Facebook Best Practices for 2016

We may be jumping the gun on this one since it’s barely halfway through November, but it’s never too early to start implementing best practices for your web presence marketing. With today’s constant influx of information, your posts have to rise above the rest with quality content and quality content communicated well. You may have something awesome to promote but that awesome promotion could be lost if not relayed well on the appropriate platforms.

Facebook has undergone a lot of changes this year. But some of the best practices for Facebook remain the same. Here we’ve broken it down to three areas: content, media and calls to action.

Good luck, and happy posting.

Content

The words must be welcoming to whatever content lies in store for your audience. Play with tone and voice but know your audience. Some people may not understand your sarcasm or invaluable wit like others will. Take some these guidelines, incorporate them with your content marketing strategy and evaluate what does well and what you’ll scratch from the playboard.

1. 1. Create a clear goal for the post.
   2. Make the reader do something (“Share your ideas,” etc.)
   3. Ask a question.
   4. Keep it simple and brief.
   5. Don’t be (too) sale-sy.
   6. Include hashtags if relevant.
   7. Tag relevant industries or pages.
   8. Be clever or inspirational.
   9. ALWAYS include a link AND an image (More on this below).

Media

Content will keep the reader or audience but it’s the image or video that will catch their eye in the first place. Video is powerful. Easy to consume and convenient to share at the click of a button, video provides your followers content without too much effort on their part and all the benefit for you. Video is easier to gauge voice as well. Additionally, images offer a glimpse into what to expect from the content behind the Facebook post. Your link, as mentioned above, is the path you want your friends or followers to follow and share. Follow these practical practices for the media portion of your Facebook posts:

1. Find relevant images.
2. Don’t use anything offensive.
3. Upload several ones to use more than once.
4. Research new pictures to use at least once a week.
5. Use the same image you used for your blog post.

CTA (Call to Action)

An often overlooked part of the social post is the ever-so subtle call to action. What exactly do you want your reader to do? Do you want them to purchase something? Do you want them to visit the blog? Ask yourself this question when creating your content on your site and for your social post. End to end, ask, “After my potential customer reads this post, what do I want them to do?” Listed below are quick and dirty tips for calling your client to some kind of action.

1. 1. Avoid saying the same CTA over and over.
   2. Avoid using terms like “blog” or “website” unless absolutely necessary.
   3. Use new and engaging CTAs (Discover, educate, etc.).
   4. Use a sense of urgency.
   5. Keep your CTA clear and concise.

What not to do for marketing your web presence:

What to do for marketing your presence on the web:

In summary, make a post you would find engaging. Look at your own Facebook feed. What do you like? What have you liked? Who do you know that always posts hilarious or valuable stuff? Listen to what your audiences say. These best practices are just the beginning but the beginning is always the best place to start.

Don’t trust yourself to understand the anatomy of a Facebook post? That’s cool. We look at Facebook feeds all day. Give us a shout and let’s talk about the opportunities to grow your web presence through social media marketing and beyond.