While you may be able to post whatever you would like on your personal Facebook page, best practices for posting on your business’s page are a little more complicated. To foster high engagement and optimize your business’s page, follow our three tips on what to post, and what not to post, on your Facebook business page.

3 Things To Post About

News About Your Business 

Your initial posts on your business page should give users a picture of what your page is about and what kind of content they can expect in the future. Share your company’s story, products, and services so followers are aware of everything business has to offer! Always share updates to your product line, new services, or significant changes to your business. Once you have an established business page, you can always create posts that promote existing products or services to remind customers of your company’s value. Try posting about the popularity of one of your products or reshare rave reviews from customers. Newcomers to the page may need reminders and long term customers will appreciate a consistency with your product offerings and high level of service.

Industry Related News

Like it or not, many people now consume a majority of their news from articles shared on Facebook. Many followers may not be researching your business in places other than Facebook, so it’s important to share relevant, industry related news. By sharing relevant news for your industry, or even your business’s local area, you can become a valued news provider for your followers and increase your engagement. Having difficulties finding content to share? Set up Google alerts to be notified anytime keywords or OEMs in your industry are mentioned in news articles (Here is an article which walks you through how to set these up). You can also use your OEM’s websites and social pages to find relevant information. Another benefit to sharing industry news: you can rely on someone else to write the majority of the content. All you have to do is share!

External Content for Engagement

Your business page doesn’t have to always be about business all the time! By posting external content like inspirational and motivating quotes or humorous messages, you can foster more engagement on your business page. Inspirational quotes are a great way to show what inspires you and your business. Humorous posts let your followers know your company values having a good time and doesn’t take everything too seriously! These types of posts could start a discussion on your page which will then allow you to engage with followers in new ways other than what your business offers. Any content that is appropriate and will spark a positive discussion can be worth posting!

3 Things to Never Post

Sell, Sell, Sell! 

This may seem counterintuitive, but your business page should not be all about your business’s sales. If all you post on your business page is pushy sales messages, your engagement rates will plummet, as well as your reach. Nobody is going to engage with sales-only oriented content. Think about what your customer would value and the information they would most likely engage with. If you would like to post about sales, do so intermittently and make it as personal as possible. Some ways to make your product offerings more engaging would be to record videos showing off your products, talking to suppliers, or telling stories about your business’s origins. By injecting more personality into your posts, you can build better relationships with potential questions. Other ways to discuss your business without focusing too much on selling include posting questions to followers, sharing tips, and offering help to anyone who has asked questions or left mediocre reviews. Soon you will see more engagement on your page and have a better audience to share your sales with when the time comes!

Controversial or Divisive Content

While it is might be tempting to comment on controversies on social media, your business should never post anything controversial or divisive on a business page just to stir up comments or reactions. Any political posting or commentary on controversies in the news should be avoided. Divisive topics like these cause emotional responses in followers and can alienate customers. For example, Kitchenaid faced a huge backlash on Twitter when they wrote a Tweet about Obama during the 2012 presidential debates. With their political commentary, they caused a huge backlash, were in the news for all the wrong reasons, and alienated thousands of potential customers. Stay neutral and you won’t have to worry about stirring up negative feedback on your page’s newsfeed.

Like & Share Competitions

Many people may already know this, but take this as your reminder that ‘like’ and ‘share’ contests are actually against Facebook’s promotional guidelines. You should not post these kinds of contests as Facebook can, and will, shut down your page if they catch you. You can post about contests if they adhere to Facebook’s strict guidelines and include an acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. For other examples of what not to do with contests, check out this article from Facebook which summarizes what is allowed on your pages and how contests should be run!

Those are all of our tips, so what are you waiting for? Start posting on your business page appropriately and watch your engagement skyrocket!