For a platform that everyone uses multiple times a day you’d think it would be very easy to understand the do’s and don’ts of posting. Instagram and Facebook use an elaborate mathematical equation that determines who sees your posts. It is more important than ever to use social media marketing to help grow your brand, reach new clients and keep your existing clientele engaged.Think of social media as your digital billboard. Your portfolio and a secondary website. What, when and how you post can influence your brand and your growth.
After scouring dozens of brands on social media we noticed people making the same mistakes, repeatedly.
Here are the top three mistakes you are probably making on social media:
1. Editing A Caption After You Publish
When you edit a caption you destroy your post’s performance. A post gets a score based on how much interaction it gets, each time you edit a post you reset that score to ZERO. A higher score means your post makes it into the Explore feed and a high rank on hashtags. Insider tip: know what you want to say before you publish so you don’t lose performance momentum.
2. Auto Posting to Facebook
Most people have a favorite platform, if yours is Instagram, you probably auto-post to Facebook. In theory this is great- two birds… but, the two platforms aren’t totally compatible. For instance, the image size is different. Instagram photos should be 800 x 800 whereas Facebook images are 1200 x 630. Again, the better a post looks in someone’s feed the better it will perform.
It doesn’t stop there- it’s also important that mentions are formatted correctly. If the handle isn’t the same, Facebook won’t recognize it. A location may awkwardly appear instead of an actual geotag. Ideally you should post separately, but at the very least you should edit the Facebook post so that it is optimized for Facebook and include a specific call to action. A lot of captions on Instagram mention a “link in bio” which doesn’t make sense in a Facebook post.
3. Overusing Sponsored Ads
Facebook is business. Facebook (and by default Instagram) make money from business who quickly (and sometimes consistently) utilize paid ads to reach followers. Facebook doesn’t want you to understand the algorithm. If your posts aren’t performing well they hope you’ll panic and Boost a post. Sad but true. Facebook generates $16.6 billion on revenue from ads.
It’s very important to know the difference between creating a Facebook/Instagram ad and simply tapping Boost.
Facebook understands that most business managers/owners don’t understand the minutia of Facebook ads. This is why the Boost was created. It’s simple and appears to increase the performance of a post. You’re really just wasting money by using the Boost feature. This is one of the major reasons to invest with a social media management company or marketing agency- so your marketing dollars are actually being used to benefit your business.
The best way to use Facebook and Instagram is through organic growth and reach. Understanding the algorithm and what your followers naturally respond to. However, in some instances it is worth running ads, retargeting or sponsoring posts. But it should all be incredibly calculated. We never recommend continuously sponsoring posts. When we run ads we start with modest budgets and are incredibly strategic about the ad set.
Have a specific question about using social media for your business? We’d love to talk.