Facebook Marketing: 3 Mistakes Killing Your Business on Facebook

The Marketing Society of Kenya held a training on Thursday 27th July 2017 from 3pm-6pm at the Simba Corp Aspire Center on Facebook Marketing.

Organized by Facebook in partnership with Africa 118 and MSK; the training targeted start-ups and individuals starting their own businesses. Needless to say, the outcome was impressive with approximately 50% of the attendees being hustlers and entrepreneurs.

The trainer- Mr. Alfred Ondari– dove right into the agenda modules after being introduced by Philip Nyakwaka– a program facilitator. Alfred expounded on the basics of Facebook marketing, the budgeting aspects and targeting best –practices. He also touched on common mistakes businesses make on Facebook resulting in poor marketing ROI.

Keeping in mind that not every entrepreneur was able to attend this impacting training, we think its important to share our knowledge on the common mistakes that should be corrected to ensure success in Facebook marketing campaigns.

3 Facebook Marketing Mistakes To Avoid

     1. Ignoring Video Content/Ads

Did you know that after watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online? Videos are a quick and engaging way for people to satisfy their information and entertainment needs – all they have to do is consume the images and audio presented to them.

But the power of video content goes beyond engagement. It also has incredible reach – small businesses can compete with multi-million dollar companies without having to spend like them. As more and more businesses start to use video in their Facebook marketing make sure you don’t get left behind.

2 . Using Personal Pages for Business

The trainer further warned businesses against using personal pages for Facebook marketing mainly because:

• There’s a 5,000 friend limit on personal pages. That many page likes might seem like a long shot for some small businesses, but why limit yourself?
• Many people are reluctant to give businesses friend-level access. Do you ever accept friend requests from businesses? Why? Because you don’t want “Baba Jim’s Garage” watching videos of your kids, for one. It’s a violation of privacy.
• Personal pages are not indexed by Google. You want your business content to be visible to search engines.
• It makes Facebook searches for your business more difficult. When using the Facebook search box to find a business, most people narrow the choices to show only pages. If your business is categorized as a person, it’s invisible.
• You cannot run a campaign on a personal page

That said, there are at least two situations where it might make sense to use a personal page for business: you have a business that is in your name and intend to use your Facebook profile for business purposes only. Or you’re a celebrity.

   3. Neglecting Your Website

Facebook marketing Image Courtesy of Zeeblu.com

According to Mr. Ondera, the heart of digital marketing is your website. This is where your traffic goes if they want to find out more about your products and services.  Therefore, it beats sense to focus on your Facebook page while your website is outdated, dysfunctional or not mobile-friendly. In such cases, a business will experience high engagement rates on their Facebook page but no conversion in terms of buying your products or attending your event. Simply put, businesses should ensure both platforms provide a consistent and seamless experience.

All in all, we learned plenty of new tricks on Facebook page optimization and audience targeting options which we will definitely implement on our page.

In the same vain, we appreciate the Marketing Society of Kenya, Africa 118 and Facebook for sponsoring the event. We also extend the gratitude to Mr. Alfred Ondari for sharing of his resources and time to enhance business opportunities for hustlers and SMEs alike.

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Did you attend this event? Please share with us what you learned in the comment section below.