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In 2021, Facebook now has 2.8 billion active monthly users. What’s, even more, is that there are 1.84 DAILY visitors, so as an advisor, it’s important that you are on this platform and expanding your digital marketing efforts. With that being said, there are best practices for what you should or should not do on this extremely far-reaching platform. Today, we’re sharing 10 things that you should NOT be doing on Facebook in 2021 so that you can better connect with your audience and ultimately boost your online presence.
10 Things Advisors Should Not Do on Facebook
1. Don’t Create a Profile Instead of a Business Page
Most of the users on Facebook are personal profiles, but if you are a business trying to establish yourself on this platform, you will need to create a Business Page instead of a profile. A Business page is the equivalent of a business profile and while they look similar, a business page has certain aspects that only apply to businesses or organizations.
2. Don’t Have Multiple Facebook Business Pages
Even though you can have more than one business page on Facebook, it doesn’t mean that you should. Most advisors are already balancing multiple things at one time, so why add another platform to your plate to manage? Instead of keeping multiple pages, there are other helpful things that you can do instead.
Take advantage of the targeting options that Facebook has
Rather than creating a page for one segment of your audience, you can post tailored content to be shown only to that certain group.
Consider Implementing a Global Page
If you have a very large audience located all over the world, this is something to consider. If you do this, however, be prepared for a larger Facebook Ad budget, but it is worth it if you are trying to connect with a larger worldwide audience.
The key here is, is to keep it simple, and don’t bog yourself down with having more than one account, as it helps you to remain uniform as a brand with fewer pages to keep track of.
3. Don’t Just Post Links
Don’t just post links to Facebook without any context. You should always include some context and commentary with the link to entice people to actually click your link and see what you have to offer. If there isn’t any context as to what your audience is about to read, then why would someone read your post?
If you want people to actually stop scrolling, and click on your article to read, you need to be telling them why you’re sharing it. Is there compelling information that you can use in your own financial situation? Is the post answering a question for you?
Maybe you can take a strong quote from the article that can draw people in. Or maybe there is an infographic or some sort of statistic that you can use. Whatever it may be, draw in your audience and make them want to read more.
Twenty Over Ten client, WealthKeel, LLC is incredibly active on Facebook and they do a great job of creating relevant content that their audience will find helpful. Their post, “10 Keys to Personal Finance” has an image to go with the link plus a quick blurb with emojis that tells readers what the post will be about and then asks questions to get them thinking. People aren’t going to just stop scrolling if all they see are links with context, so it’s important to include that in addition to a post to the link.
4. Don’t Ignore Comments and Post Engagement
Why are you on Facebook in the first place? It’s all about interacting and connecting with your audience and driving engagement rates. If someone asks a question or makes a comment and you do not understand, the visitor will feel neglected or it shows that your business is not important to them. While that is probably not true, if you don’t answer their question or respond to their comment, it can surely look that way.
So, while Facebook has a lot to do with your voice and what you have to say, it’s all about “give and take.” Don’t give your input without hearing out the input of others. Monitor the comments daily and try to respond within 24 hours at the least, but at Twenty Over Ten, we try to respond within six hours.
5. Don’t Just Post Stock Photos
Get creative with your messaging and make sure you are creating engaging graphics to accompany your posts. While it’s okay to use stock photos sometimes if you can use an image of someone from the office if it pertains to the post, or use an infographic that will easily touch on the topic on hand then that would make for a much stronger post. On Facebook, video is now consumers’ top content and as of 2020, 17% of all content on the platform is video. The numbers don’t lie, people want video. So, posting this on your Facebook profile is a great way to get more out of your posting strategy.
If you need help with creating images, some great tools that you can use are Canva or social sharing graphics that can be found in the Lead Pilot library. Canva is a free visual content creation tool that was specifically made for non-designers. They boast a massive library of pre-designed, pre-sized templates with premium-quality design elements ranging from custom fonts to free stock photos.
In the Facebook post below about Skyscraper Content, an image was created in Canva to catch the audience’s eye and supplement the post. It was easily made in Canva, showing just how easy it is to create something like this using this simple design tool.
6. Don’t Always Post About Yourself or Your Business
You obviously want to provide meaningful content for your audience that will draw your readers in, but you shouldn’t only be posting content without engaging. If you aren’t sure how much you should be doing, then you can follow the 80/20 rule. If you want to be showing up in people’s feeds, you need to be active in your engagement.
To build rapport and build engagement, you need to be commenting and liking other peoples’ posts. When they see your information and feed in your content, they will be much more likely to comment and, like and engage with your content as well. So, 80 percent of the time, you should be engaging with others’ content while only posting your content 20 percent of the time. One way to help with this is to is set aside time every day where you can pick five people in your feed and comment on their posts.
7. Don’t Make Your Posts Too Long
It’s best to figure out what suits your audience, but your posts should not be too long in general. Based on HubSpot research, it seems that posts with around 40 characters in length received higher engagement than longer posts.
Twenty Over Ten client, Storybook Financial’s post about life insurance is short and sweet, asking the question, “How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?” It’s under 40 characters and asks an important question that will get readers thinking and prompt them to check out the article to find out more.
8. Don’t Post at the Same Time Everyday
You may think that you should only be posted during business hours, and while this may vary by industry, according to Oberlo, the best times to post on Facebook are:
- The best times to post are Wednesday at 11 am and 1 pm.
- The overall best day is Wednesday
- You will get the most consistent engagement on weekdays from 9 am–3 pm.
- The worst day is Sunday, which sees the least amount of engagement.
During the Covid-19 Pandemic:
It has varied a bit during the pandemic, and the best times to post have been on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
9. Don’t Post Too Often
While you should be posting regularly, make sure it’s not TOO often. You want to provide your audience with useful content, but without inundating them with too much content. Like many things, quality is better than quantity, so post strong content that is well-written and can answer your prospects’ pain points.
10. Don’t Forget to Experiment with Ads and Post Boosting
Many people are starting to advertise on Facebook to gain the attention of a qualified audience. However, like many things, it’s about trial and error and finding what works best for your firm. Ads are can play a large role in your strategy and while creating content to drive traffic organically is crucial, boosting posts and ads play a large role, as well.
Average brands only reach 6% of their fans without using paid advertisement. ~ Neil Patel
Boosting Posts
When you post something on Facebook, you can boost a post to increase the number of people that will see it. It’s incredibly simple and even just one dollar per day can make a big difference. You simply go to the post that you want to boost, click on “Boost Post” where it will take you to a range of options. You can choose how many days the ad will run for, the amount that you want to pay and the people that be reached by paying that amount. It’s an easy process and can make a huge difference in the number of people that see your posts.
Retargeting Ads
Another way that advisors can experiment with advertising is by utilizing retargeting. By using this tactic, you are using a form of automated advertising that distributes ads to users who did not initially convert while they were on your website. Some reasons why you might do retargeting ads on your Facebook as an advisor are if you:
- Are offering new services
- Trying to increase your conversions
- Offering free content
- Working on a budget by focusing on a smaller group with a higher conversion likelihood for conversion
Once your ads are running, give them some time and see which type works best for your business.
Wrapping Things Up
Facebook is an incredibly useful and powerful social media tool that goes far beyond connecting with old friends and showing off your family pictures. It’s a great way to connect with current clients while growing your follower base and reaching your audience. When it comes to using this platform, you’re bound to make some mistakes, and that’s okay! The ten mistakes listed above are incredibly common and recognizing and editing them, will give your Facebook strategy the boost that it needs and take your social media game up a notch.
Related: 10 Biggest Website Mistakes Financial Advisors Make