With the number of Facebook users increasing steadily, it is an excellent platform for companies to market their business and many have already taken full opportunity of this (Levy, 2010). It is interesting to see which of those are successful and which need some work. This blog will explore the different elements to a Facebook business page and the potential disadvantages.

(The Guardian, 2014)

Use of photos

Treadaway and Smith (2012) suggest that you use positive images on your Facebook page to influence positive thoughts to the user which could increase click-through rates or even sales! Setting the “Photo and videos I’m tagged in” option to “Everyone,” or maybe just fans of the could help form a closer relationship between your customers and your page (Blue, 2011).

Thomas Cook are good with positive photo uploads, as they often upload photos of scenery that they know will make users want to be on holiday, especially when they are in an office working! This is a good way to generate interest in holidays…

With the above example, they seem to be using the image to generate a network effect of probably gaining more followers as they only wish their users to like the post. I think they could improve this by including a link to their website where holidays can be searched and booked as when I see that photo, I want to look at holidays!

Use of features

There are many features on a Facebook page that a business can use to help with their strategy.

A Facebook page is a good way of promoting different applications associated with a company… That is if the links work!

EasyJet promote different links as shown above, however, the links actually don’t work. They would be really useful in generating traffic towards these areas and possible sales and so this is why it is key to ensure everything works on the page! The Apps section can be used to link to the actual app download or to other social media pages for example.

Thomas Cook use this section well as it works…

Frequency of posts

According to Abraham (2014) TrackMaven, an intelligence software for digital marketers, found that posting to Facebook before and after working hours resulted in an increase in news feed visibility and engagement (such as clicks, likes, shares, and comments). It depends on who your followers are as to when it is best to post as different groups of people will vary their online time, which can be identified using analytical software.

Achieving the right number of posts is also important as if you post too little, users may miss your content and if you post too much, users may stop following. Pages that post all the time on my newsfeed soon get “unliked”, especially when it is irrelevant content just being posted for the sake of it!

I reckon 1 or 2 posts a day is enough but it really depends if you have something useful and relevant to post then do it. If not then don’t! There is a feature of automatic scheduling which could be used to ensure the posts are posted at ideal times.

Once an ideal time and number of posts has been determined, consistency is key!

Problems with Facebook

This was posted to promote their Mobile App, yet as users are free to comment anything, and so a customer has complained. In this instance, easyJet have responded providing the information to answer the complaint, even though I personally don’t think a response was needed! It would be very difficult to respond to all comments which can leave customers feeling dissatisfied. Not the way you want them to feel!

With fashion retailers, a Facebook page allows for reviews to be posted about the service provided and of course, if it is negative it may be shared and can easily go viral. With the above examples to Boohoo, the customers are disappointed with the service provided and anyone is free to see this and as a potential customer this would put me off ordering from them. It is so important to manage the page carefully and reply to these problems to ensure they are sorted and leave the customer satisfied.

Facebook (2015) provide an interesting page on business pages and how to make the most out of them. A good read if you are creating a Facebook business page (http://on.fb.me/1F7gts5).

References

Abraham, I. A., 2014. Facebook business page: post times & frequency. [Online]
Available at: http://bit.ly/1DdIw4l
[Accessed 21 April 2015].
Blue, G., 2011. How to Create an Effective Company Facebook Page. [Online]
Available at: http://bit.ly/1D638dp
[Accessed 20 April 2015].
Facebook, 2015. How To Use Facebook for Business Marketing. [Online]
Available at: http://on.fb.me/1F7gts5
[Accessed 20 April 2015].
Levy, J., 2010. Facebook Marketing. 2nd ed. Indiana: Pearson Education Ltd.
The Guardian, 2014. Facebook: 10 years of social networking, in numbers. [Online]
Available at: http://bit.ly/1GaUIWX
[Accessed 20 April 2015].
Treadaway, C. & Smith, M., 2012. Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day. 2nd ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.