Social Media Basics – Facebook

GETTING STARTED WITH FACEBOOK

Facebook has a heap of online resources to get started with Facebook. Start here:

• Create an account and Profile
• Create a Page
• Create a Facebook Group

FACEBOOK LANGUAGE

Facebook Profile vs Page

• –A PROFILE is for people. With a Profile you have control of:
  • –who you accept as a ‘Friend’
  • –the visibility of the information you add to your Profile by way of Privacy settings
• –A PAGE is for business
  • –anyone can Like of Follow your Page
  • –when they do, your posts may pop up in their news feed
  • –the more engaged someone is with your Page content, the more likely they are to see your content

Page Like vs Follow

• –A Like is a person who has chosen to attach their name to your Page as a fan.
  • people who Like your page will automatically be a Follower
  • but they can UNfollow your page, but still Like it
• –A Follower is a person who has chosen to receive the updates that you post in their news feed

Reach

• –The number of unique people who saw your content
• –It affects every other trackable metric – –engagement, likes, comments, clicks and negative feedback
• –There are different kinds of reach:
  • Organic Reach – the number of people who had an unpaid post from your Page enter their screen
  • Viral Reach (organic) – –The number of people who had any content from your or about Page enter their screen because their friend interacted with your Page or Page content
  • Paid Reach – –the number of people who had a paid post from your Page enter their screen
• –Everything on Facebook comes down to REACH – –How many people see your content

Engagement

• –The direct interaction of a FB user with your posts or profile
• –Engagement Rate is the number of comments, shares, clicks, likes expressed as a percentage of the total people a post reached
• –Facebook rewards engagement – –The more engagement, the better your post performs, leading to more engagement leading to better performance leading to …

Algorithm

• –A set of instructions designed to perform a specific task
• –The ‘algorithm’ determines how many people, and who, sees your post
• –Think of it as a checklist of actions/tasks/items set up in a secret order
• –How many things you tick off that checklist,
  and in what order, will determine how many people see your post
• –And FB changes their algorithms every year or so
• Hootsuite’s take on the Facebook algorithm in 2020

Want more? Check out The Ultimate List of Social Media Definitions You Need To Know on the HootSuite blog.

FACEBOOK INSIGHTS

Where do you find out what sort of Reach and Engagement your Page posts are getting?

Depending on the version of Facebook you are using, your Page will provide an overall summary of your Reach, Engagement and Page Likes. You can drill deeper by looking at your Facebook Insights.

Look for the INSIGHTS link on the left side-menu on your Facebook Page and click around the different links to see what sort of information Facebook collects then shares with you about what people do when they see your posts.

More information here.

QUICK USER TIPS

–Question: How should I engage with people in this space?

–Answer – ask yourself: How do you want people to engage with you? How do you want them to speak with you?

How often should I post?

• –Post when you know your audience is online
• –Post consistently
• –Quality and consistency is the key!
• –If it helps – use the Facebook ‘Schedule Post’ tool

What should I post?

• –Go back to your WHY
• –Be authentic!
• –Tell a story, –Introduce yourself, –Share process, –Start a conversation
• –It’s a conversation, not a sales pitch
• –Mix it up – for every content idea – post 4x – a simple post + link to a blog post + picture + video
• –Content does not need to be new (but new is good!), but it must be:
  • –High-value
  • –Relevant and interesting = engaging
  • –Chatty and conversational

How do I improve my Reach?

• –Post consistently
• –Build trust with your audience so they engage with you
• –Promote each other
• –Share the love and Share and tag related and relevant posts and pages and content
• –Leverage Facebook Groups

TONE OF VOICE

Even though online communication is with a written word (or image or video), there is still a ‘tone’ that is relayed through the dialogue.

Always remember that Facebook is a ‘social’ space. The general expected tone is chatty and conversational. You can sell, many people do, but try to do it in a chatty, conversational and soft way. Share tips, give information, promotes others as well as yourself, then add in the occasional ‘sales-focused’ post – but still keep it chatty and conversational.

If you’re not sure what to say or how to say it, picture yourself at a dinner party with strangers and you want to have an enjoyable evening with conversation … how would you talk with the other people at the table? How would you engage with them to begin a conversation?

It can take a while to build confidence and find the tone of voice you want to use in this space – but the only way you will find it is to participate. So get online, watch and read other’s posts and the engagement they do (or don’t) receive. Watch and learn. Keep at it – keep refining – and you will find your voice online.

And remember, if you want people to engage with or buy from you, they need to:

• –Know you
• –Like you
• –Trust you
• –then Trust themselves

LEVERAGE FACEBOOK GROUPS

• Group engagement is increasing
• FB spent an estimated $10 million to run a 60-second TVC during Super Bowl to promote Facebook Groups
• –Facebook is investing time and money into Groups
• Group features and functions will change, adapt and grow as FB learns more about user behaviour and needs
  • Eg you will be able to accept Paid membership
  • Greater content control and privacy of content within the group
• Groups have their own privacy settings
  • Public – anyone can see and engage with content and members. –Open to everyone and anyone.
  • Private and visible – anyone can find the Group. Only members can see content and engage in the Group
  • Private and hidden – you need to be told where it is to find it. Only members can see content and engage in the Group

HOW TO USE FACEBOOK GROUPS

• Remember your WHY
• Find relevant areas of interest and request to join
• Become a member of a Group
• Read and respect any Group rules
• Watch and learn
  • Watch what others are posting
  • Watch how others interact
  • Watch how people deal with negative content
  • –Engage within the Group
  • –Like and comment on Group posts
  • Post your own content in the Group
  • Share your work
  • Ask questions
  • Offer free tips and advice
  • Help people, give free advice
  • –Keep all content RELEVANT and AUTHENTIC
  • Be the tone and personality of the brand you are promoting

But what if no one engages with my posts?

• If you engage within the group, but get no member-engagement in return, give it time!
• –People are busy
• –Their feeds are full of everyone else screaming for their attention
• –People are time-poor
• –DON’T GIVE UP – KEEP ENGAGING!
  • –Mix it up a bit – do something a little differently
  • –Set a time limit, and if engagement doesn’t improve, move on to a new Group

What to look for in Groups

• –How many members?
• –What are the Group rules?
• –Do you like the look and tone of the group?
• –Group location (if relevant)
• –What is the level of post engagement?

SHARE THE LOVE

Help each other – if you see friends and colleagues working to promote themselves in this space, engage with their posts.

Like, comment and share their posts.
Likes are better than nothing.
Comments are better than Likes.
Post Shares are better than comments.
This will improve their Reach and Engagement. And hopefully they will share the love back and respond in kind.

Tag their Page in your posts … if you have collaborated on a project, spent time together, they’ve created something you think is share-worthy … write a post and tag their Page in the post.

When you tag a friend or colleagues Page – make sure you check that you use the correct tag. Be bothered to check that you have picked up the tag. Check their Page first to see what the Page name is, and what their Page profile picture looks like – then confirm that that is the same information you see when you add their tag to your post. Otherwise you are tagging someone else who may have no relationship with you.

Why is it important to check?

• Some people have Profile names similar to, but not the same as, their Facebook Page name – you want to make sure you tag the right link. If your friend promotes their art on a Page, make sure you tag their Page, not their Profile.
• Sometimes your friend will have the same name as someone else, but their Page username is only very slightly different but unless you check you can easily miss this difference

A note about tagging in Page posts – at times I find I can’t tag a Page in my Page posts. I don’t know why – so when I can’t add a tag in a post I will add it in the comments of the past.

MORE INFORMATION

So you want more! There are squillions of articles online sharing tips, telling you what to do and how to do it. Below are some links to companies who sell social media, marketing and training tools. The tools may be useful to you in the future, but for now, their blogs are full of all sorts of information for people just starting out in the social space through to advanced users:

• Social Media Knowledge
• Hootsuite
• SproutSocial
• Hubspot
• Influencer Marketing Hub
• Social Media Examiner

Specifically, here are some articles of interest:

33 Facebook Stats That Matter to Marketers in 2020

18 Facebook statistics every marketer should know in 2020

10 Facebook Statistics Every Marketer Should Know in 2020

The Beginner’s Guide to Conversational Marketing

On Facebook and Twitter your privacy is at risk — even if you don’t have an account, study finds

What do you Feel is the Best Social Media Platform for Marketing Your Art?

15 Of the Best Social Media Posting and Scheduling Tools

How to Network With Facebook Groups

The video below is 10 years old – but still well worth the watch. I’ve not found a 2020 version with updated statistics. But that stats presented are quite impressive…