Have you been using Facebook for your business or to build your personal brand, but don’t seem to be getting the engagement or traction you desire?

Would you like to know how to get the most out of your personal brand on Facebook, and increase your levels of engagement and connection with your customers and clients?

Most professionals are aware that if you want to develop a powerful personal brand and compete in today’s new economy, you have to consider Facebook in your plan for your success. However, with 1.86 billion global active users engaging on Facebook, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ‘cut through the noise’ to be noticed on Facebook.

Also, consider that there are 1.15 billion daily MOBILE users, who on average are viewing the Like and Share buttons across 10 million websites daily. So, trying to attract ‘likes’ who will ultimately buy from you or use your services, is the question every professional or business is asking! So, how can you take steps to maximise your brand value and attract more likes and shares on Facebook for 2017?

KNOW YOUR BRAND:

To effectively promote your brand on Facebook, ideally, you would like to evoke an emotional response to your business, product or service; creating the right kind of emotional response you want people to have when they hear your name, see you online or meet you in person. If you are not completely aware of your brand and the messages you are communicating, it opens you up to criticism and can make you more vulnerable.

Ask yourself the following questions to help you get a better understanding about how you wish to be perceived:

• What do I want to be known for?
• What qualities do I want people to associate with me?
• What is the first thing, I want to pop into people’s heads when they hear my name?
• What are my values, my passions and my beliefs?
• What is my tone and communication style?

KNOW YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER:

If you want to attract the right target market who will resonate with your brand, you must decide first who you are looking to draw. It makes sense right? But as simple as it sounds, many people struggle to identify who their target market is.

They are posting and sharing content on their Facebook page, which makes them visible to others, but they have no real vision of who will be reading it or who they are attracting. So, it’s important to take the time to find out who your ideal customer is, so you post content and images that attract them to your Facebook page.

I have learned a great way to do this is to create an avatar of your ideal customer. An avatar is “an icon or figure representing a particular person”. It sounds silly, and most professionals don’t take the time to construct a customer avatar, yet I have found it an invaluable and critical tool. By creating a fictitious person or customer avatar and giving it an individual name, a profile picture and a specific demographic, you will find it easier to imagine them and to create content that appeals to them. Your avatar should describe your micro-niche, the people that you want most as your customers. A customer avatar brings together the facts you’ve gathered from watching and listening to the people you serve.
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When creating your customer avatar, try to consider as many characteristics about them as you can, including:
What is their Age?
Are they Male or Female?
What is their Occupation?
Are they Married, Single or Divorced?
Where are they located? – local, national or international
What is their income range?
What websites do they visit o a regular basis?
Do they subscribe to any blogs? If yes, which ones?
Who do they also follow on Facebook?
What social influencers do they follow? If yes, which ones?
What social media platforms do they use regularly?
What communities are they associated with?

Once you have completed a full list of characteristics of your ideal customer, you can begin writing your Facebook content talking directly to him or her (your avatar). Start conversations with them and build your relationship organically. You will find that you will begin to connect on a deeper more emotional and authentic level with your audience.

CONDUCT MARKET RESEARCH

Before you start to plan your Facebook strategy, look around at your competitor’s presence on Facebook and other social media platforms. Check out how many followers they have, the level of engagement on their posts and what type of people commenting, liking and sharing? You do not want to ‘copy’ anybody. But it is helpful to see the type of content your target demographic are interacting with and how active your competitors are resonating with their customers. Being aware of what your competitors are posting and sharing, will also help you keep your content is unique, original and fresh.

It’s also important for your to be aware of the current leaders and social influencers in your market. It will give you some valuable insight into the conversations they are having and who is partaking in them. They have become an influencer and positioned themselves as an authority or leader in their field, and they have a strong sway over a lot of followers.
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Also, check out what hashtags and keywords they are using in the content. More about that next.

KEYWORDS & HASHTAGS FOR FACEBOOK

Never underestimate the importance of keywords for Facebook. They are the foundation of social media marketing. By identifying and tracking primary social media keywords and hashtags, you will understand how to communicate better with your audience. Utilising this keyword insight into your social media strategy will help you maximise your brand value, and you will achieve a better return on your social media efforts. Conducting keyword research will also help you keep track of industry trends and trending topics in the community. Facebook also has a #hashtag feature which you can use to follow and listen to conversations that use the same #hashtag.

Taking time to snoop on what #hashtags other professionals and businesses in your industry are using are using, will give you great insight into the world of hashtags and give you an idea of the most popular ones being used in your market or micro-niche.

They are a super way of getting noticed by people who are tracking and searching for content using particular hashtags that interest them. You can start your own unique hashtag and organise your content using hashtags so that your content topics are easier for your readers to locate and read updates.

IDENTIFY YOUR SIGNATURE VOICE

So now you have done some ‘soul’ searching about your brand values, identified your ideal customer, conducted market research and been inspired by keywords and hashtags, now it’s time to discover the key secret ingredient for your Facebook strategy! …YOU!

Branding goes much deeper than your appearance; it drills right down to the words you use. For any copy that you use, including your website, social media, emails, conversations with clients, etc., try to maintain a consistent tone and develop your own unique signature voice. Your signature voice will help yo to resonate the same tone across all of your digital media platforms, as well as your offline communications. There is nothing worse than being part of someone’s online community, thinking that they are passionate and dynamic, only to discover when you interact with them in person, they are in fact shy and introverted. Now, there is nothing wrong with being shy and introverted, but come on, I was expecting dynamic and passionate! #fail !

To help you to identify and develop your signature voice, you have to ‘get into your own head’ and try to understand what makes you unique, so you can tap into the real you, and start having real conversations. The type of conversations that resonate with like-minded people, and the customer avatar you want to attract.

Ask yourself, “what is my unique tone and voice?” Is it entertaining, light-hearted, funny, educational, etc.? “How do I want to be perceived?” Credible, authority, a leader, an innovator, pioneer, industry expert, etc. “What keywords do I want to be associated with?” Motivational, inspirational, informative, humorous, etc.

Your signature voice is the key to authentic and genuine communication. By staying true to your signature voice, your Facebook content will become easier to write, as you are speaking your truth. Your online and offline conversations will be consistent, as you are speaking from your heart and tapping into your passions, core values and beliefs. And best of all you will be believable and honest.