Help
The average Facebook user has 130 friends and is connected to 80 community Pages, Groups, and Events. Yet this is only a fraction of the 900 million people, places, and things that he could interact with on Facebook (see the image below]). Considering the more than 30 billion pieces of content being shared across the site each month, you can understand clearly why content is a key factor in your Facebook marketing strategy. Obviously, there’s a lot that the average user is seeing on a daily basis. But this average user also creates about 90 pieces of content every month—posting links to news stories or blog posts, writing notes, uploading to photo albums, creating Events, writing on friends’ Walls, and more.
There are 900 million people, places, and things that a user can interact with on Facebook. More than 30 billion pieces of content are shared across the site each month. (Graphic by The Blog Herald.)
Since Facebook imposes so many design restrictions, content is the best way to market yourself to potential Page members (and future customers), as well as to keep current Page members and customers engaged and entertained. On the other hand, you must also combat the fatigue many users feel at seeing a never-ending stream of their friends’ lunch orders, random thoughts, and recent likes.
Develop a Content Strategy
A well-thought-out content strategy is the only way to approach Facebook marketing and not drive yourself (and Page members) crazy. It’s tempting to just post whatever strikes you that day, but this can quickly become overwhelming, especially when you are competing for attention in a crowded newsfeed (see the image below). A content strategy will help you refine your goals for Facebook. These goals will drive the frequency of posts, as well as their topics or types of content.
A typical newsfeed is cluttered with content from Facebook Pages, friends, and applications. A content strategy can help bring order to your posts.
Establish Goals
What do you want to do on Facebook? Are you trying to engage people who currently prefer and use your brand? To attract new Page members who already use your service but don’t know you’re on Facebook? To sell your product or generate leads? Chances are that you said yes to all of these, but they are four different goals that work very differently on Facebook than elsewhere on the Web. Facebook is a social network, and while some people will be receptive to sales pitches, the majority are there to talk to friends and connect with brands they really, truly love. To be one of those brands, you need to follow the unofficial Facebook rules of etiquette. That means posting quality information with a frequency and style that matches Facebook: fast and fun. You can tell people about the things you sell, but you’ve got to strike a balance between interesting or exclusive information and sales links.
Determine Frequency
Most Facebook users expect a Page to post new content at least once a day (see the image below). Some prefer a higher volume of posts; others cite this as a reason for unliking a Page. You can’t please everyone, but the upside to posting frequently is that more people will catch it in their newsfeeds.
The top 10 Facebook Pages average just 1.7 posts a day. The most popular Page, Zynga’s Texas Hold’em Poker, often posts five times a day.
Think about time differences and behavior patterns when posting. If you always post first thing in the morning, many people will miss it as they’re on their way to work. They may not even be awake, especially if you are on the East Coast and have Page members several hours behind you. You don’t want to simply repost things over and over, however, because at some point, people will go to your actual Page and see a Wall of repeat posts. Vary your language and the way you handle a subject.
The top 10 most popular Facebook Pages post an average of 1.7 updates per day. Of course, they also have an average of over 15 million Page members already. If you are working to attract new Page members, you should probably be posting more frequently, at least in the beginning, in order to quickly populate your Page with great content that will attract return visitors and help you move up in search rankings.
Consider posting once a day at the bare minimum, and aim to post three to five times a day if you have the content and resources to support it.
Set Patterns and Common Topics
Even if you post only once a day, that’s a lot of extra content you need to create each week. Without a sound strategy, the task of creating and posting new content daily can become pretty daunting. What do you want to talk about every day? More importantly, what will people want to listen to and interact with?
Keep writer’s block at bay by creating daily features and standard topics for each day of the week (see the image below). This way, when you attempt to write a Monday post, you know the general theme it should follow. A narrow focus actually makes it much easier to write plenty of fresh content and meet your goals.
Marshalls sets expectations and builds excitement around recurring Friday fan promotions.
Having set patterns for content will also keep your Page members engaged as they learn their favorite days for information. You might designate Monday as the day to provide insider information or exclusive Facebook content, such as new store openings, upcoming menu changes, or future product launches. Tuesday might be a day to do more general tips related to your industry, and Wednesday might be contests and giveaways. The actual content always changes, but the topic stays the same. Using a pattern keeps you organized and jump-starts the content creation process, while also conditioning Page members to check back on their favorite days, thereby increasing their likelihood of sharing your content.
Create a Content Calendar
Setting topics and patterns is a lot easier with the help of a content calendar that allows you to clearly see the dates and days of the week (see the image below). Similar to an editorial calendar but ideal for social media posts, a content calendar is the best way to stay organized and meet your goals. You can develop one exclusively for Facebook or incorporate other sites (like Twitter) to keep the various networks in sync.
A content calendar can help you stay organized and on-topic. This one includes both Facebook and Twitter for cross-post continuity. (Click to enlarge)
A content calendar can be as simple or as complex as you make it. At its very core, it is merely a place to create content ahead of time and map it to days, posting frequency, and topics. Calendars will keep you on track even on the busiest days. Yes, you can write content ahead of time and release it when you are ready. Really. A certain amount of social media actually can be planned or timed. If your goal is to post once a day or more, it is essential to map your posts in a content calendar ahead of time. Of course, be ready to add or move content to react to questions or current events. Still, you should always have at least one good post ready to go.
A calendar also enables you to keep a record of the posts you’ve made in the past, preventing repetition. With such an archive, you can even track traffic and interaction patterns against content.
Learn more about this topic from The Facebook Marketing Book.
How can Facebook help you promote your brand, products, and services? This book provides proven tactics that you can use right away to build your brand and engage prospective customers. Whether you're a marketing and PR professional, an entrepreneur, or a small business owner, you'll learn about the tools and features that will help you reach specific Facebook audiences. You'll also get an in-depth overview, with colorful and easy-to-understand introductions to Profiles, Groups, Pages, Applications, Ads, Events, and Facebook etiquette.
