Follow Tips For Better Facebook Page Engagement:
#1: Pose a Question
One of the simplest
and most effective ways to kickstart a dialogue with your Facebook fans is to ask them a question. Basically, you’re inviting a
response. If fans can relate to the question and you find a way to
leverage people’s interests or needs, they’ll find it hard not to
answer.
Pair a question with an appealing visual
Here are some questions
to ask:
· Specific: What’s your favorite…?
· Tips: How do you…?
· Experiences: What’s your favorite moment from
experience/memory…?
· Edgy: Do you think…? (controversial question)
· Direct: Why do you…?
· Events: Who is going/Who attended…?
· Timely: Today is…, so what are you…?
#2: Ask Fans to Make a Choice
A fun way to get your
fans to engage with you is to publish a “this or that” post. Ask people
to choose a side, pick a favorite, or make a choice between two things. An
added benefit is that it can create a division among your fans, which can spark
a dialogue in the comments.
Most of the time,
those debates are good fun but be mindful of trolls. If you want to
spark even more debate, you can always mix in a little controversy but avoid
politics.
#3: Post When Your Fans Are Online
People use Facebook at
different times of the day. Some are on Facebook throughout the day, while
others may only check it in the early morning or evening. If you’re randomly
publishing a few posts each day, there’s a good chance some of your audience
will miss them. By the time they check their feed, your content could be
buried.
A
better tactic is to post when your audience is most active. Check
your Facebook Insights to find that data. To
access it, click the Insights tab and then click Posts in
the left menu.
By default, the
dashboard shows data for when your fans are online. You can adjust the
date range to compare blocks of time so you can see
what times of the day your fans are most active.
Tip: Posting late at night (when your fans are
less active) isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There’s less competition in their
feed, so the people who are active on the site are more likely to see and
engage with your content. If that engagement jumps a bit, there’s a better
chance your audience will see it when they come online in the morning.
Try posting at
different times to see what works best for you.
#4: Share Relevant Images
A picture can say a
lot more than a text post. A visually striking image can bring the rapid
thumb-scroller to a halt. Images have proven time and again to improve
engagement, especially when they tell a story or connect with the audience on a
personal or emotional level.
The right images can help tell a story and encourage responses.
According to BuzzSumo, Facebook posts with images see more than
double the engagement of basic text posts.
Use relevant,
colorful, and high-quality images. If you want to spice up your photos but don’t have
Photoshop-level skills, try free tools like Canva and Adobe
Spark.
#5: Engage With Other Brands
There’s no rule that
says you need to limit your Facebook efforts to your own page. Wander the
social landscape, post to other pages, and engage with
brands when there’s synergy and a shared audience.
Engaging other brands can put you in front of a whole new
audience.
However, you need
to be tactful. The other business and their fans know what you’re
up to, so don’t post spam. Treat it just like you would audience
engagement: build the relationship, share content, and engage with
people.
If you can work
out an agreement to share someone else’s content, it will help provide a
mutually beneficial boost in organic reach, as both sides are exposed to a
wider audience.
#6: Crowdsource Feedback
People love giving
feedback. When you ask for input the right way, your audience will
jump on board and be quick to respond. The added benefit is you can uncover opportunities
to improve your business and delight your customers.
Strategic questions can boost engagement while eliciting the
desired feedback.
Imagine the potential
boost to customer loyalty (and future engagement) if you make changes to your
business based on the input you receive? Give this tactic a try. It’s a much
more personal approach than surveys and you can respond to people
directly to address their feedback.
#7: Include a Call to Action
The standing rule for
any kind of marketing is that if you want your audience to do something, you
have to tell them to do it. Use a call to action in every post, whether it’s
to prompt a comment, share, opt in, like, RSVP, or any other action.
Always use a call to action to elicit the desired response from
fans.
Always tell
your audience what you want them to do to encourage engagement.
#8: Boost Your Best Posts
If you have a blog
post or other website content that has seen tremendous traffic, post it to your
Facebook page and boost that post. You don’t need to throw hundreds of dollars
at it; give it a modest boost of $25 and target the people who like
your page and their friends.
You won’t necessarily
see thousands of shares, but a boosted post can help get your best content in
front of your target audience and spark some engagement. The more people
engage, the greater the organic reach to their networks. This tactic can be
especially effective if you’re sharing high-value content with a lot of great
takeaways, such as a solution to a problem or an answer to a question.
To find your
most popular content, check your Google Analytics. In the dashboard menu, click Behavior > Site
Content > All Pages. Review the metrics for each post to
determine what content to promote on Facebook. If you don’t have any archived
content to pull from, that’s okay. You can always boost other post types from
this list with a small budget to give them an extra nudge.
#9: Share Industry News and Hot Topics
Even your most loyal
fans are interested in more than just your business. Sharing big news from your
industry will show your fans that you’re not focused solely on promoting your
business; you want to keep them informed about current topics. They’ll
appreciate and respond to that.
Share news your fans will find interesting.
Curate industry news
from a trusted source and ask your
fans what they think. Ask people to contribute their thoughts and
share the post.
#10: Adjust Your Post Frequency
If your Facebook
engagement is slipping, it might have something to do with your post frequency.
Posting too little (say a few times a week) won’t help you establish relevance
with Facebook’s algorithm and you’ll be fighting for space in your audience’s
feed.
On the other hand,
posting too often can hurt you, too. Facebook tries to show users the most
interesting and relevant content from everyone they follow. If you’re posting a
half-dozen times each day over a short period, expect a lot of your content to
be missed.
To find a sweet
spot, try posting a few times each day at the times your fans are most
likely to engage.
#11: Give People a Giggle
We all love a good
laugh in our news feed. Lighten the mood for your fans and
show them that you have some personality. Don’t overthink it; just do something
to give your fans a chuckle. Keep their interests in mind and make
sure the humor is relevant to your audience.
Even a touch of humor can spark engagement and shares.
#12: Respond to Everyone
If you receive
comments from your fans but fail to respond or acknowledge them, they’ll notice
and stop engaging with you. It only takes a few minutes throughout the day
to monitor your social activity and make a few quick
or witty responses to fans who comment.
A little effort goes a long way toward making customers feel
valued.
Consistent responses
make fans feel valued and they’ll be more likely to engage with future posts
from your page.
#13: Solicit Fan Content
Encourage your fans
to share photos on a given topic or photos of your products. This is a fun
way to spark engagement and dialogue with fans. To go one step further, run
a contest or offer a giveaway to encourage more shares and
submissions.
Give fans a chance to be featured if they share their content.
Once engagement starts
to climb, you’ll begin seeing even more image posts from fans.
#14: Share Content From Other Channels
Unless you’re
publishing the same posts to all of your social channels, you probably have a
goldmine of content that users on other channels have never seen. Don’t let
that content gather dust. Look over your content, videos, and images on
other platforms (YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and so on)
and share the best with your Facebook fans.
This is a great way to
fill a few gaps in your weekly posting schedule if you come up short on content
ideas.
#15: Go Behind the Scenes With Live Video
Visual content is much
more likely to be shared on Facebook, and this is especially true for
video. Facebook Live makes it easy to stream live video to your audience,
anytime you like, to leverage that engagement.
Live video gives your fans an all-access pass.
Don’t stress about the
production value or not having a killer splash intro. Fans legitimately enjoy
seeing the people behind a business just being…people. Give fans a
glimpse into how your company operates, show your personality, and make a human
connection.
Live video is also a
great way to take your fans with you on company outings or to major
events and trade shows they aren’t able to attend. Once your live
broadcast is finished, it’s saved so others can view, share, and enjoy it at
any time.
To broadcast a live
video, open your Facebook page from your mobile device. In the
status window, click the option to Go Live. Give
Facebook access to your camera and microphone, describe your video,
and click start.
#16: Make an Emotional Connection
If you want to elicit
a big response from your fans, publish a post that appeals to your audience on
an emotional level. Share content and tell stories that pull at
people’s interests, emotions, fears, and even their dislikes. Brand
loyalty doesn’t come from a product; it comes from a customer’s joy at
experiencing a shared sentiment or finding a solution that works.
Share content that connects with fans on an emotional level.
Emotion drives
loyalty and engagement. It’s why millions of people couldn’t help but share
the “Thank You, Mama”
P&G commercials, making them the most
shared Olympics ad at the time.
#17: Provide Value
Anytime you share or
post content to your Facebook page, ask yourself what kind of value you’re
providing to your fans. The best way to get their attention is to make sure
there’s a takeaway or something in it for them. At the very least, give them a
good chuckle. At best, teach people how to do something, inspire
them to take action, and add value to their life.
Give away value to build trust and engagement with your fans.
#18: Tap Into Trending Topics
There’s a whole world
of content revolving around us every second. Keep your ear to the ground for
events and trends that might grab the attention of your audience. Work a
relevant trending hashtag into a post to help boost organic visibility
in social search.
Get creative to find engagement opportunities in trends.
Both Facebook and
Twitter make it easy to see which topics are trending based on posts
and discussions. Google Trends provides the same insight into trending
topics based on search volume and published topics.
If you’re a local
business, keep up with city, county, and state event calendars and
watch for local trends that could be used in the same fashion.
#19: Recycle High-value Posts
You’re not limited to
posting only new content to your Facebook page. Occasionally dip into your
archives for an engagement spike.
Look at your Facebook
posts from a previous year and identify posts that created a
substantial amount of engagement. Post that content again,
but tweak it so it’s fresh. Recycling posts allows you to spotlightpopular
content that some of your fans may never have seen.
#20: Upload Native Video
YouTube is a sizable
social channel, but if you’ve been sharing your YouTube videos to your Facebook
page, it’s time to make a switch. Facebook’s native video allows
you to upload videos directly to your page, just like photos, and
the algorithm works in your favor if you do.
Native video is proven to get more engagement and views.
If you compare YouTube
shares to native videos on Facebook, native video receives more likes, shares,
comments, and reach.
#21: Celebrate Holidays
If you factor in
silly holidays, along with more serious awareness dates and traditional
holidays, you’ll never run out of ideas for your Facebook content schedule. If
it’s a more whimsical celebration, have a little fun with it.
Use well-known events for engagement and promotion.
Your fans might also
appreciate knowing when they can get a good deal, like $1 hotdogs on National
Hot Dog Day at Sonic. Find ways to add value to every post to spark engagement.
#22: Share Valuable Curated Content
Your audience knows
when you’re promoting your business, and if you do it too much, they’ll start
losing interest. To mix it up a bit, source high-value content relevant to
their interests. Be a helpful resource for your fans.
Share valuable content from authoritative, trusted sources.
Use a tool like Quuu to curate content for specific
audiences. It’s free and pulls relevant hand-curated content. Alltop and BuzzSumo are also recommended for finding popular
content to share.
#23: Post a Quiz or Poll
While a survey can
generate more serious engagement, a quiz or poll can be a little more
lighthearted. Focus on current developments in your industry or topics
that are relevant to your audience. This type of interactive content
can drive substantial engagement, especially if it generates personalized
results that can easily be shared.
A free tool like Qzzr makes
it easy to create customized, engaging quizzes that you can post anywhere,
including Facebook.
Share quizzes on relevant topics on your Facebook page.
#24: Rethink Hashtag Use
BuzzSumo analyzed over 1 billion Facebook posts
and discovered that posts without hashtags get more engagement than posts with
hashtags.
While you should use
hashtags for trending topics to boost visibility, use
hashtags sparingly (or not at all) in all of your other types of posts.
Don’t make the mistake of using multiple hashtags in the hopes of increasing
your content’s visibility.
#25: Use Audience Targeting for Organic Posts
You can target
a custom audience for your Facebook posts just like you target a
specific audience with your ads.
Like ads, segmentation
can potentially limit your reach, but the upside is your content is more likely
to be seen by the people you want to get it in front of. It also costs nothing
to set up a custom audience for your organic posts.
Put
your posts in front of the perfect audience.
If this option isn’t
enabled on your page, here’s how to turn it on. Go to your page and click
the Settings tab. Under General Settings, you’ll find Audience
Optimization for Posts. Click Edit and make sure
this feature is turned on. This custom audience option will now be
available whenever you post a status update to your page.
Turn on Audience Optimization for Posts.
#26: Host Contests and Giveaways
Not many types of
posts can garner as much attention as a giveaway or sweepstakes. The greater
the value and relevance of the reward, the greater the engagement and potential
reach. The best part about giveaways is they could potentially cost very
little.
Give away your own
product or even a decent third-party prize, and your costs are limited. You’re only paying out of pocket
for the cost of the prize, fulfillment, and whatever service you use to host
the promotion.
Everyone loves free stuff and contests bring people out of the
woodwork.