Most Common Facebook Mistakes You Want To Avoid As A Business Owner

Internet marketing has been around for a very long time. Considering something that can survive for a decade on the fast-paced and ever-changing World Wide Web, internet marketing has certainly aged well and is still going strong, or stronger than ever even.

Nevertheless, internet marketing is a broad term and such that what it encompasses does change with the time and what was internet marketing 10 years ago is a very different picture when it comes to internet marketing today. Not only has it changed, it has evolved and matured.

What is new and is picking up is social media marketing and with the explosive growth of Facebook, it is natural that internet marketers are trying to cash in on where their target audiences are hanging out. Thus, the term born “Facebook Marketing” was born.

Many small online businesses are also trying to get their piece of the pie by delving into Facebook marketing as well. But just because a small business tries their hand at something new such as Facebook marketing, they can still stand to make a big mistake.

The problem lies when small businesses view themselves as just...small business. This mindset is the very thing that will stunt their very own online business' growth. On the contrary, thanks to the World Wide Web, small businesses have the potential to really grow at a rate and size that any long- established business can be envious of.

And thanks to the World Wide web, the playing field is a little equal now and this is certainly good news for new and small businesses alike.

But of course, it does help to be starting out on the right path first.

Here are some common mistakes which small businesses make when it comes to Facebook Marketing and which you can learn now to avoid:

Viewing Your Target Audience ... As JUST An Audience

Everyone likes to be unique and special. Even if they do not openly admit it, the idea that they are special in some way is not only comforting to most, but also makes them feel good about themselves. This is a healthy and positive attitude.

So when you view the fans of your business page merely as just a group of people, you will start addressing them and treating them as such and generalizing them. When you view them in that way, it will be reflected in what you talk to them about and how you talk to them about it.

People like to be recognized and simply addressing them as a group instead of taking the time to individually address and engage them from time to time will make them feel ...slightly neglected. It shows that you do not care and do not bother to do so. So if your fans can sense that you don't bother to care about them, then will start telling themselves why should they care about you or your business as well.

Facebook is a social network platform, and you should be doing so. So get to know them better, listen to them, make them know that you are indeed listening, and that you do take into account what they say and that their voice matters, both individually and also collectively.

By knowing your fans on a deeper level, only then can you deliver value and service that they will truly appreciate and find valuable.

Expecting Results From Being Idle

Build it and they will come. Well, unless your Facebook page goes viral, then that statement will certainly prove true for you, but then again, how many business pages do you know, which actually goes viral for seemingly without reason?

Many small online businesses that create a Facebook page think that all they have to do is just create a page for their business for people to come and “Like” it if they really do. They just think that since they are a small business that they do not have to do anything extra.

The other mistake is that once the page has a healthy number of fans, then it is automatically assumed that it will already sustain itself. Meaning it doesn't require any more attention and effort from the business page's owner, which would be you.

That would be the same thing as simply abandoning the page as well as its fans and if your fans see that the page's owner is not personally engaged, active or even constantly providing value, then they will simply forget about that page over time.

You have to build a frequent presence and show them that you are indeed there and actively involved in the page. You must update the page with contents that are valuable to your fans, reply to queries directed to you or regarding your business, actively seek out other potential prospects and really find ways to really give your Facebook page the exposure and publicity it really needs to grow.

The worst thing you could do is to fully automate your updates. People can tell if you schedule every single update at the same time every single day and eventually they will get bored with it.

Remember to throw in time-sensitive content, hot news, or just released news regarding your industry or niche. Giving your fans new or hot news is also a great way to provide them with something they will find indeed very valuable, especially if the news concerns them, in one way or another.

Providing them with content such as humor is also a great way to lighten the mode and to change the pace of things, which helps to keep things feeling fresh.

However, remember that these contents should only come sparingly, and you need to updates should consistently consist of valuable content that your fans are looking for in the first place when they divided to follow your business (through your Facebook page)

Ceasing To Learn

Learning is a life-long process and just because you own a small online business, doesn't mean that you do not have to learn much about Facebook Marketing. No matter how small your business or niche is, Facebook has a large user base. Therefore, the potential amount of your target market there is equally huge.

By not possessing an open mind and the will to learn, you only have yourself to blame as you, and you alone will be responsible for the stagnant position that your business will be in if you do not want to gain the knowledge on how to leverage your business using Facebook marketing.

There are many new tips, techniques, strategies, and methods, which surface every day, which can certainly help boost your Facebook marketing efforts into newer and greater heights. And the best thing about is, the majority of the information is free and even if you have to pay for some, the potential returns will be bigger many times over.

When it comes to Facebook marketing, or social media marketing in general, even big businesses can make the same mistakes that small business do. What is really important is the attitude to take these mistakes and turn it into an opportunity to learn and thus grow from it.

And for small business, in order for you to grow, you have to stop underestimating yourself just because you see yourself as a small business. Sometimes you have to think big, because big business did not simply existed that way... as they too, started out small.