Facebook AnswerMan

Let's talk about 6 ways to get more Likes on your Facebook posts. It's not that hard people!

Should you use a Facebook profile or page for your business? Or maybe both?
Let's discuss that in today's show and I'll talk about how Mari Smith and Amy Porterfield do this very well.

Do you have any Facebook friends who are actually businesses?

Do you have friends with names like “Bob’s Taco Shop” or “Valley View Golf Course”?

Did you know this is against Facebook’s Terms of Service?

Here’s the relevant passage:

You will not use your personal timeline primarily for your own commercial gain, and will use a Facebook Page for such purposes.

Learn more about why using a profile to promote a business is a bad idea here:

Facebook Profile or Fan Page — Which Should I Use for My Business?

In this post, I want to talk about something different.

I want to talk about:

how & when to discuss your work on your personal profile
how to leverage both a profile & fan page when you yourself are the brand
So let’s get started.

How & When to Talk Biz on your Profile

You love your job & want to talk about it on your personal profile — great!

There’s huge value in doing this because it lets your friends know what you’re doing — and also who to call if they need your services.

Word of mouth is the best marketing, right?

I can speak of this 1st hand from my experience working in the auto shipping business.

In 2008 I worked for a car shipping broker helping people move cars around the country — and the globe.

In 2009 I started my own shipping company & ran it for 2 years before rising diesel costs killed my margins… (still miss that business — but oh well).

I wanted my connections on Facebook to know what I was doing in case they needed to move a car or knew someone who did.

So I did something rather simple — but very powerful. And it ended up landing me my largest account ever through an old friend on Facebook!

Here’s what I did:

1. Listed my Fan Page as my Employer on my Profile

This added my employer’s fan page link to my profile so any of my friends could click it.

Today I have a similar link on my profile, but it’s to Post Planner’s fan page.

pp job

2. Mentioned my Work sometimes in my Posts

Maybe once a week I’d share a review from a customer, an award I’d gotten, or a blog/video post I’d made about shipping a car.

It was never “Need a car shipped? Be sure to contact me at 555-555-5555 or go to www.iqtransport.com “.

Doing this just makes you look like a salesy marketing douche!

Anyway, that’s it. That’s all I did.

Pretty simple, right?

The rest of my time on Facebook I was just Scott being Scott — sharing pics of my kids, commenting my friends’ statuses & pics, etc.

The key was not being annoying or salesy.

If every post you make is about your business, people will hide you or unfriend you.

I know, because I do it myself when a friend or family member is over-posting about the latest greatest health product or Scentsy candle!!!

Remember people — pull don’t push!

And if you’re the CEO or “Marketing guy” at your company, you should heed this advice too.

Your family & friends don’t want to hear about your widget every 12 seconds. They want to see pics of your kiddos, your dog, etc.

But What if YOU are the Brand or Company?

What happens when you are the main voice of a brand? Or when you yourself ARE the brand?

This can be tricky. But here’s some advice:

1. Link your profile’s About section to your business page

2. Open your profile to Followers so the world can follow you

But remember that things change when you do this...

Hashtags are officially live on Facebook! #butyoudonthavetousethemoneverypost

Ok, that hashtag was a bit much — but it’s not that different from what I’m seeing on Facebook since hashtags went live.

Don’t get me wrong — hashtags are awesome. They’ve been a valuable part of Twitter & Google+ for years.

Why Facebook resisted them for so long I’ll never understand.

The truth is, people have been using hashtags on Facebook forever — usually to convey irony or context.

But now they’re officially live — ie. you can click & search them — so your business should make use of them.

But please… not in a way that makes you a #FacebookHashtagDoucheBag!

Tips on Avoiding #Facebook #Hashtag #Douchbaggery

>>> 1. Don’t Use Hashtags in Every Post

The whole point of hashtags has always been to tag posts — so they can be grouped together around a certain subject or event — and searched.

overusinghashtagSo just because you can add hashtags to your Facebook posts doesn’t mean you should.

I’m already seeing businesses use hashtags in every post — this is a bad idea. Instead I’d recommend only adding a hashtag to maybe 20% of your posts.

Why 20%?

Well, 20% just seems like a good number to me — ie. I’m giving you my own personal opinion & trying to keep you from looking like a douche!

Remember: the 2 cardinal rules of Facebook posts are (1) mix it up, and (2) less is more.

For example, you can post photos, questions or fill-in-the-blanks on every post — but doing so will turn off your fans.

Guess what? Using hashtags on every post will too.

So mix it up! — and use this rule of thumb:

Only use a hashtag when there’s a chance (and benefit!) for another person to use the same one.

>>> 2. No Hashtag Hijacking!

hashtag-hijakA Hashtag Hijacker is someone who uses a hashtag that has nothing to do with the post’s subject.

Ie. the hijacker is just trying to sneak their way into the hashtag’s search results.

It’s basically just another (and very douchy) form of spamming.

And it happens a lot during breaking news events — especially tragic ones.

For example, during the Boston Marathon bombings, I saw people adding the hashtags #BostonStrong or #PrayforBoston or #BostonTragedy to tweets that had nothing to do with the bombings — all in hopes of showing up in search results & getting clicks on their spammy link.

If you do this, you are the very definition of #Douchebag.

So don’t do it.

The proper “netiquette” is to use a hashtag only if it’s relevant (1) to your business, and (2) to your post.

>>> 3. Don’t Hashtag Senseless Words

Here is an example:

hashtagmisshap

Do you really think the search results for #huzzah are going to produce anything of value?

First of all, no one is searching the hashtag #Huzzah – and second of all, if they are, they’re definitely not looking for your business.

Using hashtags for nonsense like this does your business no good — whether you think you’re being funny or not.

C’mon, people! It’s just a nonsense word.

So knock it off!

>>> 4. Don’t Use Too Many Hashtags in One Post

My advice: if you’re going to use a hashtag, use only ONE.

Using more than this is a distraction, as you can see in the post below:

hashtag1

This is just obnoxious & overkill. Remember: Less is More!

Using 6 hashtags in a single post overpowers the content of the post — and distracts the very people you’re supposed to be engaging.

So please don’t do it.

Stop Hashtag Abuse!

hashtag-abusePlease. Please. Please take these 4 tips to heart.

Hashtags can be super powerful when used...

Do you ever check your "Other" inbox on Facebook messages? I get so many that I stopped looking, at least on a regular basis.

110% of it is spam and I just can't help myself but read some of the crap to you!

Plenty of businesses use Facebook advertising to promote their page apps, but the majority do not.

If you’ve built an app that is unique & interesting to your fanbase — and has built-in sharing features as well as an awesome incentive (a prize, access to exclusive content, etc.), then you’re halfway there.

And the truth is, you don’t need to spend money to get the word out about your cool new app.

In this post I’m going to cover how your business can promote your business’s app to existing fans & people outside of your Facebook network, all without spending a dime.

Tips to promote your app to current fans

1. Post multiple status updates about your new app

I’m going back to the basics with this first tip. If you want fans to know about something, you have to tell them — and keep reminding them.

For example, if you just launched a contest app, make multiple Facebook announcements during different times of the day & throughout the week (or during the period of time the app is running).

Also, don’t forget to use an eye-grabbing image for your posts. The more attention your status updates receive, the better it is for the promotion of your app.

2. Update your cover photo

Recently Facebook kicked in the door for how businesses can use their largest piece of Timeline real estate — the cover photo. According to their new promotion guidelines, calls-to-actions are now allowed in the copy & design of cover photo images.

This is a total game-changer!

Draw attention to apps by using arrows or other illustrations, like the cover photo below, that point to your Timeline’s apps.



Tips to promote your app to non-Facebook networks

1. Send a message to your email list

Whether your list includes 50 or 50,000 subscribers, send an email to your list asking them to check out your new Facebook app.

For example, if you’ve created an app for a giveaway, make sure to let everyone on your email list know to check it out for a chance to win!

2. Use Twitter for personal outreach

I have a Twitter rockstar on my team who uses this tip. Rather than tweeting out generic updates like, “Check out our new app for a chance to win!” it’s more effective to tweet at individuals who you think would most likely share news about your app with their communities.

You can also test using a specific hashtag in the tweets you’re promoting your app — this will help your company keep track of what users are saying.

3. If you have a blog, write a blog post

If you have a company blog, use it as a platform to talk about your newly launched custom app.

For example, at ShortStack our blog is Socially Stacked. Every time we launch a new app for our Facebook Page, we write a blog post about it (like this one) & link our readers back to the app.

Because we get a decent amount of traffic to Socially Stacked, this approach works really well for us.

Tips to promote your app to people outside of your network

1. Issue a press release

In business, writing a press release has long been a best practice for making company announcements. When your business launches an awesome new app, it’s news! So go ahead & write a press release about it.

Most apps, especially contest & promotion apps, anchor a company’s overarching campaign. Use the press release to talk about the campaign, then provide a call to action & a link to your app.

If your company isn’t already signed up with a press release distribution company, this option will cost you (about $99 to distribute one press release, to be exact). Although, in a lot of cases, it’s worth it.

PR Web, for example — the service I use at ShortStack — makes it super easy to get your release out to search engines & major news...

Want to start losing your Facebook fans today?

Then make sure you’re doing the following 5 things ASAP.

Because if these 5 actions don’t cause you to lose fans, nothing will!

>> 1. Post Boring Content

People on Facebook love nothing more than being bored to tears.

That’s why you should post nothing but very boring content every day — stuff that no one cares about and no one will comment on.

Never include calls to action in your posts — because you certainly don’t want engagement!

Please posts photos of your interns drinking coffee or wearing company t-shirts — because everyone just loves those!

Everyone also loves seeing photos of your whiteboard filled with tons of scribbling & nonsense — so inspiring.

And by all means, please post a photo of you in front of your computer while you’re conducting a webinar — because nothing brands your company better than a photo of the back of a guy’s head!

Love it!!!

BONUS: If you want to really bore your fans, be certain to post the same types of updates 7 days a week — so no one comments on them ever!

>> 2. Post Every 12 Seconds – or Only When You Feel Like It

Want to really wow your fans?

Then you need to post every 12 seconds all about yourself or your business. I mean it IS your page after all — so you should be able to post whatever you want whenever you want, right?

Did a goofy thought just pop into your head? Then post it to your page!

Did you have cake for lunch? Tell us about it, please! We’re begging you!



Your fans want MORE! MORE! MORE!

So give it to them.

And the opposite works just as awesomely!

Want to really leave an impression?

Go 2 weeks without posting anything at all — then post a sales link to your site!

BONUS: If you want HUGE extra points, then you should definitely start complaining about how bad sales were — and how no one commented on your post — and how Edgerank like totally sucks!

People love not getting updates from pages they follow for weeks at a time.

Forget having a posting strategy — that stuff is for pushy marketers.

You’re awesome!

>> 3. Break Your Promises

Record a video. Create a Contest. Tell everyone a new feature is going to launch on Friday.



But then…

Never follow through with it!

People love getting lied to — and they love getting excited about a new product or feature that never actually happens.

Let customers know about a new membership site you’re launching on October 1st — but then wait until June and still don’t launch it.

BONUS: Don’t let the fact that you’ve made a promise you haven’t kept yet keep you from continuing to talk about it and tell your fans it’s coming.

After all, Facebook does this all the time when launching new features (can anyone say “new News Feed”?)

>> 4. Be Negative & Rude – Go Ahead, Call People Names!

Do you think your customers are rude or jerks?

Then tell them about it on your Facebook page!

Call them names, cuss them out — they’ll love it!

It’s even better if you mention them by name when being rude — go ahead: make it personal!

Or perhaps you want to rail on your competitors — post negative status updates about how crappy they are.

It’s ok — your fans are probably thinking it to, they just need you to say it!

Remember: it’s YOUR page so you can say whatever you want however you want… right?

>> 5. Be Salesy & Pushy – People Love That!

It’s a pretty well known fact that your fans love nothing more than to see an unending stream of sales pitches in their news feed!

So who cares about being personal or building...