STOP! Whatever you do, don’t do that!

There are some huge mistakes that Facebook Marketers are making that are devastating their conversion rates and destroying their sales.

Most marketers don’t even know they are making these mistakes, so don’t be one of them!

Give this list a look. Chances are, you’re probably making at least one of these mistakes and not even realizing it…

5 Facebook mistakes that are killing your conversions

1. Not branding your profile pictures

Having your brand or business logo in your profile picture does wonders for top of the mind awareness and branding efforts throughout Facebook.

Since every interaction that happens on the social network is tied back to a profile, your profile picture thumbnail shows up with every post, Like, Comment, message, or Share. This serves as an optimal visual cue for your fans and potential-fans to associate each of your Facebook interactions back to your company.

Think of this like free advertising – your profile picture, along with the Page’s name, effectively brands every status update on Facebook from your page, regardless of where the viewer reads the update (e.g. their Newsfeed, your fan page, or from a mobile device)!

Char-broil does a great job at keeping branding consistent all over their fan page. Check out their quality, branded profile pic:

Profile pic size: 180 x 180 px. Use these dimensions to make sure your image doesn’t get distorted after uploading it to Facebook.

2. Not leveraging your cover image

Where’s the biggest ad-space on Facebook? It’s your cover image!

This space is more than just a canvas for a pretty picture. It’s the very first thing a user sees on your Facebook page. The first thing that will cause a potential “Liker” to choose between hitting the thumbs up button or the browser’s back button.

Your cover image can be very effective when used in the right way. You can promote new products, feature some of your most engaged fans (or welcome new ones to the team), and even promote brand lifestyle through your cover image.

Here’s a great example of how Gatorade promotes their brand lifestyle of giving it all you’ve got:

I hope this isn’t your favorite show, but it’s a great example. Here’s how MTV is promoting a new “product” (I think we can do without another Snookie, though):

Check this one out! Doubletree Hotels is featuring some of their favorite holiday Instagrams:

Keep this in mind! There are Facebook restrictions on cover images.

Covers may not include:

• Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it on socialmusic.com”;
• Contact information such as a website address, email, mailing address, or information that should go in your Page’s “About” section;
• References to Facebook features or actions, such as “Like” or “Share” or an arrow pointing from the cover photo to any of these features; or
• Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.”

Cover image size: 851 x 315 px. Make an incredible cover image using the dimensions to make sure your work is displayed correctly

3. Not creating custom fan content through fan page tabs/apps

This is where the power’s at! Without custom tabs, your page would be plain Jane, and your marketing efforts would be hard pressed to find an ROI.

This is why making custom Facebook fan page tabs are critical to Facebook Marketing success.

Use custom tabs to:

– Create opt-ins
– Run contests
– Provide information to your customers
– Sell products
– And even pull in your website, to name a few

Here’s an example of a good Welcome Page. Zox Straps absolutely kills it!

Serengetee is driving t-shirt sales through their own custom store:

Here’s an example of a hair salon, Over the Top Hair, is driving engagement, awareness, and conversions through a contest:

4. Not optimizing your Facebook posts and updates for SEO and Facebook viral growth

When posting updates on your Facebook fan page (especially product or brand-related updates), it is important to optimize your links and posts to convey exactly the message you want your viewers to receive. This helps with both SEO efforts, and helps out your viral growth rate inside Facebook.

When you post a link, the bold headline of the post will be treated like a <H1> header by search engines. The un-bolded text below is the meta-data and determines what search engines think your post is about.

Your post’s viral growth rate is it’s ability to be Liked, Commented on, and Shared inside the massive Facebook network. Don’t hurt this growth rate by having a long and gaudy URL attached to your post, since people will be less likely to share it.

5. Ignoring the engagement potential through using Milestones

Milestones are an oft-ignored Facebook feature that can really add to your brand’s overall presence.

Facebook Milestones allow your business to feature significant events in its history.

Much like a highlighted post, the Milestone banner fills the full width of your wall and can act as a beautiful billboard for strategic communications to your fans.

You can add images and a direct URL in the story section to keep it as a permanent traffic-driver from your Facebook Page to wherever you want viewers to go.

Milestone banner size: 843 x 403 px

Do you have a friend who’s making some of these same Facebook mistakes? Share this post with them to help them stop losing out on money. You might be saving them!

Your Turn

Have you ever made any Facebook mishaps? We sure have! Let us know in the comments below 🙂

Meet David George

David A. George is the Chief Content Creator at Heyo. I'm passionate about marketing, Android, being at the beach, and breathing underwater. I'd love to connect with you on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Or email me at dgeorge(at)heyo.com