Share some advice on what kinds of posts you might make on your organization's website. Should you post mini-advertisements? Photos? Quizzes? What works? Share your own gut feelings, or do a little bit of research.
Advice by: Carrington Daniel
The advice that I can think of for posting is you need to know a few things first. What the company’s purpose of the page is, who the target audience is, and what content will be featured on the page. Organization will be key for sending the messages you want to get across. If it is only for advertisement, then there should be a lot of promotional bits, ads, and attention catching information. If it is to inform, then the content would be more of facts and information on the company. If it is for communication with the public, then there should be a lot of discussion on the wall. It’s all about tailoring it to who will be reading it.
Advice by: Pranav Shrestha
Social networking is all about creating connection. Businesses and organizations created a social networking page in order to create new levels of connection with their customers. So, the best advice in posting is to only post things that directly communicates with customers and provides them some value. Advertisements are fine as long as it provides customers with something new that they wouldn't have been aware of. Photos and quizzes are also great as long as it provides customers with some form of positive interaction. It all boils down to ensuring that there's a positive connection, so things such as spamming, blunt ads, etc that people have seen a million times fail to create a connection and should be avoided.
Advice by: Eric Croskrey
The organization should determine whether or not they want mini-advertisements on their facebook page. It depends what company's goal is for the page. Typically users aren't wanting to look at a bunch of advertisements on a webpage so I would recommended avoiding them if it is possible. I also understand that this is a pretty good way to make some money though so using advertisements might not be a bad idea. Photos are always a good idea. Especially for younger audiences, I don't really see a drawback to them unless they are irrelevant. I think any interactive activities you can post for the people visiting your site to use is a good idea. I would make sure they are fun activities to keep the visitors coming back for more
Advice by: Jason Schnicker
I think to be honest it really depends on what your organization's main goal is to get out of the website. It could be to promote a new product, get customer feedback and opinions, press release an event that is happening, and much more. You need to be aware that if your company is fairly high maintenance that your website needs to be the same. The last thing you want your followers to do is second guess the identity of your company. The most important thing I think that should be included in any professional website is the use of photos, video, and text. It is essential to keep viewers interested and to keep coming back.
Advice by: Meredith Toay
In my opinion, there is a definite difference between what is acceptable to be posted on a company website and that which is acceptable for a Facebook page. Facebook tends to make things more acceptable and universal in meeting the needs of their customers. The more interactive the site, the more likely customers will use it, meaning when customers have access to the Facebook wall to write opinions and give feedback. I work for Express currently and our Facebook page <http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/express> is very interactive. The company receives feedback on coupons, promotional deals, and customer service without the formalities of surveys and what have you. In all actuality, the creation of a Facebook page for one’s company can really be an insight into the minds of a consumer base that the company may not have seen without such a tool.
Although it is important for companies to keep a professional appearance for any marketing they do, I think it is as equally important to give consumers a place where they feel safe. Creating this type of environment with interactive feedback is essential to the success of any company.
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Advice by: Katie Goering
I think that an organization can post a variety of different things on a website. One of the most important things to keep in mind about posts is that they should keep viewers wanting to revisit the website. For some organizations, this may mean that the posts should give useful information for customers. For example, a restaurant or coffee shop may list its specials on the website. For other organizations, quizzes and photos may be more interesting for viewers. An organization's site should provide any information people may want to find out about the company. The organization should make sure the content is professional, yet also gives consumers an idea of what the company is like.
Advice by: M.J. Moore
Depending on what your organization is and what you want to get out of it from your facebook page will decide what kind of posts you may want to include. Some basic posts or details you may want to include are a picture of your organization ranging from the logo, co-workers, the founder, the building associated with the organization, etc. Also, background of your organization to explain what you do will be helpful for your audience, too. If you are a well establish organization include an advertisement ranging from coupons, a mini commercial, or slideshow.
Advice by: Chris Stoner
If you are a product/sales based organization, such as a coffee shop or a publishing outlet or what-have-you, perhaps it would be beneficial to post promotional items on the Facebook page, such as coupons or notifications of sales to pique patron interest and to get them to invite their friends to "like" the page. Of course, background, locations, mission statement, logos, and pictures of your business and staff are a must to present a friendly and accessible attitude. In addition to advertisements, polls such as "what is your favorite drink/product offered by us" to encourage participation may be helpful as well.
Advice by: Jacquie Cuddeback
This is a little more of a general note for using Facebook professionally. One article I read [http://gigaom.com/collaboration/12-ways-to-use-facebook-professionally/] talked about thinking of your Facebook page as your desk - you personalize it how you would a desk at your work place. I think the same could be applied to personalizing a page for a business enterprise. Another suggestion from the same source is include links to other group pages or businesses that are in some way related to yours - this allows you to network and reach a wider consumer base - if you have a link on theirs and they on yours, you help each other expand your audience. A third suggestion was be philanthropic. Perhaps your business wants to show that it supports finding a solution to environmental issues or something - use the Support Cause app to demonstrate to your consumers what is important to you. These were the three most useful suggestions I found to apply to using Facebook for a business.
Advice by: Garrett Smith
When having a professional Facebook page, it's important to network it properly. You should be careful which groups you are a part of; you should only be a member of groups that are professional in nature. However, one of the things you should do often is talk to people on Facebook. One of the most overlooked aspects of social networking is that some people actually refuse to interact with other users. A client may comment to you about one of your products - make that client feel like an individual, so make an effort to create relationships with clients and other businesses. Lastly, like you should do for a personal Facebook page, always check your privacy settings. You want to present the image of yourself or the business you really want others to see.
Advice by: Angelea Presti
When posting for an organization on a Facebook page you should focus on the main purpose of the company whether it be a product or service. Providing images of products, service, previous work, the location, the building, etc. will help the customer, or potential customer, get a better understanding of what you are trying to sell to them or offer them. By also providing a picture of the building and location, this will help the customer know where to locate your company in case they decide to follow up on anything. I feel that leaving the door open for customers to write their thoughts on your company will leave space for any potential questions, feedback, or solutions related to your business. I think that sending out notifications over Facebook will let customers know of any specials, grand openings, or new products that they may not be aware of even if they come in. Facebook is a good way to relay information to customers and also get their feedback.
Advice by: Angie Pederson
For professional Facebook sites, I would suggest making brief status updates 1-2 times per week. This is just a general guideline — it really depends on the specific business or organization. One thing to keep in mind is not to overwhelm your fan base with frequent updates (more than once/day), especially if they are similar to each other and/or focus exclusively on advertising. There needs to be some mixture of status updates and posts, so your fan base doesn’t get bored or annoyed by the same things day-after-day.
The Facebook professional updates I enjoy most are ones that ask a question and encourage customer feedback. The Children’s Place uses its page for promotional purposes (like coupons, sales notices, etc.), but it also frequently poses questions.
Some recent status updates from TCP:
Happy Valentine's Day from The Children's Place! How do you celebrate Valentine's Day with your little Valentines?
You know what goes great with The Children's Place sleepwear? A bedtime story! What's your child's favorite?
Brrr! Looks like another blizzard is heading toward the Northeast! What do your kids like to do on snow days?
