On this series of posts I am identifying social media mistakes business owners make and offering a recommended fix. Scroll to the bottom to check previous posts.
Mistake - You are not willing to accept you have to pay for Facebook reach.
Once upon a time in a Facebook before its IPO (Initial Public Offering) there were businesses that posted to Facebook and their posts were seen by all their followers that were on at that time. But then one day a corporate executive said, “Hey, we have millions and millions of active accounts. We have been cash flow negative for long enough; it is time to start making some money.”
For the record, I agree with that corporate executive. A business that does not make money will very soon be a bunch of people on unemployment. If you are a business owner your first priority has to be to make money. Your mission may be to help people or save the whales or end global warming and that is wonderful; you can do more good if you have some money.
Now back to our tale…
This corporate executive spoke to other corporate executives who saw the merit in the reasoning and they met for a brainstorming session on how to monetize these millions of free accounts.
“We will start charging for accounts.” “No. The people will revolt and close accounts in droves. We will never leave MySpace in the dust.”
“We could offer premium accounts that people pay for.” “No. What do we have to offer as a premium?”
“We could charge for the business pages. We are starting to get lots of those.” “No. The businesses will revolt and… Wow, I just got an idea. How about we create an algorithm? We will tell people it is tracking what they interact with and if they are not liking others posts it will quit showing posts from that page or friend. In reality it will show what we choose to present and businesses can buy ads to further their reach. As the ad sales start to gain support, we will adjust the algorithm to make business page posts less and less likely to be seen by their followers. Then we will make the business pay us to show their posts even to the followers who have already liked their page so they would see their posts.”
And Facebook lived happily ever after.
How does this affect your business Facebook page? If you do not have hours of time to devote to Facebook, you will not likely generate quantifiable revenue from it unless you purchase ads. You might have 5,000 likes, but when you hit send that darn algorithm only sends it to the timelines of 50 of them and what are the chances that all 50 will be looking at their timelines at that time?
Facebook is still the 500-pound gorilla, do not abandon it. Get realistic about your expectations. Experiment with ads to encourage people to opt in to your email list, promote specials, or visit your brick-and-mortar store. If you spend $100 in ads that attract $200 in sales, it is a win.
Change happens and Facebook is a business that needs to make money. You do not have to like it but you do have to deal with it and adjust your social media plan accordingly.
Come back again next time. I will have another mistake; and another solution.
Until next time...
Have a great day,
Susanne
To effectively market your business, you need to have a plan and stay true to your brand. Sign up for Stop the Social Media Madness online training today.
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 1
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 2
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 3
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 4
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 5
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 6
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 7
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 8
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 9
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 10
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 11
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 12