Facebook & Business: Less Talk, More Strategy

Ok, so now that your business has a Facebook page, and you have Facebook “fans” of your business, what’s the next step? 

The popular answer is ongoing engagement by posting interesting content to your page, right?  Today I want to challenge you by asking the question:  Is posting daily content really the best way to build engagement your brand?  Often I see businesses fishing for engagement by posting the latest “Fail Blog” links or the latest “flashmob” viral video.  Sometimes company’s think they can be hip and show they’re not out of touch by posting the latest fashion trend, political scapegoat, or celebrity news.  Trends of sounding interesting by posting a blog about their product or services are another example. 

While all of these posts are good ways to attempt interaction with your fans, the honest truth is that businesses are often having ongoing Facebook conversations with themselves.  Who is really listening to anything YOU are saying?  Looking at your own business page on Facebook, what do you see?  Is your page is full of posts by your Facebook page administrator with little or no responses back from your fans?  If yes, then chances are that you are not talking to anyone but yourself.  What are you doing to engage customers in a way that is relevant to your fans AND your business goals?  If your seeing this kind of trend, then you may need to consider a new strategy that fits your business and your fans interests. 

The next step is to figure out a way to make your Facebook relevant to your fans in the way you do business.  Simply put, there are many Proverbs that warn about talking too much and sounding like a fool.  You may find yourself ahead of the game and your competition by making purposeful conversation and relevant interactions with your Facebook fans.