Best Practices for Facebook and Instagram

Posted on:  Oct 21, 2019

Download this guide here: https://www.facebook.com/gms_hub/share/best-practice-fb-and-ig

Source: https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/blog/best-practices-for-facebook-and-instagram

Google Spreadsheet for your company.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DiC5Z9pjfO-evTSZ-rgxQ2QRKUp7IIG_DMBN1sVaWY8/edit?usp=sharing

Keeping it real

• Facebook and Instagram are all about community. Your fans and followers are looking for a connection and are more likely to engage with a post that feels personal rather than something that’s over-produced or obviously not created by you.
• Be conversational & authentic in your captions and get creative when you have something to promote.
• Share exclusive content that fans can’t see from anyone else, like behind-the-scenes photos and videos.

Frequency and creativity

• Consistent posting is key. Don’t be afraid to post daily. As long as you stay fresh and authentic, fans will be excited to follow the journey.
• Get creative. Post a variety of content to maximize your reach. Your audience won’t all have to same preference of content they’d like to see. Some will like video, some will like photos, and others may like stories.
• Make it fun by using creative tools like Boomerang, face filters, stickers, drawing tools, and more to share your highlights and everything in between.

You and your fans

• Acknowledging a comment may earn you a lifelong fan. Take a moment to like a comment or respond with a few words.
• If you go live on Facebook or Instagram, dedicate time to do a Q&A with your live viewers.
• Use your Insights. Insights on Facebook and Instagram will enable you to see who your audience is and which posts resonate with them most.

Stories

• The most engaging Facebook and Instagram Stories are made in the moment and use a combination of videos, photos, and other creative tools.
• Unless you choose to keep them, stories disappear after 24 hours, so don’t be afraid to show real, unglamorized moments.
• Stories can be added to both Instagram and Facebook at the same time. You can adjust your settings to have your Instagram Stories automatically shared to Facebook every time, or you can choose to share individual stories when you create them.
• Stuck for ideas? Kickstart your stories with something you do every day e.g. your morning routine, your favorite meal of the day, sharing the book you’re reading. You may think its boring, but fans love seeing a personal side in between big project moments.

Video

• More video is being watched on Facebook and Instagram than ever before, especially on mobile phones.
• Create videos that let fans feel like they’re there with you and provide context. Add a description that let’s viewers know what they’re watching and why it’s interesting.
• Don’t forget to pick a good cover frame/thumbnail before posting.

Live

• Go live on Facebook or Instagram Stories to make an announcement, share something new, or just hang with your fans. Try not to overthink it.
• A strong WiFi connection is important.
• Take some time to reward fans by answering their questions.
• Bonus: Your followers can receive notifications when you go live so that they’ll be able to tune in right away.

Safety tools

• Be sure to turn on two-factor-authentication to help prevent hacking.
• Turn on comment filters to prevent trolls from harassing you in comments. Turn on the standard filter or customize the filter with specific words, phrases or emojis.

Locations and hashtags

• More than 150 million people visit the Instagram Explore tab every day. Increase the likelihood that your content will surface here by using hashtags to make your content more discoverable. But don’t go overboard; simply choose the most relevant tags for your posts.

• Use location tags and hashtags to connect with a moment or place, and encourage fans to use them at your shows, events, and more.
• Tag other Pages and accounts when relevant to make the post eligible to appear in more feeds.

Assignment:

• Create a campaign for your brand. It should span Facebook and Instagram.
• Create a brief describing your strategy. One page double spaced.
• All Instagram posts should all be visible on your facebook page.
• Create four posts using video. There are many ways to use found video as well as custom minifilms. We will discuss them. Follow best practices with these posts.
• Create 10 posts using static imagery using best practices. Don’t overburden your user with too much copy or complex photography.
• Create a group on your Facebook page. Begin to include your classmates in the group.
• I will create a matrix for the urls of all student pages. Please follow your classmates.

This is a good start. Remember to always refer to your creative brief when making any marketing decisions.