10 Tips for Best Practice on your Facebook page: Part 2

The next 5 tips in Catherine from Red Kite Communications sneak preview of her upcoming e-Book Facebook course, which will be launching in April 2013.  If you haven’t seen the first 5 best practice tips for Facebook, make sure to catch up on them too!

10 Tips for Best Practice on your Facebook page: Part 2

So, in the first 5 tips you learned to post no more than 3 statuses a day, to always respond and stay in the conversation, not to swear, not to do competitions, and to make sure you remove ugly links.  Here are the final 5 best practice tips to have you Facebooking like a pro!

6 Do not link your tweets to your Facebook page

Every message you put out on any social utility should be crafted. In other words, a message crafted for Twitter will not be the same as a message crafted for Facebook.

Twitter uses mechanisms such as @ and # as part of its user repertoire, which are meaningless on Facebook. So your tweet in reply to a potential customer on Twitter might read like this:

'Aw, thanks @Cupcake @ZooTooSocial! Yes, new #eco #fairtrade #sustainable banana yarn fibre avble now! #FF to U 2 and thx for the RT!'

Not pretty!

Also - if you are using Twitter well, you will be tweeting far too often in the day to link to Facebook because of Rule 1 – no more than 3 statuses a day.

7 But do ‘amplify’ your Facebook statuses on Twitter.

Each time you post a status on Facebook, craft a tweet to link to it.  Make sure your abridged version of the status fits into the 180 characters, and include a shortened link (sign up at https://bitly.com/ for a great way to make shortened links which you can also track.). 

Where to find the link?  Under each status you post on Facebook, you will see a date, or a day of the week.  Click on that – your post will be opened in its own web page – now copy the URL at the top of your browser, and use that link in your tweet.

8 Address complaints or negative remarks immediately, and publicly

Address complaints or grumbles right there in the thread – you may find you have turned the customer round by the end of the thread, which is a fantastic visual representation of real-world customer service.

Just dive right in, express horror that they’re unhappy and ask if you can deal with them via their email/messagebox/phone to put the matter right.

If someone posts something offensive that makes you uncomfortable, you may have to delete it. If you think they’re a genuine fan, perhaps Message them with a nicely crafted reply:

“Just wanted to say sorry I had to remove your comment – it had the f-word in and we delete those! But I totally agreed with your point, their cotton thread does snap often – we prefer Guterman, how about you?”

Need help? If you get one of these comments, and you don’t know how to proceed – come Like and then message me at www.facebook.com/redkitecommunications.com or @redkitesocial me in a tweet and I’ll help you frame the perfect response. 

9  Do your (not you’re) best to get spelling right! 

Please don’t wait a year to start your Facebook strategy because you’re worried about their or they’re or there, it’s or its.  We can’t all be good at everything, and your grammar is not what you’re selling. 

But, if you think this is a weakness of yours, you need to address it - come and learn the basics at my blog post on getting spellings and grammar right.

You’d be surprised how common these errors are - and if your fans are like me, they will wince when they spot them in your status just as others might at a swear word! 

If you are dyslexic or you just know it’s never going to be your strength, have a spellcheck person to help you – your husband, sister, best friend, mum. Plan and craft your messages, maybe 10 at a time – and send them to your proof-reading pal. It’s a faff, but you simply cannot look professional if your writing is riddled with errors!

10  Promote your Facebook page!

Go and check all your online ‘rooms’ – have you added your Facebook page link in the following:

a) On your blog? Add as a widget/plugin

b) Your website?

c) Your email signature?  Try www.wisestamp.com for a free signature setup.

And don’t stop there – what about a sticker for your car?  Is it on the footer of your invoices and proposals?  Business cards?  Flyers?  Compliment slips?  Stickers you add to your parcels? On a card you hand out at fairs? 

Promote your Facebook page everywhere you can.

And come and tell me about it!  Red Kite’s Facebook page is www.redkitecommunications.com/facebook.  Come and say hi – I’d love to meet you, take a look at your Facebook page, and help you with any worries you have.

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Next up Catherine will be bringing you some good housekeeping practices to help you get a ‘vanity URL’ for your Facebook page, set up your About page and make a beautiful cover photo, amongst other hints and tips. 

See you then!

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Website: www.redkitecommunications.com