Powills: Facebook Sucks. But So Does Your Campaign.

Facebook is truly the double-edged sword of business. On one side, it can drive sales, elevate brand awareness and serve as an agent for evolving your brand voice. On the other side, after you have spent a ton of energy and money to build up a fan following, now, under Facebook’s adjusted algorithm, you will have to spend more energy and money just to talk with the audience you've already built. Bullshit. I know. However, is it 100 percent Facebook’s fault? Screaming and yelling at Facebook for preventing your business from making money will not solve the issue. The media is more to blame than anything. As are Social Media agencies. In a content-driven digital world, you are told to toss up a bunch of content that tells the consumer to buy this and to try that. When’s the last time you made a purchase or built an emotional bond with a brand when it told you that you had to? When is the last time a Ford commercial told you that you would be tougher for buying a Ford and you ran out and bought a new car? I know, somewhat rhetorical. It’s time for businesses to have a hard restart on their social footprints. It’s time for agencies to stop telling businesses that it is all about massive quantities of content. It’s time we stop blaming Facebook for not growing our businesses – or kicking and screaming because our fan count won’t climb. It’s time for a digital change. To help you along, here are five quick tips for restarting your Facebook footprint: Begin with a Voice Say you are in a social setting. Let’s call it a happy hour. Do you go up to people and ask them to buy your product?  Better yet, if you are dishing out a pick-up line do you ask someone if they are going out with you, now? I know a few of you said yes, that’s me, tell me more. No, of course you don’t. Neither should your voice in the social world. Stop talking at the consumer as if you are an infomercial. Start talking with them as if you are a friend. Don’t Just Use Words If Facebook is willing to buy Instagram for $1 billion, then we should probably listen to what it is telling us. Photos and mobile are the way of the future. Build a strong catalog of photos (food shots, people shots, smiles) and leverage it in the way you build your voice. A photo is worth a million words. Words are only worth 140 characters. Off the Cuff is Good, Planning is Better When you plan out your Social Media postings, think in umbrellas. Create a theme for the day and then interact under it. Social Media is not about posting and leaving – it’s about being social. If you leave out the word “social”, you are simply a website. Be more than a static website. Engage Your Fans If you went to a football game and there was no game, how would you feel? Ripped off. In the case of a fan page, your fans are not paying admission with dollars, instead they are paying with their time and willingness to LOVE your brand. Embrace this. Create a plan of contests and promotions that keep them entertained. Facebook Will Cost You Money Not what you want to hear, but budgeting dollars for Facebook advertising has become a must. It is the best form of advertising that exists (not necessarily in all-around ROI, but in cost and behavioral options). Facebook changed its algorithm because businesses were making money off of it. Facebook is happy with you making money; it just wants some dollars too. This is why it costs you dollars to reach the fans who already liked your page. Facebook is a business. You don’t own it. The company does. Facebook could come back and allow you to keep your fan page for $1/fan tomorrow and many of you would say okay. Invest in the system and the system will return the favor.