It’s no secret that Facebook has some work to do to regain the trust it’s lost with users. Does your corporate Facebook profile have a role to play in that reckoning?
Perhaps. But don’t feel like you’re obligated to go out of your way for Mark Zuckerberg and company. They can take care of themselves.
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The better question to ask is: Should my company work to restore trust in its own Facebook brand? Or should we refocus out social media marketing efforts elsewhere?
Let’s assume you’ve elected the former; that you’ve made peace with the fact that your company can’t live without Facebook.
Here’s what you can do in the next 30 days to begin reconnecting with your Facebook audience and restoring the promise of community that brought you to the platform in the first place.
1] Include Actionable Advice and Insights in Your Updates
Whatever they do, your team has actionable insights and advice to offer prospects and customers alike. What’s holding them back?
Your Facebook profile’s feed should read like a series of how-to guides or explainers on topics to which your brand can speak with authority. Indeed, the first step in convincing prospects that you know your stuff is to talk about it, and there’s no better platform for that than Facebook.
2] Think of Your Facebook Profile As Your Most Visible Online Directory Listing
Your Facebook isn’t just a repository for thought leadership content. It’s also your company’s most visible online directory listing, far surpassing the reach and readership of the YP.coms of the world. Take a page from this example and ensure that your Facebook profile’s front page includes accurate, up-to-date contact information.
3] Lean on the Visuals
Three words: Post. More. Visuals. Written content that underscores your expertise is great, but if your profile isn’t visually arresting, most visitors aren’t going to stick around long enough to read through it all. Keep your timeline stocked with colorful photos and videos that get visitors to stop and take a closer look.
4] When in Doubt, Be Authentic
It goes without saying that your Facebook profile needs to be authentic. Save the glossy, overproduced stuff for Instagram (a Facebook subsidiary, let’s remember) and post your unwashed, unfiltered shots here. How better to honor a social platform that started out as a university lookbook?
5] Never Miss an Opportunity to Boost Your Credibility
Lastly, never miss an opportunity to boost your brand’s credibility. Post links to and snippets from earned media as soon as the mention crosses your desk. Tout awards and accolades. Champion employees who’ve made an impact outside work, even if their efforts have nothing to do with your business.
You’re selling a brand, after all. You’ve got to polish it every now and again.
6] Facebook Is Still the Future
It wasn’t so long ago that Facebook was self-evidently the future of social media. Every brand, every influencer, every consumer had an account; the internet’s very plumbing seemed to join at Facebook.
These days, Facebook doesn’t feel so inevitable or omnipotent. But make no mistake: Facebook is still the future of social media, the closest thing to a universal solvent in our fragmented digital world. Your brand ignores it at its own peril.
