Are you planning to market your brand on Facebook? You better follow the rules, or you’ll be out, and you’ll be out fast.

A robust social platform for business marketing, Facebook is one of the monsters of the social media realm.

With a considerable amount of users of all ages, all of whom have varied interests, it’s easy to find your niche target audience. But you better not mess up.

Facebook is proud of their community standards and the action they are willing to take.

For instance, the platform has a strong stance against hate speech – throughout Q3 of 2021, they took action on 22.1M pieces of hate speech content.

Yes, you want to stay on their good side. You also want to ensure your Facebook marketing works to drive sales.

However, there’s no need to worry. As long as you follow my guide with a few simple rules for marketing on Facebook, you’ll be good to go.

Facebook Is Vital For Marketers

You want to stay on Facebook – marketing on the social media platform is crucial.

Why? Because Facebook is, without a doubt, a ringleader when it comes to social media.

Based on statistics from 2020, Facebook reaches 59% of social media users. That’s over half of the population on social media.

There are many other advantages to marketing for businesses on Facebook. With the variety of ad formats you can use and the ability to hone in on a specific target audience, Facebook marketing can give your company an easy upper hand.

But how can you use marketing on Facebook to your advantage?

You Need A Guide To Facebook These Days

Although Facebook can help you see great success if you approach it correctly, not doing so could result in quick failure.

Many small businesses are struggling to figure out Facebook right now. In one survey, 62% of small business owners said Facebook ads “missed their targets.”

With ads being one of the primary marketing tools on Facebook, if you’re having difficulty with your ads, you’re probably running into problems in other areas, too.

It takes the right guide to make your company triumph on Facebook. There are many potential pitfalls to fall into, often rookie mistakes that could have been easily avoided with the right advice.

In this article, I’ve compiled a list of unacceptable errors you could run into on Facebook and what to do instead.

The 5 Worst Things You Can Do On Facebook

It’s simple to slip up, especially if you’re new to Facebook.

Are you worried about messing up? I’m here to help put your mind at ease – here’s what not to do on Facebook.

Avoid these missteps, and you’ll be well on your way to a prosperous Facebook marketing campaign.

1. Overpost Or Overshare

First of all, overposting or sharing content is going to be annoying to your audience. While you want to post on a regular schedule, you can’t make it seem like spam. Facebook also hates spam.

Generally, post to Facebook no more than one to two times per day, maybe a few more depending on your business. Anything excessive could be seen as spam, however, which could get your account disabled.

Be especially careful of bulk posts that contain promotional messaging – Facebook automatically considers this spam.

2. Try To Promote Your Business Without Paying

Things change. Many businesses used to use Facebook for free advertising by making frequent promotional posts for their brand or to sell their products. That era is no longer.

The social media platform is now cracking down on what it considers “overly promotional ads.” What are those? Namely, any post which exists only to get people to buy a product or take action, like a promotional product picture with a link back to its listing.

The reasoning behind it is Facebook reported users were complaining about an oversaturation of ads in their feeds – a fair enough complaint.

Facebook has also banned any promotional cover art. A.k.a., cover art that features a sales flyer or CTA (Call to Action) within the picture.

A CTA could include a request for users to go to the company’s website, make a purchase, or download the company’s app. Facebook gives you CTA buttons within your page now anyway, so there’s no point in adding one to your cover art as well.

Here’s a look at the CTA buttons:

Screenshot from Facebook.com, October 2021

Simply put, if you want to advertise your product or business on Facebook, make sure you pay for it and follow set guidelines. Otherwise, you’ll be paying in a different way.

3. Have Too Broad An Audience

Here, we’ve come to what some endearingly call “lazy targeting.” Although you may not get in trouble with Facebook over it, lazy targeting can be an effortless way to tank your marketing strategy goals.

What I’m talking about is not putting enough effort into determining your ideal target audience. Facebook gives you some fantastic tools to narrow down to the specific audience you’re trying to reach — you’re shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t use them.

Whether you realize it or not yet, your company has a niche: your marketing strategy should focus on it.

Not doing so will result in many views from bored users who have little to no interest in your brand simply because they’re nowhere near to being your target audience.

Spend time researching your target audience: what they like, what they do, and how they act.

Honing in on specific economic factors, interests, and activities of your audience will help you reach only the people who are likely to interact with you, like Intrepid Travel does.

Screenshot from Facebook.com, October 2021

4. Post Bad Images Or Content

When I say don’t post bad images or content, I mean two things:

Don’t Post Low-quality Photos

This is a great way to make your company look unprofessional. If you post grainy, unclear photos, it will lower your page’s image.

Facebook pages that either post low-quality visuals or use them in their profile are likely to be disregarded.

Make Sure Your Content Is Appropriate

Facebook has taken a tough stance on the content it considers appropriate – it is vital to ensure you’re following their community standards. Not only will you ensure your page doesn’t stay up if you violate them, but it will also paint your business in a bad light.

Facebook won’t tolerate content that contains:

• Hate speech.
• Violent or graphic content.
• Child nudity or sexual exploitation.
• Bullying or harassment.

It’s pretty straightforward: just don’t break the laid-out rules and post pretty content.

Intrepid Travel does an excellent job at increasing engagement by posting captivating images from around the world – it’s no surprise they have over half of a million followers.

5. Incorrectly Used CTA

The most important thing to note here is to make your CTA crystal clear.

It must always, plainly and clearly, state where it will lead and the actions the user will be expected to take. If you don’t follow that rule, Facebook will take action against your account.

Don’t overuse your CTA, either. A tip to help keep your audience from getting overwhelmed: it’s key not to try and do too many things simultaneously.

While Facebook gives you up to seven CTA buttons on your Facebook page, that doesn’t mean you should use every single one.

Finally, make sure you do use a CTA or two. It’s essential to do it correctly but failing to use any type of CTA at all is worse than a bad one. It means potential consumers have nowhere to go once they’ve found you.

What To Do Instead

I’ve talked a lot about what not to do on Facebook. But what should you do instead? The answers make sense when you think about it.

If you’re looking to completely revamp and need even more tips on creating the best Facebook page for your business, we’ve written about it before.

Otherwise, just follow this advice:

Maintain A Regular Schedule

Instead of posting sporadically, or on the other hand, posting so much it looks like spam, follow a maintained schedule.

Posting at least once a day is ideal. However, if that isn’t feasible, try to post a few times a week.

If you’re too busy to post every day, try using plugins or software like Semrush, which posts to Facebook automatically for you – it will make your life much easier.

Pay For Ads

If you have the money available, give Facebook ads a shot. While they can be tricky to navigate, you can still come out ahead with successful results.

On the other hand, if you don’t have much money, try asking for engagement from your peers instead of sales. For example, ask for comments and likes, not for them to follow a link back to your shop.

Screenshot from Facebook.com, October 2021

Define Your Target Audience

Crucial to the heart of all marketing strategies, not just those on Facebook, defining your target audience allows you to decide who you want to interact with.

Narrow down exactly who you want to market to using Facebook’s tools, such as their Audience Insights, and you can find people who have aligned interests.

Use Beautiful Images

People love pretty things, especially beautiful images. Gorgeous content will encourage your audience to engage with your posts.

Nearly everyone these days has a phone (or some other device) with a camera that has the capability of capturing gorgeous visuals. There’s no excuse – make sure the pictures you post are well-designed, on-brand, and give a viewer pleasing aesthetics.

Screenshot from Facebook.com, October 2021

Use CTAs To Your Advantage

Using a compelling CTA or two is vital to driving not just page views but sales.

A CTA tells your audience where to go next and is what will ultimately drive engagement in the end. After all, you’re trying to turn your audience into consumers.

Ask others to follow you or like and comment on your posts. Drive involvement, and you’ll end up with a larger pool of potential future customers who’ve already enjoyed what they’ve seen.

On the SEJ Facebook page, the CTA is a “Sign Up” button – the link takes you to sign up for the newsletter.

Figure out what the primary goal for your Facebook page is before trying to decide on a CTA. Knowing what you really need will help laser your focus on the right one.

Marketers, Don’t Mess Up On Facebook

Marketing on Facebook can be nerve-wracking, and maybe it should be, just a little bit. If Facebook decides to kick you from the platform, you’re out for good.

Also, if you don’t know some basic marketing skills, you’ll be doomed to stale strategies.

Luckily, it’s not too hard to avoid getting on Facebook’s wrong side if you can follow a few straightforward rules. Knowing what to avoid is the first step – you’ve got that covered.

Now use your knowledge of what to do instead, and don’t just keep yourself from falling. Fly instead!

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Featured image: Irina Strelnikova/Shutterstock