Asked and Answered: 9 More Facebook Marketing Questions

Back in August, I shared about 7 commonly asked Facebook marketing questions and offered advice for embarking upon a successful social media marketing campaign. There are many benefits of having an online presence, and no company should miss out on the value of being on social media.

Facebook marketing, like any other project, requires research. We like to use a powerful tool called Buzzsumo  to help us generate ideas, find relevant keywords, learn about new industry trends, reach out to social influencers and monitor online mentions. Buzzsumo helps us provide relevant content for both ourselves and our clients.

Buzzsumo’s Susan Moeller recently shared an article with the answers to 56 common Facebook marketing questions, including both the company’s insight and Mari Smith, who has been dubbed the “Queen of Facebook.” Last time, we answered seven of those questions; here are the answers to nine more.

9 More Common Facebook Marketing Questions, Answered

1. What types of posts perform the best on Facebook?

Buzzsumo’s Insight:

Buzzsumo found posts that included a question at the end performed better than other types of content. Their research included questions that had been set up by Facebook’s poll function. They also found that posts containing a question and an image did much better and gained more engagements than other types of posts.

Three Girls Media’s Insight:

We agree; engaging your audience with a question and asking them for their input is an excellent way to make them feel like part of your community. It not only helps your audience feel respected, valued and heard, but will also increase the likelihood that you receive valuable feedback and insight into their habits, actions and behaviors.

We also believe in using what we like to call the 80/20 Rule. While your business is interesting, news about it alone isn’t enough to hold your readers’ attention. Instead, follow this formula to provide real value to your customers: 20 percent of your content can directly promote your business, while 80 percent of the updates you share should be non-self-promotional. Your non-self-promotional content can be anything that is relevant to your industry, including trends, facts, memes, news, quotes, videos or case studies.

2. How should I design a Call to Action in order to maximize Facebook engagement and drive social reach?

Mari Smith’s Insight:

Instead of going straight for the sale, first try to build a relationship with your audience to maximize organic reach and establish yourself as an industry leader. If you have a social media marketing plan in place and are trying to promote existing content, install the Facebook tracking pixel on your website. Publish your engaging, helpful content and post an update about it on Facebook. Let that content reach its organic audience first, then assess the success. Then, you can promote it via Facebook advertising and encourage users to read your article.

Three Girls Media’s Insight:

The best way to encourage organic reach and maximize user engagement on Facebook is to provide the best, most helpful content for your audience. With the internet’s massive reach, chances are your fans can find the information they need in a wide variety of places. Instead of hoping they come to you or paying to boost an advertisement, first use your resources, skills and abilities to offer them the best content possible.

3. How many people access Facebook via a mobile device?

Buzzsumo’s Insight:

A whopping 90% of Facebook users access the social network via their mobile device! It’s also important to note more than half of those users access the site exclusively on mobile, and never log on via a desktop browser. This means any Facebook marketing strategy you embark upon must be designed with mobile users in mind.

Three Girls Media’s Insight:

At Three Girls Media, we recommend frequently testing your social pages via mobile phone or tablet to see how images, like your profile picture and cover image, are appearing to users. They may look fine on a desktop browser, but seem stretched or pixelated on mobile. It’s a good habit to check in weekly to make sure things are going smoothly.

4. What’s with the blue checkmarks? What are the benefits of having a verified Facebook page and how can I get one?

Buzzsumo’s Insight:

Verifying your page has several benefits. It not only increases your brand credibility, but it also helps you gain audience reach that might otherwise be lost to pages pretending to be you. Only blue checkmark pages have access to a feature called branded content, which allows businesses to co-promote content. You can learn more about branded content here.

Three Girls Media’s Insight:

Sites like Facebook and Twitter offer verification for brand pages; this comes in the form of a blue checkmark next to the business’ name. Many marketers take advantage of this feature as it helps you fans avoid potential scams by proving to your audience that your page is the official profile of your company or brand. Have more questions about the blue checkmark? Learn more about Facebook verification here.

5. What are Instant Articles?

Buzzsumo’s Insight:

In an effort to reduce website load times and maximize the time users spend on Facebook, the social network has opened the platform to publishers, which allows them to upload content within the site instead of redirecting fans to other websites. It has indeed increased the speed at which users can view content; Facebook reported load times up to 10 times faster on mobile.

Companies that want to take advantage of this feature have to load at least 50 articles to get started, and the initial batch of articles is subject to review and approval. Advertising and analytics are also part of the platform.

Three Girls Media’s Insight:

We always encourage taking advantage of all available tools; after all, they are there for a reason!According to Buffer, using this service can be of great value to businesses; just check out these three impressive statistics:

• Instant Articles received 20% more clicks than mobile web articles from the Facebook News Feed
• Once someone visited an Instant Article, they were 70% less likely to abandon the article before reading it
• On average, Instant Articles are shared 30% more often than mobile web articles

6. What’s the different between an embedded video and Facebook Live?

Buzzsumo’s Insight:

Embedded videos are not native to the social platform; they are recorded outside of Facebook, and then uploaded directly to the site. Conversely, Facebook Live videos are up-to-the-minute broadcasts from within Facebook itself.

7. What are some Best Practices for Facebook Live?

Three Girls Media’s Insight:

Facebook Live is a valuable tool that allows you to let your audience in on your world in a very real way. It’s a great way to showcase events or sneak peaks of your products. Here are five best practices to abide by.

• Make sure you have a strong connection. No one wants to watch a video that’s full of glitches, shakes and static. Make sure your Wi-Fi signal is up to the task by creating a practice video. If the quality is lacking, try to find a new location to shoot. Luckily, Facebook also has you covered; if your connection is poor, you won’t be able to begin recording as the record button will appear gray.
• Add a personal touch. It’s likely that you’ll receive comments during you live video, and this is a precious opportunity to connect with your customers in a live conversation. This is not always possible with clients in remote locations, so take the opportunity to personalize the experience by calling them out by their names when you address their questions and comments.
• Know your purpose. While you could share a Facebook Live video for any reason, make sure you are really providing value to your viewers. Have a game plan and set an agenda for the video so you stay on track. It can be helpful to try a practice run before going live.
• Go with the flow. When you’re live, anything can happen. Be prepared to ad-lib on the fly and tackle situations as they arise.
• Stay positive. When a disgruntled fan posts a comment on your profile, it isn’t always seen by everyone, and you have some time to decide how you will reply to them (we encourage you always reply, and avoiding deleting the comment unless it’s truly offensive). During a live video, you may have to converse with them on the spot and you’ll want to always stay positive.

8. Should you post prior to going live letting people know you will be doing a live show?

Buzzsumo’s Insight:

According to Facebook, the best way to encourage your audience to watch your upcoming live video is to let them know about it beforehand.

Three Girls Media’s Insight:

You’ll want your followers to be well informed about any upcoming events (including a live video), so work it into your social media plan. Create several Facebook updates announcing your show and include a strong Call to Action encouraging your audience to attend and share about it with their friends.

9. How long should my business’ Facebook videos be?

Buzzsumo’s Insight:

While videos can be as long as 90 minutes, Facebook recommends a live broadcast be at least 10 minutes. Longer broadcasts give people more time to discover them as they happen, and can increase the likelihood that they will share them with friends. If you aren’t broadcasting a live video, they should be much shorter than that to keep your viewers’ attention.

Including the insight from these nine questions and answers will help your Facebook marketing strategy grow stronger and help you reach a wider audience. Here are some more helpful articles that have advice for small business social media marketing:

Facebook Fans: Why Don’t They Like Me?

Facebook Marketing for Small Businesses

[Social Media Marketing] 4 Tips for Turning Fans into Customers

Facebook Fans: How to Get Them and Keep Them

Tips & Tricks for Business Facebook Pages

 

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