It is human instinct to always assume that the other party is wrong… And although Facebook has been “messing” us around with all their Facebook algorithm changes there is still a way for you to be successful on Facebook all you need to realise that it might not just be the Facebook algorithm that is causing your Facebook campaigns to tank. We’ve seen too many people give up on Facebook without first looking at some of the mistakes that we as marketers make.
When you read through this article you need to know we’ve all made at least one of these mistakes. You are not alone! Marketers are certain breed of people who have enough tenacity to never quit and creativity to stretch even the smallest budget. Being overworked, having a limited amount of resources and feeling an enormous amount of pressure to increase sales doesn’t make you different it just makes you a marketer. And the fact that you are taking the time right now to read this article means you are serious about seeing a return on investment for your company.
Mistake #1 “When my fan page has more likes I will have more sales”
We think the bigger our fan base on our page, the higher our reach, the higher our return on investment. Many marketers still believe this and try to get their page likes up without seeing even the smallest increase in sales. Don’t get us wrong likes on a page have a place and a purpose but if you want to see an increase in sales getting your page likes up should only be the start of your strategy…
Mistake #2 “Boosting my post will give me success”
While boosting your post might increase the reach and even the engagement it doesn’t automatically ensure that your conversion will be higher. But if the post is boosted to Facebook users that aren’t your ideal customer you are like a fisherman throwing out his line on the shore… You won’t catch any fish there because they’re not there… When you boost your post to everyone you don’t have a guarantee that your ideal customer will even see the post. The audience you reach might be great but the catch (conversion) you get will be small and in some cases non existing.
The wrong audience is pretty much as valuable as no audience at all!
“There’s a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot.” —STEVEN WRIGHT
Mistake #3 “I know what my customer wants”
As marketers and business owners we believe we know our ideal customer but if we would have a look at your browser history how many hours have you spent researching your ideal customer? Their likes and dislikes? The forums, Facebook groups and blogs they are interested in?
When you are able to speak to your ideal customer in such a way that you are able to explain to them what they are feeling better than they themselves can you immediately become an authoritative voice to them. But in order to do so we need to get to know them.
A wise man who needs to cut down a tree with an axe will use the first three hours to sharpen his blade… In the same way marketers need to first sharpen and refine their understanding of their ideal client before chopping away trying to get leads, sales and any other form of return on investment. Get to know your audience and as you start to communicate in a way they can relate to they can start trusting you.
“If people like you they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll do business with you.” —ZIG ZIGLAR
Mistake #4 “If someone doesn’t convert the first time I guess they’re not interested”
We are living in an era of information overload and we need to remember “The Rule of 7”. The rule of seven is one of the oldest concepts in marketing. … The rule of seven simply says that the prospective buyer should hear or see the marketing message at least seven times before they buy it from you.
So then why after our ideal customer has clicked to read our website article do we leave it up to them to come back to us again? As marketers we have the ability to influence our ideal customer online all the way to a sale.
People only do something if you ask them to do it… And while a post with a great call to action will give marketers initial success it is what happens after a Facebook user takes action that can increase (or decrease) your level of success on Facebook.
Many marketers leave Facebook users after they have taken the first step (clicked on the link, shared the post, downloaded a freebie). It is important for you to lead your ideal client through each and every step towards becoming a loyal customer. Retargeting is important because you are continuously asking people to do something and in doing so you are moving them a step closer to become a customer and finally a loyal customer part of your brand tribe.
Mistake #5 “I know enough to be successful”
Facebook is constantly changing and while you are still busy boosting your posts there are 20 years olds busy building targeted campaigns with specific messaging based on the stage of awareness of the audience.
We need to keep on learning, keep on reading, keep on doing research. Being left behind doesn’t mean you stop moving it just means you don’t move fast enough. Moving backwards doesn’t require you to move back all you need to do is stand still and you will be left behind.
Harry S. Truman said, “not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
As a team we are so serious about this principle that we recently went on a journey to discover exactly how to utilise Facebook to reach the right people with the right message to result in a higher conversion rate across the board. Our team has been personally trained by the number one business coach and Facebook marketer in South Africa, Niel Malan. To date, Niel has spent over R1 million on his own education by attending numerous in the USA and Europe!
Now you know your mistakes now it’s time to start getting to work on the solution! Download your FREE guide to convert your Facebook fans here.
