I can tell you within a minute of looking at brand’s Facebook page whether it is managed by a professional or an amateur. For those who haven’t worked in social media for years like I did, it is not always as straight forward.
Unfortunately, there are “social media gurus” who give the real social media professionals a bad name.There are also agencies that promise you the world for a hefty price tag yet fail to deliver. Then there are poor employees and interns who were told they had to manage the company’s social media among their million other tasks. The last case scenario is the most common occurrence. Even though it has been said a thousand times, somehow it is still not going through: if you think that anyone who has a Facebook account can successfully advertise your business on Facebook, think again.
So how can you tell the person managing your Facebook page is an amateur and not a professional?
1. Amateurs set up a profile or a group instead of a business page
If your business needs to “add friends”, it’s set up as a personal profile. This is not only against Facebook rules, but it’s also the easiest way to tell an amateur from a professional. If it’s your case, it is time to create a page. This also applies to companies that set up their presence as a group instead of a page. Once set up correctly (as a business page), you will be able to view data about your audience in Insights and set up ads to precisely target your prospects. Remember to delete the old profiles/groups you set up incorrectly to avoid confusion.
2. Amateurs use images that are:
- Too small
The example on the left is actually more common than you would think. The best size for newsfeed photos is 1200 x 900 but it doesn’t mean you have to resize your image every single time. Facebook will automatically resize your image, just make sure your image is not too small to begin with. If you end up with a tiny image, you are better off deleting the post and reposting with a image that people actually can see.
- Copyrighted
You would be surprised how often you can see brands taking an image from Google image search and uploading it without crediting the original source. It goes without saying that such practice can get the company into serious legal trouble. It’s a shame the amateurs don’t know that they can find great images for social media posts on these awesome websites for free and without any copyright.
- Poor quality
Amateurs use drab and blurry images, which are a no-no for fan engagement. Professionals create eye-popping images that inspire and stand out. The pros not only download and upload images, they design them.
3. Amateurs use CAPS and overuse punctuation
Amateurs use CAPS and “!!!???” to put an emphasis on words or phrases they want to highlight. Unfortunately, such practice is often translated as “verbal screaming” and it puts people off. Professionals emphasize the message through visuals and on-point copy.
4. Amateurs post too much or too little
I once came across a Facebook page that sent updates every hour. On the other side of the spectrum are businesses that post once a week, if that. The golden rule for Facebook is posting 1-2 times a day. If you are posting twice a day, space out the posts at least 3-4 hours apart.
5. Amateurs link to the videos instead of uploading them
It’s a well-known fact among social media marketers that Facebook users engage more with videos that are uploaded natively instead of just being linked to.
It’s time to check your Facebook page and check against these benchmarks to see if your brand is represented by an amateur or a professional. If the former, it’s time to hand over the key to someone who knows what to do with it!
Connect with me:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/luciehys
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