Many companies are abandoning Facebook entirely due to lack of growth and user engagement. Bad idea. Why? With 1.5 billion users, there’s reach here that can’t be achieved anywhere else. Here are 3 strategies you can implement today to improve your engagement and growth on Facebook.
Why is my post going dead while others seem to go viral with lots of likes and comments? It has almost nothing to do with luck. If your Facebook page is not growing as you expected, you are not alone. According to a 2015 Social Media Examiner report, Facebook, along with LinkedIn, is one of the “most important social networks for marketers.”
When given a choice, users choose Facebook over any other social media platform. Facebook has solid user growth with other partner businesses like Instagram. As a result, this social media site continues to be one of the leading social platforms when it comes to monthly active users.
However, most marketers have no idea whether or not their Facebook marketing is effective. Only half think they have an effective strategy. How do you measure if your Facebook marketing is effective?
The answer lies in your commitment or connection with the user. Are they interacting with your posts?
Facebook and user participation
According to comScore Mobile Metrix, Facebook has exceptionally high user engagement.
The average participation of mobile users on Facebook is more than seven hours, which occurs both through browsers and applications. By comparison, the average engagement of mobile users on Twitter is just two hours per month. It’s almost an hour for Pinterest and 68 minutes for Tumblr. Facebook offers a great opportunity to expose your business.
But then why do many companies struggle with Facebook’s engagement? The truth is that most only talk about their products. People follow your content because they like your product, but they don’t want to be bombarded with “ads” all the time. I use the 80% to 20% rule. 80% of what you post should be informative. The rest of the 20% can be personal or it can boost your product. Make posts relevant and personal so your users are motivated to engage with your content without being pressured.
Here are 3 strategies you can implement today to improve your engagement and growth on Facebook.
Use different types of content
A smart marketer knows how to use different types of content. People don’t like to read the same type of content over and over. Try the variety, otherwise they will tend to pass you up! Give helpful advice, take photos of people using your product, provide personal stories, share photos, infographics, links, videos, articles, questions, and the like … See what kind of content your fans interact with the best. See what your users enjoy the most by using Facebook Page Insights, this will take the guesswork out.
Using emoticons in your posts to express excitement and excitement behind your posts and make them as HUMAN as possible is also a great idea. According to Hubspot, using a face emoticon “can increase likes by 57 percent, comments by 33 percent, and shares by 33 percent on posts without them.” Be social! They are ‘social networks’!
Photos can make your day
Social photos generate more user engagement. Research by eMarketer from 2014 indicates that photos accounted for 75% of Facebook posts worldwide. 87% of the user interaction rate comes from photos. Take a photo of your recipe when you post it!
Use larger images as they are more likely to receive more likes, comments, and shares. Also, it is better to upload photos / videos and post them directly to your post rather than post a link with a thumbnail.
Ask your fans to write a caption for your photo. Many companies use this strategy. He writes captions for his photos and many of his posts have received more than 250,000 interactions. Inspire excitement in your posts. Use provocative and / or inspiring images.
Find the right time to publish your posts
According to KissMetrics, the best time to post to Facebook is around noon and a little after 7 pm AND the best day to share your post on Facebook for maximum engagement is Saturday. However, JeffBullas suggests that marketers should post content during ‘non-busy’ hours when fans are not busy at work. They suggest that 8pm to 7am is the best time to post on this social platform to get the maximum number of likes, shares, and comments. They found that posts made in between now receive about 20 percent more user engagement.
Observe the patterns in your interactions and see what your followers like the most.
conclusion
Some of these strategies will work for you, while others will not. But these three basic guidelines are sure to help you increase engagement if you can properly implement them to pique the interest of your Facebook fans. But remember, it’s all about your fans’ preferences; do what they want you to do. These are just a few of the ways you can change your Facebook marketing strategy to improve user engagement and there is more. The bottom line is CONNECTION. Be social!
