If you think hard about it, probably every business you know of has a Facebook page. Any company would be foolish nowadays not to have some sort of social media presence. With over 1.2 billion users (as of March 2014), it seems like a safe bet for a business to utilise Facebook to attract and engage consumers. However, many businesses are failing in their attempts to generate customer engagement through Facebook. Why? They are simply doing it wrong. Increasing Facebook engagement is easier than you might believe, as long as you follow a few rules.
Time it Right
Well-timed posts are everything. If you’re a massive worldwide organisation, you have followers hailing from all over the globe. Because of this, it may not matter as much what times your posts appear on Facebook. But for companies on a somewhat smaller scale, timing is very important. Studies have shown that the optimal time to post on social media is on a weekday around 5-6 pm. This is the approximate hour at which most people are in transit, generally finishing up their workday, or possibly sitting down to a meal. Most Facebook users tend to interact with the site around those times, and your post is likely to get a lot of traffic and attention. If you post in the middle of the night, or early morning on a weekend, your post will only get seen by a fraction of the users you’re hoping to reach. As more posts fill up users’ new feeds, your post falls further and further to the wayside. Post at the right times to maximise your influence.
Request a Response
People love to give their opinions. Surprise! You should capitalise on this trait by asking directly for users to answer questions or provide a response. This can be done in a variety of ways, and the questions you can ask about your product/service are truly endless. Simple questions are always preferable, making it easy for the customers to respond. If you’re selling clothing, for example, why not share a photo of two different outfits, and ask Facebook users which outfit they like better? You’re likely to receive a litany of responses as consumers will be anxious to share and defend their preference. You can be very creative with these questions, providing fill in the blank type statements, asking Yes or No questions, or soliciting customers for a favourite item or a special story to share. If one things for sure, people love to talk and share their views!
Give Something Away!
As much as humans love to talk, we love to win things more! A contest may be one of the most foolproof ways to increase engagement on Facebook. You can set up your contests to require entrants to “Like” your company page, which helps bring in more overall likes. Contests that involve number of fan “Likes” or depend on sharing a photo or post can also spread the word exponentially. Make sure your contest is fair and worthwhile, and you’ll be gaining followers by the hundreds.
Be Direct
Don’t leave your Facebook followers hanging. When you share something, be direct about how they can get engaged. Often, a post can include a statement as simple as “Like if You Agree”. Photos of a beautiful location or exciting event may come with a tagline which states “Like if you’d rather be here.” A “Like” is SUCH a simple thing for a Facebook user to do; it only takes one click and a second of his or her time. It’s very important to include a call-to-action with your posts, as otherwise they may be more easily overlooked. Posts that have gone viral on Facebook tend to continue to grow. There is something of a mob mentality when it comes to popular posts–everyone wants to be a part of something big. Create the right content with your posts, and you could be the next viral share.
Choose a Photo
In nearly every post you place on Facebook, you are going to want to share a photo. When it is so easy, there is really no reason not to, and statistics from multiple sources validate the idea that posts with photos are 100 times more likely to be noticed, “Liked”, and shared. Images sell. You won’t always be sharing photos of your products/services, but rather, be inventive with your posts. You can combine a clever or attractive photo with many of the ideas listed above, including a call-to-action or a guiding question for your followers.
Be bold and creative with your photo and posting choices, and in no time you’ll be attracting active, engaged users in droves.
