Once a college social media network with minimal features, Facebook is now a thriving community of 1.19 billon monthly users. As this change has occurred, companies have sought to take advantage of this opportunity to get their brand in front of the masses. Over 90% of businesses have a Facebook page today. However, just because a business has a Facebook page does not mean that the business is effectively using Facebook to promote their brand and achieve their marketing goals.
Many companies forget that social media is about creating a relationship with customers. We, as consumers, do not want companies pushing their products on us 24/7 in our social world. If businesses want to be a part of our social world, they must seamlessly integrate into it in a way that we do not notice.
Here are examples of posts by businesses on Facebook. Some are great while others miss the mark. These are my thoughts on what was done right (or wrong) by these businesses.
1. Applebee’s
Applebee’s does a great job with their Facebook community building and posting. They use highly visual images of food with carefully crafted messaging that gets the consumer’s interest. However, they very seldom include a direct call to action. This is more effective for their purposes as consumers are left with connecting the dots. Applebee’s images include the logo and messaging making it look professional and catchy. Obviously these types of posts are working for them as this one has over 25,000 likes already.
2. Taco Bell
This simple post is incredibly effective at getting people to consider Taco Bell as an option for a meal. Three words, some carefully placed punctuation, and a simple food picture is all this post needs to create interest. They could have said “Come try one for lunch today” however that would not have been as powerful. Remember that sometimes, less is more.
3. Diapers.com
Diapers.com has over 184,000 likes on Facebook and for the most part, a fairly active community. 
One of the things that Diapers.com struggles with however is how often its posts come across as pushy. They focus mostly on call to actions. Consumers prefer call to actions that are less obvious. This post below is all about the sale, from the terminology to the picture. It is obvious that the community did not like this post as it only received 3 likes. Posts that are not centered around a promotion on their page receive hundreds. A good business Facebook page provides value and then occasionally inserts carefully crafted calls to action. Too many calls to action annoy a consumer and can create negative feelings towards a business or brand.
Remember the lessons learned above when you are posting to your business page. Do not push your product too forcefully, keep it simple, and use great images. Doing these three things will put you far ahead of many other companies using Facebook. Remember that it isn’t about selling, it is about building a long lasting relationship with customers/potential customers.
Also, check out: 12 Tips to Improve Your Social Media Efforts
