I am also a qualified digital specialist with over 15 years' experience in digital and social media giving me a broad base from which to approach many digital topics. le'ts cover Facebook quickly.
So, I thought I would quickly write this blog post to help those that are new to Facebook. Actually, I'm not sure who hasn't heard of Facebook yet - or perhaps help those that just don't have the hang of Facebook yet and would like to know better ways to engage and not get into trouble... yes, I said trouble. I am not sure if you heard about the Facebook posts that got a few people in deep social media trouble over the past year or so? It's quite frightening how people now think they can use social media as if it's their own diary to the world... when it's not.
We love pictures of your kiddies, really! Especially babies. But if I know exactly what you did all day with your baby then you have definitely gone too far. Just so you know, it gets a bit much when you post a new picture every hour or a status every half an hour of telling us every second how your baby is laughing or feeding again. We do not want vivid descriptions of every weewee or poopoo and we definitely don't look forward to the other 46 similar posts. Posting consistently and filling up your friends and family's timelines is a big NO-NO.
Heard of a saying ‘less is more’? One post a day is just fine. Two is most definitely acceptable but 3 or more? Perhaps wait a day or two. Your friends and family would definitely enjoy a short precise recap of your day rather than a whole novel about your day with your baby. Make sense?!
Do you have any cute selfies? Then keep them coming. Let's be honest with each other… we all take selfies. You can be proud of your outfit for the day and also proud of how you look but when you post highly filtered selfies all day, every day, it displays a lack of self-confidence. Think about it.
What are your friends for? Are they not there to help and validate you? That's what we are there for right? So please keep selfies to a minimum. Trust me on this, your friends will keep letting you know that you're gorgeous.
Tip - Maybe stand back a bit and hand someone else the camera to take these gorgeous pictures of you – not in the bathroom or in front of a bathroom mirror – but live life with the people you have and love around you. There is nothing more refreshing and nicer than a picture of you and your loved ones.
I'm just going to be frank here and tell you… keep the trash off the internet. Try not post pictures, statuses or even articles that anyone would find embarrassing or would be embarrassing for your children or your boss to see on your computer.
I think there is nothing worse than scrolling through your timeline and having to block someone for posting nudes or going off on an explicit or racist rant. It's just unprofessional and could get you into serious trouble. If you would like to make diary entries... please get a diary. Facebook is not the place for all your personal feelings and dirty laundry.
Also try not publicize all your private moments. We don't want to see full blown conversations between couples that see each other every day and then sit on the couch and have a full out Facebook conversation for everyone to read. Really?! Try also not publicity post private or sensitive matters and material like family fights, legal matters, religious beliefs or health problems.
KITY – Keep It To Yourself
Congratulations! You have a job! Did you know that 16 million local business pages have been created since May 2013? Some more Facebook stats for 2021.
We simply ask one favour? If you want to market your page or when you create one and you want to lose all your friends and followers... keep spamming them with 500 page ads and send them all the pages invites you have created in your whole life.
TIP - Friend me. Invite me to your business page. Now STOP. Seriously, no more invites. If you want me to join another page of yours, how about sharing some of your pages' interesting content across your profile, and if I like it, I can join the page on my own. Can i ask you to let me feel like I'm doing something because I want to and not because you are begging me to? We will both feel better, promise.
Did you know that when you are using a facebook app like Farmville (Rembmer that? Lol) or Texas Poker and join something like Casinos, the app will ask you to invite all your friends? It's free marketing for them but actually costs you the most. You are irritating everyone on your social network.
If your friends want to join you in a game they will appear there already. Trust me. Also have you considered what people on your network think when they get all these game requests all the time?
“oh, right, she obviously has no work to do and playing games on Facebook.”
Invite friends who you think might actually be able to make it. Not your ex-girlfriend or boyfriend from high school. Not your 7th grade teacher and also not your best friend from varsity who lives on the other side of the country.
If it's weird in real life… it's weird on Facebook. #Justsaying.
If you posted that picture of your dog drinking water out of your glass, we can already assume that you like it. You don't need to click 'like'. Again that's weird.
Why do people do this? Studies said that the real reason people feel the need to like their own posts is so that it appears higher in other people's timeline, giving the post even more exposure. Social media 'gurus' do this and also demonstrates that the person who did like their own status is insecure about their posts. So try not do that.
Sure, cross posting from one social media platform could save you time but trust me, it's not good at all.
Twitter is the home of 280 character statuses while on Instagram and Facebook it's much more. So, the methodology for marketing on Twitter and Facebook is vastly different. It makes no sense to read a Twitter post and half way through it having to go and read it on Facebook. Trust me on this, three different types of people and communities.
Are you tagging people randomly or are you just tagging for the sake of visibility? Really?! Social media marketing plays no role in this.
If you would like to tag friends in a Facebook post or picture, do it after some seriously deep consideration and think about the relevancy of the matter. At times, even your closest friends and family get annoyed with endless tagging. Ask them, they will tell you.
That's all i have for you now. I could give you more but then imagine how long this post would be?! I hope these few tips help you and make you realise social media is a great place if you are responsible. If you have any more tips for us please feel free to mention them below in the comments section. Be safe and take care!!
P.S Don't forget to tweet me! Let's engage!
Martin is a digital marketing specialist, a producer and always online. His educational background is Digital and has given him a broad base from which to approach many topics. His wife & little girl comes first and in his spare time he really enjoys making music.
