In January 2015, Facebook will be making significant changes to the way its news feed works. These changes are designed to discourage overly promotional posts. So how do you avoid being penalized by Facebook? Here are some do's and don'ts to navigate the changing waters:
Don't: Use overly pushy or sales-y language in your posts. Cut back on words such as "buy," "comment," "like," "share," "download," "click here" and "purchase" in your posts.
Do: Continue linking to quality content, but use more specific calls to action. Try using phrases such as "don't miss our new whitepaper <link>" or "find more resources here."
Don't: Use a bait-and-switch technique to drive people to a sales landing page. Have you ever seen an intriguing picture in a company's post, only to click on it and be directed to a completely different page? This is exactly the type of misdirection Facebook is trying to eliminate.
Do: Drive traffic to your blog posts, useful resources on your website and landing pages. But make sure you're honest about the content when writing catchy headlines and teasers.
Don't: Push people to join contests or sweepstakes. This includes click-baiting for page "likes." This type of post will eventually decrease your page's reach.
