Nine Best Practices to Maximize Your Facebook Interaction
Facebook is constantly making changes to its layout, newsfeed, and timeline – it’s enough to make your head spin! That being said, working with Facebook is something we’ve been at for a fair while now, and while the frequent changes can be intimidating, there are definitely some tried-and-true best practices that we can impart to boost your Page’s engagement and increase post interaction.
Here are nine key points that we’ve found to be helpful over the years:
Short updates are more effective: And we mean really short! We’ve found that posts with 80 characters or less will consistently receive more engagement than longer ones, so choose your words wisely!
Pictures drive interaction: Posts accompanied by photos regularly stir up more engagement than posts without them. Images make your posts bright and colourful, so don’t be afraid to use them.
If you call them to action, they will come: Looking to increase your engagement? Just ask! Posts that included a call to action such as requesting users to like, comment, or share generally saw a higher rate of interaction than those that did not.
Post at times that make sense for your business: Is your Page representing a retail shop? Be sure to post consistently while you’re open, particularly during peak periods. If you host a Page for a breakfast diner, sharing posts at 8PM won’t be much of a help to anyone. Make use of Facebook’s post-scheduling tools here – that way, you can have posts going out to your Page without stepping away from your business while it’s at its busiest!
Don’t over-post: Once or twice per day is a good rate to start at – any more frequently, and you’ll find that your great content risks being lost in the deluge. There is an exception to this, however: if your Facebook audience is large enough – say, with a following of over 10,000 – you can start to post a little more frequently without worrying about your engagement dropping. Even with a large following, however, moderation is still key!
Ask questions: Create dialogue by asking questions at the end of your posts, and encouraging replies via comments.
Use a ? to liven things up: Don’t be afraid to use emoticons! Your Page should be fun and engaging, and emoticons are great tools to bring a sense of playfulness to your posts.
Share how you’re feeling: On the topic of emoticons, you can also liven up your posts by making use of Facebook’s “how you’re feeling” options. Just click the little smiley face on the bottom-left hand of the window you’re writing your post in, and you can choose to attach one of a large variety of feelings or updates to your post. Little details like this will bring lots of personality – and consequently, engagement – to your posts!
Keep things light: Your Facebook Page is meant to draw people towards your brand and create a space to interact with potential new clients or customers. Keep the vibe fun and light, and you’ll start to see that engagement in no time!
Click here to receive a handy “Facebook Wall Posts Cheat Sheet” and a fully-downloadable report!
Do you have any great tips that have increased engagement on your Facebook Page? Share them with us by leaving a comment!
