Why Facebook Advertising Doesn’t Pay Off For Most Companies

So many companies rush to Facebook.
They spend a lot of money to “engage in the conversation” with their base.
They pay for ads.
They hire youthful social media managers, and they engage agencies to run their social media outreach.
Here’s the problem:
Facebook is just a platform. It’s just like TV, radio, your Web site, and your product package. Most companies go to Facebook without effective messaging and language.
If you don’t perfect your message before broadcasting it, the platform doesn’t matter. It won’t work. 
So, here are five message development actions to engage in,  before engaging in social media:

1. Who is your market? Precisely. Who do you want to reach and convince?
2. Once you know, it’s time to go talk with them. Qualitatively. Not with surveys or focus groups, but one-on-one. Here what you want to learn:
3. What is important to them? Exactly. What do they consider relevant, interesting?
4. How do they talk about your product? Because once you have the language, you know it’s messaging that will work with your market — because it comes from your market!
5. How do they use your product or service? Once you know this, you’ll know which features to emphasize. Because you unearth the information from your customers, you know it’s automatically relevant and compelling to your market.

The above is not difficult or complex — but it does require effort.
If you jump to the platform — whatever it is — without developing your messaging, you’re probably engaging the wrong conversation.
Figure out what the conversation is first.
Then engage in it.

by Alex Goldfayn
http://www.consumerevangelists.com/