How to Effectively Build Your Brand on Facebook

Even though in the past several years, various social networks have seen a stellar rise and fall from grace, when it comes to sheer numbers, Facebook is still the undisputed king in this field. We’re not just talking about its use and popularity by individual users but also its use for branding and commercial purposes. The biggest problem that many people make here is to start assuming that, just because they’ve been using Facebook for years now, they know all they need to know to pull this off on their own successfully. This is both inaccurate and naïve. Sadly, sometimes it’s hard to tell which of the two is more dangerous for your brand. Here are several tips on effectively building your brand on Facebook to avoid this pitfall.

1.      Don’t try to fool anyone with fake accounts

Sheer numbers don’t mean that much if the bulk of your audience consists of fake accounts. Therefore, you need to focus on attracting real people to your brand. This is the only reliable way to build social media influence on Facebook. Also, people take natural actions and have real Facebook friends who might take their WOM (word of mouth) recommendation seriously. Having a lot of fake accounts in your friend list will also make you look less reputable in the eyes of your potential customers. Real Facebook friends are also likely to become paying customers in the nearest future, while fake accounts are merely there to inflate your numbers. Fortunately, there are some fool-proof techniques for spotting pots fake accounts from a mile away.

2.      Learn how to address negative comments

The following important skill you need to master is – how to address negative comments. First, you have to take a deep breath, seeing as how, when your ego is wounded, you might be unable to tell between internet trolling and constructive criticism. When someone is trying to inflate your ego, it’s pretty easy to thank them, however, what happens when someone comes out with a piece of criticism? Sometimes, this may defuse a situation or even turn a disbeliever into a loyal brand follower. At this point (when it comes to composing a response), it doesn’t matter, seeing as how you need to avoid conflict at all costs. Thank you for the insight, and I promise you’ll look into it and continue with your work.

3.      Paid and organic reach are not the same

Just because you have 1000 people on your friend list, this doesn’t mean that all of them will see the content you’ve just posted online. There are some conspiracy theories out there that the platform deliberately limits the organic reach of business pages, forcing them to pay for sponsored content. Unfair as this may seem, paying for Facebook ads and your content to be displayed online is incredibly important and something you should do.

As for your organic reach, it might be worth exploring what time of the day, there’s most of your target demographic online, to expand your reach. You can also try to boost your organic Facebook reach by leveraging platforms like Reddit in your favor.

4.      Consult some professional help

The next thing you might want to consider is hiring some help to tackle this issue. Namely, every platform has rules of use, engagement, and branding, which may be obscure to you. However, by reaching out to a reputable branding agency, you’ll have a much easier job efficiently tackling these issues. Remember, just because you have had a Facebook account for over a decade doesn’t mean you know how to use it to promote or establish your brand. Seeing as there’s so much at stake here, it might be best to entrust this to professionals.

5.      Try to stay positive

There are too many people, even brands, complaining about how the game is rigged or how the whole world is against them. Remember that whining is not for the winners, so you must remain optimistic in your posts and online behavior no matter how you feel. Everyone wants to do business with a winner; everyone wants to get associated with a winner, so being positive is the most critical advice when setting your tone and voice on Facebook.

6.      Branding all the way

You’ll have a logo, a motto, and corporate colors as a brand. Why not use them all in elements such as the cover, profile picture, and your about card? By pulling all of this off, you’ll do a lot to boost your brand awareness, which is supposed to be one of your primary objectives. Later on, in the posts and pictures you upload, you can promote your brand, values, and products, all of which serve the same purpose and work in your favor.

In conclusion

The best thing about this lies in that most of these tips are applicable regardless of the social network you choose. Sure, some technical principles exist, but most of these rules stand. Moreover, due to constant updates and changes (even Facebook and YouTube have stories nowadays), knowing these essentials will become more and more critical as time goes by.