3 Easy Facebook Mistakes Brands Still Make

Speaking as a person, rather than a brand. “I have a sale this week,” “I’ll be on vacation Friday,” and “I’m putting the finishing touches on a new product” are all big no-no’s for the Facebook status updates of a brand. Why? Because a brand is not an “I.” It is a “we.” There is a great deal of power in pronouns, even on social media platforms like Facebook.

Referring to the brand as “we” and “us” conveys professionalism, even when the company is a one-man operation. Referring to it as “I” just looks amateur, and leaves people wondering who “I” is in the first place. Even if you just start out with an audience of family and friends who know who you are, remember: The goal is to attract a larger audience of new users who don’t know you personally.

Using a personal account for a business page. As a person, you have a Facebook Timeline. As a business, you have a Facebook Page. Confused? Don’t be. Pages is the Facebook tool for businesses, organizations and brands. It is not entirely unlike Timeline, but is enhanced for business functionality with options like Promoted Posts, which allows you to pay for extra exposure. Even if you don’t want to take part in paid promotions, it is still necessary to use Pages for a business profile.

Why shouldn’t you let your Timeline exist for both business and personal use? Facebook strongly discourages it, for one thing. For another, it is an instant turn-off to consumers. Keep your business Page and your personal Timeline separate profiles that do not overlap. You can still manage a Facebook Page that you use for business from your personal account, and switch back and forth on your admin panel. Here is some more information, .

Letting full links stay in status updates. When you are linking to content that you want your audience to read, it is important to remove the hypertext of the link from the body of your status update. In other words, remove the link you inserted (http://www.story-being-linked-to.com/) once the link and its accompanying photo appear in the display box below your update. Once it appears there, just delete the link you inserted; the link you want people to see will still be in the display box. It presents a much cleaner, more proficient look to the audience.

Eventually, Everyone Needs Help With Facebook

“It was an easy mistake,” is a common way to dismiss the negative impact of a bad decision. But truthfully, even easy mistakes have consequences. To keep your brand looking professional on Facebook, avoid these missteps at all costs. If you are interested in getting more hands-on assistance, our Los Angeles social media agency can help.