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Got a Facebook page? Don't do this!
22 September 2023
When creating a business page on Facebook or a business account on Instagram, what’s the first thing most people do? If your answer is to invite all of your friends and contacts to follow you then ...
WOAH!!! STOP RIGHT THERE!
While this is really tempting it’s a really bad idea. In fact, you’re actually doing more harm than good and inviting everyone you know could actually lead to some of big problems.
Why this tactic is a big mistake
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Facebook and Instagram are social media platforms. They like us to be social. These platforms want us to spend as much time with them as possible. That way they get more time to sell us stuff through advertising.
Therefore, if there’s a post on your page/feed that’s getting loads of comments and interaction, the algorithm will see that this is popular and show it to more people.
Here's the problem
Let's say you set up your page and invite everyone on your friends list. There’s a fair chance they will follow you just because they want to support you (which is nice). But this can have a damaging effect on the performance of your posts. Which isn't so nice.
Here's an example
Imagine you run a radio station that plays back to back ABBA, 24/7 to people living in Stockholm, Sweden. You set up a Facebook page and invite all of your friends to follow it.
Now not all of your friends will like ABBA (hard to believe I know), they may not live in Stockholm either. But they'll like your page because you have nice friends. However, in order for your radio station to do well you want a whole bunch of ABBA fans from Stockholm populating your page.
Your friends (the non-ABBA fans) won’t be the people you ultimately want to reach out to. So they will be less interested in the content on your page and less likely to interact with your posts. What's the result of this? Your posts get fewer comments and a lower organic reach which means Facebook is less likely to show your posts to the people that do matter. So the good people of Stockholm won’t get to enjoy Dancing Queen every day.
This same tactic will give you the same result if you have an Instagram page. If your followers are not ABBA fans your Instagram posts won't perform as well.
How does this create long term problems?
Facebook and Instagram learn from the information you give them. So it's best to give them the right information.
If your followers are mostly ABBA fans from Stockholm then your posts will be more popular, get likes shares and comments. Therefore Facebook (or Insta) will start showing your posts to more people who have shown an interest in ABBA and live in Stockholm.
If however the friends on your page are mostly from Kent and prefer listening to Metallica, then Facebook or Instagram will show your posts to more people like that instead. Result, your reach goes down and so does the audience of your radio station because your social media feeds are showing a whole bunch of ABBA stuff to Metallica fans.
You’re also less likely to get good growth in subsequent follows and likes because Facebook and Instagram will be offering your stuff to the wrong people, and less of the right ones.
The upshot is, inviting your friends to like your page, has a negative impact on your page’s performance.
So what's the solution?
How do you get followers on your new, shiny page that won’t hurt its future performance?
The answer is called relevancy!
1. Invite the right friends
To make your page popular, target the right people with your product or service. If you only populate your page with ABBA fans from Stockholm from the get go, Facebook/Instagram is more likely to find you more of the same. So, if someone on your friend list does not fit the bill, don’t invite them.
2. Share your stuff organically
There are lots of ways you can do that. Put a link or button on your website, share your posts via other social media platforms or share them within Facebook on groups. If you're on Instagram, using relevant hashtags will expose your posts to non followers who are following that hashtag.
The golden rule is however you share your content, make sure you only show it to people who might be interested in what you have to offer. For example, there may be a community group for Stockholm or a group for ABBA fans. You might want to use hashtags like #weloveabba or #stockholmlife.
3. Pay for some advertising
If you decide to set up an avert for your page, Facebook (and Insta) have a fantastic method to ensure your ad gets seen by the right people. When setting up your ad you can specify who you want to see it, where they live, how old they are and what interests them. This form of targeting is super powerful and a relatively inexpensive way to reach a bigger relevant audience.
4. Post content that will engage with your audience
If you have a page filled with the right people, offer them the stuff they want to see. Press the right buttons and their lights will come on. Give your audience reasons to comment on and share your posts. This in turn will attract more like minded people and boom! You have a successful radio station and your advertisers are happy (and ABBA will be pretty chuffed too).
What's the name of the game? (see what I did there)
The key to successful marketing on social media is not about getting the most amount of likes possible. It’s about getting likes from the right people who will turn into customers and buy from you.
I post tips like these ones all the time on my own social media channels. If you’re not part of my little social world already come and say hi.
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