Connecting, Not Selling, on Facebook

Facebook fans and followers who are bombarded with company updates and sales pitches will surely turn away and may even sour on the brand.

Marketers should use the site to share only news that’s truly important, promote dialogue, and post interesting content.

A key way to keeping consumers engaged on Facebook is to not treat it as just another social media channel, according to Peter Shankman, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur interviewed by Mashable‘s Lauren Hockenson.

Shankman’s advice, Hockenson said, is “to place special content onto your timeline that can engage users in a unique way — not just spamming the same information over every platform available. That way, when fans know what kind of content to expect from your page, they will know to return to your brand site for specific engagement instead of clicking the back button.”

Shankman says marketers should think of their brand’s Facebook page as a place to have a conversation with consumers through status updates, comments and polls.

“You have to engage, and you have to respond,” he said. “It can’t just be about posting ‘Hey! 10% off for the next five minutes!’”

Instead of selling to customers on Facebook, marketers should be using it to connect.

The information put out on Facebook shouldn’t be the same copy from the company’s blog or website. “The best way to give information to your audience is to find out how your audience wants it,” Shankman said.

Image courtesy of  venimo/shutterstock