorithm and creating content that makes the social network work for you rather than against you.

But can you cheat the algorithm so that your posts show up on everyone’s feeds without boosting them? Can you create content specifically to beat the algorithm?

First, let’s take a look at how the algorithm works.

How The Facebook Algorithm Sorts Content

In simple terms, the Facebook algorithm shows a user exactly what they want to see (or what Facebook believes they want to see). How the algorithm figures this out is by studying a user’s behavior over time and collecting that data.

Facebook uses thousands of variables from each user to rank posts and choose what to show. But at the same time, Facebook weighs posts based on its company strategy.

From experience, my team and I have learned that the following are important factors in what Facebook shows a user:

  • Friends Over Pages. Your friends and what they post are scored higher than what pages post. Facebook is primarily a social network, so your friends get a bump over everything else.
  • Type of Content. Facebook believes that certain types of content are more interesting to users than others. A text-only update is at the bottom of the ladder, above that is a post with an image, then video, then live video at the top.
  • Post Engagement. The more engagement a post gets, the more it will show up in other feeds, especially if the engagement happens quickly. That means your content had better be something that people want to interact with!
  • What You’ve Already Seen. If someone sees your post, scrolls past it, then goes to find it later, it will probably be gone. Once a user passes a post, Facebook assumes they don’t want to see it and removes it from the News Feed.
  • Trendiness. If the topic of a post has been trending, Facebook will give it a bump. If you’re posting about the Super Bowl while it’s happening, your post is more likely to be seen.
  • Preferences. If you’ve decided to hide the posts of a friend or page, they’ll never get shown no matter how amazing they are. But Facebook also looks at your user behavior to figure out your unsaid preferences, so remember that brand posts can be hidden even without users actively choosing not to see them.

So the question is: Since we know all of the things that Facebook uses to weigh the content it shows, is there a way to game the system?

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Working With The Facebook Algorithm To Increase Engagement

The bad news first:

There is no way to game Facebook’s algorithm.

Every user on Facebook is different, so what they see is different too. It would be impossible to create content that ticked the boxes for every user connected to you. No page could reach every one of its followers with a single social media post.

The good news is:

There are a few techniques you can use to increase the engagement and visibility of your posts.

  • Focus on engaging content. You want to post something that makes users stop their scroll. A photo or video will stop a user for a moment and make them more likely to interact with the rest of your post.
  • Use trends to your advantage. Can you create a post that is relevant to a current trend? Is a current news story connected to your business in some way? If so, it’d make the great base for a post.
  • Investigate your audience. Create content they want to see. Use your audience insights to find out what age your followers are, what interests them, etc.
  • Vary your content. If you continuously post the same type of content to your page, you’ll bore your dedicated followers and also annoy followers who aren’t interested in that type of content. User A might love your photos but hate your videos. User B might love your videos and hate your photos. To please them both, you need to make content for both.

Remember above all that Facebook will show users what they want to see. If you make content that nobody would want to look at, then nobody will see it. It’s just as simple as that, so focus more on your content and less on gimmicky marketing tips for an algorithm that will change soon anyway.

Do you have more questions about the Facebook algorithm? Let’s discuss them during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Why You NEED to Fix Your Facebook Target Audiences

050119 Why You NEED to Fix Your Facebook Target Audiences
1May

Picture this: You own a bakery in Tampa, FL. You decide to promote your budding brand online through social media marketing with an emphasis on Facebook advertising. But here’s the issue—once you log into your Business Manager to set up your audience, you see a plethora of options ranging from target demographics to specific zip codes to everything else that makes your head spin.

How do you know you are targeting the right people? It’s a valid concern. If you get it wrong, you could end up wasting your entire advertising budget trying to reach people who were never going to be interested in your bakery anyway.

When is it time to consider a change in advertising audience? Here are three scenarios that I see all the time:

  • You received a large number of engagements and conversions with your first ad, but saw a significant decrease in the next batch.
  • Customers are complaining they are seeing your ads too much.
  • You’re getting inquiries for areas your business does not serve.

If you’re seeing any of the above, you need to step up your audience targeting game. You can’t get those hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars back just because you chose to target the wrong audience, but you can move forward and adjust your scope.

Do yourself a favor and step away from your business for a moment. Look at your customer base with fresh eyes. You may be interacting with these people on a weekly or even daily basis, but you might not have really looked at who they are.

Sure Marge is a sweet lady who buys your gourmet cupcakes at every holiday, but what makes her tick? What does she want, what interests her, and most importantly, how would you sell your bakery’s goods to a woman just like Marge?

Your goal is to boil down your ideal customer by looking at the categories your current customers fit into.

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You should ask yourself the following questions:

1. What age range does my brand appeal to?
Does your business cater to a younger demographic or older adults? Maybe you sell products aimed at children, but remember that you’re really marketing to their parents. Or maybe you manage a senior living community, whose audience is not the potential residents, but rather their caregivers, who are in the 35-55 age range.

2. What location does my ideal customer live in?
Are you trying to appeal to someone in a specific city, like you would if you ran a bakery in Tampa? Or do you need to compile a list of zip codes to tackle a whole region, like say a business that wants to appeal to the Philadelphia/New York region? Regardless, location is an important factor. You may need to adjust your settings so that you don’t oversaturate your market as well, which would actually do damage to your brand as people get sick of seeing your ads.

3. What is the income of your ideal customer?
I once worked with a client who owned a luxury home renovation business. They would do amazing work on homes that were worth at least $650K+. Yet before they came to us, they tried to advertise on their own and failed to specify income in their target audiences. Needless to say, they had a lot of calls, but they were dead leads since nobody who saw the ad could afford their services. Once my team targeted people with higher incomes, we narrowed their reach and brought them real results.

There’s nothing to be done about it: You have to target the right audience. It may be challenging, but that doesn’t make it any less necessary. You need to be sure the people who see your ads will actually be interested in your business!

Are you still a little fuzzy on how to optimize your Facebook ad target audiences? Let’s discuss it during your free consultation with The Go! Agency!

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Bulletproof Marketer