Are you struggling to connect with your Facebook followers? Deflated by anemic engagement metrics?

Say no more. As long as they’re implemented consistently and enthusiastically, these six tips will improve engagement with your Facebook ecosystem – without breaking your marketing budget.

1. Ask Lots of Questions

Never pass up the opportunity to pose questions to your followers.

These questions can be earnest, rhetorical, or something else. What matters more than their intent is their implicit or explicit acknowledgement that your followers’ opinions matter to you – that, in responding to your queries, your followers have the power (at least in theory) to influence your organization’s behavior.

Performative? Perhaps. But powerful nonetheless.

2. Post More Media Than You Think You Should

When in doubt, post pics and videos. Seriously. It’s true that Facebook’s much-ballyhooed “pivot to video” was an unmitigated disaster for media brands that went all-in on that strategy, and that Facebook has dramatically reworked its engagement algorithms in the wake of successful information-sharing scandals.

Nevertheless, publishing multimedia to your Facebook account is the surest way to get it in front of a wide audience – and to boost your organization’s credibility in the process. The Facebook profile for the Center for Arts & Technology illustrates the brand-burnishing power of a lively photo collection

3. Share User-Generated Content Wherever Possible

Don’t stop at idle questions. Share user-generated content that you believe deserves exposure. If your account is thin on user-generated submissions, consider running a contest to drive engagement, or simply put out a call – plenty of followers crave nothing more than exposure, after all.

4. Keep Posts Short and to the Point

Long-winded Facebook posts do little good. Most readers don’t bother scrolling below the fold, so you’ll want to make sure your posts don’t have one (if you can avoid it). If whatever you plan to say requires more than a few snappy lines of text, publish a synopsis (or copy-paste the opening paragraph) and link out to the full text on your organization’s blog, Medium page, or LinkedIn profile.

5. Know When to Post (And How Often)

Although it’s probably not decisive, one factor that may be contributing to your engagement woes is timing. Buffer compiled this handy, research-based guide to the best times to post on Facebook. As you can see, there’s no perfect time to post to Facebook, but the general consensus is that afternoon posts tend to do better, especially later in the week.

You’ll need to post more than every Thursday and Friday at 2 p.m., to be sure. But it may help to orient your Facebook posting schedule around popular times for engagement.

6. Learn From Your Most Popular Pieces of Facebook Content

Last, but not least, emulate what’s working, no matter how surprising or counterintuitive it might seem. Use Facebook’s analytics suite and any data you’re able to cull elsewhere (including user feedback) to create more of the same.

You’re Talking. Is Anyone Listening?

Like all social media platforms, Facebook can be quite one-sided. The mere fact that you’re trying to talk to your audience has no bearing on whether your audience actually heed what you have to say. These strategies will help boost engagement with your Facebook content, but don’t expect overnight success; for better or worse, your competitors are trying to talk over you.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *