Facebook is certainly NOT the “end-all, be-all” of online marketing. But, it sure can play an important role. And, if it’s not done well, a poorly managed Facebook page for your restaurant can result in missed opportunity, to say the least. Worst case…it could be providing wrong information or representing your brand in a bad light.
Consider these five common Facebook mistakes:
1. No cover art. “Cover art” is the large image at the top of a Facebook business page (and personal pages, too). I’m amazed at the number of restaurants who don’t even take advantage of this basic design element Facebook provides to every business page. It only takes a few minutes to take a decent picture and upload it to your restaurant Facebook page. It’s even an element that I might suggest is worth investing in to get custom Facebook cover art for your restaurant.
2. Profile isn’t optimized. Besides making your restaurant Facebook page look good, it also needs to be accurate. Facebook allows you to enter a ton of valuable information, from your hours of operation and phone number to links to your website, maps and more.
3. It’s all about you. As people, we go to Facebook to be entertained and to stay up to date on what’s happening with friends, family and the brands we care about. We don’t go there to be sold all the time. Think about the people/businesses you buy from. Don’t you hate the guy who comes in only when he has something to sell you? On the other hand, the saleswoman who gives you a call to just “check in” or who sends you a card or relevant article shows you she cares and is interested in YOU, not just your money! The same is true for the content you post on Facebook – if you just share your specials every day, people will tune you out (or worse, they may “hide” you and never see a message from you again!).
4. Don’t have a personality. In following with #3, besides sharing content that’s not only about you and your restaurant, it’s also okay to have a personality! We all have one. Make it shine! (at least the good parts!) It’s okay to be funny. It’s okay to talk about baseball if you’re a fan. It’s good to recognize your staff with public accolades. Yes, you’re representing a business online, but in order to connect with PEOPLE, you have to be a PERSON. (If your personality happens to be a negative one…it’s also okay to get someone else to help!)
5. No consistency. It’s natural to get excited about something, focus on it for a little while, and then fall off after a few days, weeks or months. Just look at the parking lots of your local gym lately…a lot less crowded than a couple months ago, right? We see the same for restaurants on Facebook all the time. Five days of status updates, even a couple times a day; and then (birds chirping) for three months. Consistency is key. Make a commitment, but don’t over do it. You don’t have to post three times a day, every day. Once a day, every other day, even a couple times a week consistently is better than five posts today and another five two months from now. (If you’re struggling here, our restaurant Facebook posts can help!)
Addressing these five common Facebook mistakes can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of your presence online. Again, Facebook is not an island and should be supported by a great website and other strong online and offline marketing efforts. But, it’s a good place to focus, for sure.
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