Posted in: Applications for FacebookLast update: 11/07/19
Facebook engagement is changing – and promoted posts are increasingly important. But the social network isn’t only a pay-to-play service (at least, not yet). Try these tips to maintain healthy, organic engagement, and support your Facebook Page promotions with a core audience of true fans.
There’s no way around it: organic engagement on Facebook has tanked over the past couple of years. And for some brands, it seems like the only way to gain traction is through paid, promoted posts.
But this doesn’t mean the end of organic reach on Facebook. Instead, it’s time to recognize a change in strategy.
Your posting strategy on Facebook comes down to two methods:
- promoted posts for reach
- organic posts for community engagement
Remember, you might not get the reach that you can achieve with promoted posts. But you can create a genuine relationship with your core audience of dedicated followers and customers. And that relationship will support your Facebook Page promotions when you start trying to expand your reach. What’s more, when you know how to engage people organically, your promoted posts will benefit too.
In this post, we’ll take a look at how to build an active grassroots community around your Facebook Page for business.
#1 Share interactive posts
First things first – and this is going to seem like an obvious point.
If you want your followers to interact, then create interactive posts.
Sounds simple, right? But it’s surprising how many brands post without thinking of their audience.
If you want to encourage more natural responses to your posts, try these ideas:
- Ask your followers a question
- Invite them to pick a favorite photo or product
- Run a quick poll to hear people’s opinions
- Share updates from behind the scenes at your business
#2 Get to know your audience
If you understand your followers, then it will be easier to post content that they love.
There are a few different aspects to think about here. Let’s start with demographics, posting times, and audience interests.
The biggest demographic group on Facebook is young men between 25 and 34 years old, according to Sprout Social. But that’s still only 19% of all users on the platform! Your specific audience will probably look very different, based on your brand’s products and style.
There are some times and dates when organic engagement on Facebook seems to be higher. For example, research from Invesp suggests that new posts on Thursday and Friday perform better than on other days of the week.
Just remember that those peak posting times will also be affected by your specific audience! So, for example, if you’re marketing to teenagers, then posting at 7 a.m. on a Saturday probably isn’t the best choice. 😴
Click here for more tips on the best time to post your Facebook page promotion.
#3 Create share-worthy content
Our next tip is kind of linked to creating interactive content. If you want to expand organic reach on Facebook, your posts should be more than interactive… They should be worthy of sharing by your followers.
But what exactly does that look like? Here are a few pointers:
- Images. Posts with photos attached are much more effective than plain text posts. Use eye-catching images without too much text in the design.
- Videos. Video is getting more popular on Facebook, whether it’s in a Story, as part of a status update, or a long video posted in Facebook Watch. Make sure your video content works with and without sound, as many people will watch on their mobile phones with the sound muted.
- Text. Keep it short and snappy, with emoji to brighten things up. Feel free to be witty – just make sure you’re still speaking with your authentic brand voice.
- Content. Whether it’s written or visual, your Facebook content should always be interesting. Share trivia about your industry and company, real-life stories from customers, and unmissable offers.
- Followers. Want to guarantee that your content is share-worthy? Post content that your followers have already approved! Try collecting comments and photos from your audience to re-post as user-generated content.
Ready to reach more people? Click here to learn how to set up Facebook Ads for your first Facebook Page promotion.
#4 Run contests to boost interest
What if you want the authenticity of organic engagement on Facebook, with the increased reach of promoted posts?
There is a middle ground – and it’s less expensive than promoted posts, too. Try incentivizing engagement by running a giveaway from your Facebook page.
You can organize a grand prize draw for followers who comment on your posts, or give out special offers to everyone who signs up. Pick a reward that your audience will value, and enjoy the bump in comments and shares.
Get a head start with Facebook giveaways! Click here to see our full library of free social media templates for a Facebook sweepstakes.
#5 Respond to comments and messages
The reasons giveaways work – as recommended above – is because they give back to your audience. And if you really want to improve organic engagement on Facebook, then your relationship with followers has to be a two-way street.
There are lots of small ways to show your audience that you appreciate them, even without organizing contests and prize draws.
For starters, make sure you respond to every comment and message on your posts and Facebook Page promotions. Set up notifications, or if you use a CRM like Zendesk, integrate your account with Facebook so that messages from your followers create automatic support tickets.
What’s more, if you get on board with Messenger now, you’ll be way ahead of the pack. Hootsuite tells us that only 31% of brands use Facebook Messenger for marketing – which means it’s less saturated than other channels on the social network.
#6 Post intriguing Story updates
We’ve already mentioned the power of video content. But Stories are set to get even bigger. Facebook is giving them more and more space in the Newsfeed, as well as exploring new ad tools.
So why are Stories good for engaging followers? Well, they’re an easy way to share regular updates – they don’t have to be as polished as standard posts or long-form video.
You can share a real variety of content, from unboxing new products to wandering around behind the scenes at your HQ. Be creative with the Stories you share, and keep a close eye on what your followers respond to best.
Corinna Keefe
Content marketer at EasypromosPublication date: 2018-02-20