If you want to build a long-term machine that brings you a steady flow of new customers and avoid getting SLAPPED by Facebook Algorithm changes – this will be the most important blog post you read all year. Believe it or not, there is a right and wrong way to succeed at Facebook!
Facebook wants people to have fun while on Facebook so they keep coming back. Which means Facebook is looking for signs of engagement. Some of these signs are likes, comments, and shares. Facebook uses these signs to judge if a post or ad is valuable to the readers, and if they aren’t there they limit the reach of the post or ad.
After all, if people stop coming to Facebook as often they no longer have a viable service. So Facebook works hard to make sure it’s readers have a good experience.
There are some “experts” out there getting some fantastic results one day and then everything evaporates overnight.
What happened?
They were using a weakness in Facebook’s algorithm to get these results. Likely Facebook found the glitch in their system and closed the loophole. And now their whole business stops until they find another solution – or their business goes away altogether.
This is known as a Black Hat tactic.
These tactics provide no value to the consumer, or to Facebook, and is only used to sell their product. As soon as Facebook finds this out they change the rules and the tactic won’t work, and they many ban the account.
There are organic black hat tactics as well as black hat tactics for paid ads but both of these end with the same result.
Some examples of Black Hat Tactics are:
- Pictures that hint at something other than what they really are.
- Headlines that hint one thing and deliver another when you click on the post.
- Buying likes for your page, yes you can buy them.
These practices are all against Facebook’s terms of service.
The challenge with using these is that they only work short term. I don’t know about you, but I’m building a business for the long term. I have no interest in tactics that only work for a few weeks or months. Check out this article about building a long term business or a one hit wonder.
Next on our list is Grey Hat Tactics.
These are a tough call. They aren’t really against Facebook terms of service, but they really aren’t liked by Facebook either. And once Facebook decides they don’t like something, they usually change it.
What is considered a gray hat tactic one day can change to a white or black hat tactic on another day with just a slight change of Facebook’s policy.
One example of this is Facebook contests. In the past, you had to use an app to run a contest, so if you ran a contest in your newsfeed (asking people to answer a trivia question for example) you were in violation of Facebook terms. Facebook has now changed this so you can run contests in your newsfeed.
On to White Hat Tactics.
These are my favorites. These tactics work all the time. Facebook changes come and your posts keep getting a better and better as a result.
Facebook is really looking for businesses that are willing to interact and give to their readers. Once Facebook knows that you do that they reward you with traffic.
Lots of traffic.
The ways you do this is to make sure that your followers want to see your posts. You do this by posting information they want to see.
This can be pictures, videos, links to other articles, or even text posts.
What’s important is that your audience interacts with what you post.
To make this happen you need to know what your audience wants and you need to improve the quality of your posts.
Do they want funny pictures and posts, great information about how to do something, inspirational posts, or information about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it?
Another consideration is how consistent are you in using Facebook. Do you post regularly or are there large gaps in your posting schedule? The more consistent you are the better Facebook likes it.
Facebook really likes it when you talk about trending topics and join in the conversation with your fans about what is happening. How can you tie what you do into what is happening on Facebook and in the world?
As you get better at creating engagement with your customers you’ll find more and more people seeing your posts no matter what Facebook does with their Algorithm.
Take some time developing your White Hat Facebook strategy and then implement it. As you put it into place you’ll be developing an asset you’ll have for years to come.
When you are running paid ads, the better you are at creating posts that your audience is interested in the cheaper you’ll get clicks on your ads. Which in turn means the faster you’ll sell your products and services.
If Facebook isn’t bringing you a consistent stream of new customers and sales, let’s chat! In our free 30-minute Smart Facebook Marketing call, I’ll share 2-3 strategies that can help you get better results. No pressure. No obligation. Just great info. Click here to schedule YOUR call.