It’s been 2 weeks since I wrote! I have been ridiculously busy with work and I really hope to get back to writing regularly soon (next week!)

I owe this Facebook Page review to Antoine Deroche for a long time. He’s kindly volunteered to have his page (Datafield) reviewed so that we can share and learn together from what he has done right and could do better.

There’s 2 things I liked about his Page, 4 things I think he can make changes to improve the Page, and 3 things he might want to explore in the long-term management of the Facebook Page.

1. Good Cover Photo

The tagline featured on Cover Photo was crystal clear. It answers the basic question for all products and services. “What can customers do with your app? They make mobile forms creations easy!”

Choice of simple design helped to convey that point easily. It’s hard to make design really simple and stay away from the fanciful options that often mar user experience.

2. Feedback Tab

Feedback tab on your Facebook Page? I thought it was brilliant.

Increasingly, social networks are also used as a customer service platform. Even if your business is not doing so, consumers already behave as if brands are listening to them online! They talk about your business everywhere and if they have something to say (or complain) about your brand, they will post to your Facebook Page!

What better ways to direct more of it and not let others view them (especially if they are negative) by using a Feedback tab and invite both positive and negative responses to avoid the spotlight?

Of course, I’m not saying that feedback tabs do wonders to cut all the kind of feedback you may receive. There’s always some nasty people in nasty moods out there. So the page manager has to make sure that they communicate to the fans about the availability of such a tool where they can direct their opinion to people who are listening to them. Doing so will minimise the probability of those drama happening.

Now let’s get to the things I feel that Datafield can improve.

3. Elevator Pitch

This advice goes out to all businesses.

Take Datafield as an example. Factually, the app allows customers to create forms for mobile devices. Although that’s describing what your customers do with your app, it does not point out what benefits your customers gain. Your app should help your customers solve a problem. What is that problem? Make it obvious. Mailchimp’s tagline, “Send better email”, is short, terse, and brilliant.

4. Link Post Copies

I see a shifting trend in link posts where describing the content of the link is no longer enough. Readers want more specific information about the articles that provide real benefits to them.

Offer bite-size information that they find useful. Offer advice that they can act upon. Offer teasers that intrigue them. They will click on your link and read for the details.

Merely commenting on the links amount to link littering. Harsh, I know. But there’s a reason why consumers demand so much more now and we have to keep up with it.

5. Write simple sentences.

Unless required, please write simple sentences with single subject and object to the best of your ability. Not only do average social media users suffer from short attention span, content consumption often happens on the go. This means that attention span is even shorter than before. Writing a copy that reads easily will not only help users understand you better, it will also increase the likelihood of engagement.

There are a couple of exceptions when you shouldn’t write simple copies. Examples include where you need to story-tell and describe scenarios vividly. But you should always aim for a clean and simple structure in your copies.

6. Post Consistently

This is a common problem for many Pages. There is a pressing need for page managers to post consistently.

Social networks work differently from other promotion tools. You probably have heard it a million times but I’m going to repeat it anyway.

Social networks, as the name suggests, requires consistent investment into building relationships with your target audience. It is not a broadcast tool. It is also not a narrowcast tool. It is about quality interactions. It is about external (and sometimes internal) communications.Any business approach to social networks need to be human-like. And to be human-like is to be inherently social. In real life, no one (not even you) likes it when someone talks to you only when they need a favour. That’s the exact thing you are doing if you do not post consistently.

It’s not like a post on social media equates to an announcement anyway. It’s how you’d go out to engage with someone you want to build a relationship with, everyday.

And here’s 3 things I’d advise Antoine to look into to take Datafield to the next level of social media marketing.

1. Learn from the pros

Whether is it about writing good content, finding relevant content to share, how often to post, how to design your Facebook Page to meet your social media marketing goals, you can always learn from the pros!

Here’s 3 Pages I’d follow for a start:

1. Postplanner: They’re brilliant and consistent at everything they do. They share some of the best tips you can find to better your Facebook Page. And it’s not just what they post, but also what they do. Look at their Facebook cover photo, tabs, description, etc. You can learn a lot by just analysing their page for 10 minutes!

2. Mari Smith: Did I just quote one of the top social media strategist in the world? You bet. Mari is brilliant because she is able to engage with her fans consistently and write long-form content that gets lots of love! If you feel conflicted writing long-form content and maximising engagement, look no further than Mari as the best example!

3. Paypal: I picked this company because they’re a software company. I liked some of the examples they share on their page, featuring some of the things that customers can do with the software. I’d like to think that there’s a lot that mobile app brands like Datafield can do to increase the awareness of its services, just like Paypal.

2. Show off your customers’ work

What better ways to engage your customers at a deeper level, yet reach even more people through word-of-mouth? It’s killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

Assuming that you have permission, if you feature some of the moments, feedback, or results that customers have gained from using your app, that could lend a lot of credibility to your mobile app. Having happy customers is not the same as having customers. Having happy customers can make your app stand out from the crowd. It can make someone who is on the fence pick you over your competitor.

So go ahead and share your customers’ work (with their permission). Name them as customers of the week. Exalt them as best apps of the month. Flaunt them as if they were your own products. And reward them when you can. Your customers will go a long way to talk about your brand.

3. (Re)think your Facebook and Content Marketing Goals

What did you want to do when you started your Facebook Page? Do you still want to meet those goals? Or do you have other goals in mind?

When you’re ready, devise a strategy to achieve those goals. For a start, consider how you can make use of content frameworks like RIDE and STEPS help you formulate a great strategy.

And that’s it! Do you have any advice to share with Datafield?