WHAT NOT TO DO IN FACEBOOK COMMUNICATION

Brands communicate on facebook routinely. Some succeed, some don’t.

Here’s looking at why.

Facebook was conceived as a tool for connecting with your close (and not-so-close) friends. Could be vaguely defined as a somewhat personal space; while its quite obvious that activity on the internet can’t be too personal.

Brands, which are quick to spot opportunities, are furiously competing to get into your News Feed and get you to "engage" with them. And they're not necessarily wrong to do that. Every day, people are having conversations with brands on social media. Some  people say they trust a company's Facebook page more than its website.

Conversation is important. Conversation by a brand may look like advertising. And advertising is something people have been trained to ignore. Hence the challenge.

Brands that succeed on Facebook, in a manner similar to brands that succeed in the marketplace, get some things right. They stay away from being slotted into one of the following brand personalities

Below are some brand personalities your company should absolutely not emulate:

The Tragedy Hero

Many brands struggle with how to handle tragic current events. Not this fellow! This guy cannot resist mentioning the latest recent catastrophe; and then putting a plug here into his brand. When theres a tragedy that everyone is affected by, express how you feel as an organization and if there s any real connection; express the same with empathy. Anything else is poor taste.

The Photo Guy

A picture does speak a thousand words. So here’s the guy who purchases stock photography of random smiling people and uses them for every single post! These pictures have nothing to do with the brand- of his company's products, behind-the-scenes at the office, or himself and his employees—now why would anyone do that! Hes not actually advertising; but stock photo makes it look like advertising; and that’s funny in a not-so-funny way.

The Convoluted Texter

Tough one! She writes lengthy, meandering updates; never coming to the point, because does not want to look like she’s advertising. You don’t really know how to respond to this post because there are too many ‘calls to action’ in each sentence. Will not get responses and hence push further confusing posts out there. Complete catastrophe!

The Chubby Irritant

Have you ever seen a brand throw up a picture of a baby or a puppy or even a flower; despite the fact that it’s products dont cater to babies, pets and horticulture?

Everyone likes a cute baby. So women will put up a ‘like’. That’s sentiment; not substance. So the same people who ‘like’ today, will ‘unsubscribe’ tomorrow, when you stop discussing babies and start discussing products.

The Beggar

While studies show that asking for a Facebook 'like' or a comment can increase your interactions up to 26 percent, the Beggar does it constantly and at inappropriate times. If your posts are great, you won' t need to ask for a like for every other one. Use the power of the "ask" when you're trying to spread an important company message or helps the community. Don't do it for the sake of doing it.

(Imp Note: He/she used at random while describing facebook personas)