It’s not getting any easier to get more reach and engagement on Facebook!
And as a business owner wanting desperately to reach your ideal customers in this platform, you’re probably feeling like a lot of others, FRUSTRATED!
But don’t lose hope because this is still an incredibly relevant platform with billions of users and views! And your average Facebook user is still spending almost an hour on Facebook everyday.
So I put together my top tips for getting your content in front of those people so you can continue to grow your business and your brand!
1. Create More Video!
Here’s the reality… experts are predicting that by 2020, 70% of all content viewed online will be in the form of video. Look around at all the platforms up’ing their video game. Time for you to join in! There are tons of apps to help you create great looking produced videos, but don’t forget that you should be leveraging Facebook’s favorite video platform, Facebook Live! They are still giving more attention to live streams, which means you need to incorporate that into your marketing strategy. Facebook stories is another excellent way to get video clips in front of your followers. As a matter of fact, Facebook recently announced that people are trending toward watching more stories content than news feed content (hint hint!)
2. Optimize Your Facebook Profile!
There are a few simple things you can do to let Facebook know that you are serious about marketing your business page. First, jump into your settings and get your page verified. The process is simple and will only take a few minutes of your time. Facebook will call you with a verification code, you type it in and BOOM, you have a verified business check mark next to your user name. Facebook says this will give you more credibility, create a most trustworthy brand and they’ll even give you a little more reach! Then go into your about section and make sure you have completed every section of your profile possible. All this information can be used to recommend your page and grow your audience. So don’t leave anything blank! And finally, look through your profile and make sure you’ve filled out everything you can to make it look great! Set up that Call to Action Button and complete your Our Story section.
3. Advertise!
Yes it’s going to cost you a little money, but you can start as small as you want and increase it as you get better at creating ads. But I’ll warn you know, no advertising will likely mean no new followers or reach. It’s a very crowded platform and Facebook isn’t giving a whole lot of love to business pages anymore. It’s their platform, their game, so we’ve just go to play it! Learn to use Ad Manager (not just boosting posts please!) and invest a little into your brand!
4. Post to Instagram First!
I don’t know why, but we seem to get better engagement on Facebook when we originate our content on Instagram and send it over. I have no explanations, nothing to really back that up. But I can tell you it’s working for us! And at the same time we’re growing our Instagram following increasing our engagement in that platform (which Facebook owns in case you didn’t know.)
5. Add More Photos of YOU!
I know, I know… no one loves posting pictures of themselves. But guess what? This isn’t just about you. This is about building relationships with your next customer and they want to get to know YOU, your staff, your other happy clients, your pets and that hot mess of an office/desk that your working from. Sounds silly right? It really doesn’t matter because it works and you’ve got to be doing it to stay relevant and capture the attention of your desired audience.
At the end of the day, increasing engagement is all about creating great content that stands out and makes people take notice in their news feed or stories. With all the noise going on in Facebook, mediocre isn’t going to cut it anymore. You’ve got to spend the time creating a strategy that works (selfless promo – get your FREE social media strategy guide here) and you’ve got to be creative and consistent! If you are looking for inspiration, motivation and the latest in tips, techniques, tools and digital marketing trends, I’d like to invite you to join me in our FREE private Facebook Group, Bobbi B’s Social Media Clambake. I’m throwing that stuff out there every single day just to help you out!
Bobbi Baehne
President, Think Big Go Local, Inc.
My mission at Think Big Go Local is to create a “buzz” around our client’s businesses online and in social media platforms so their message reaches their desired audience. We know that relationships are built and maintained online each and every day and work to make sure our clients are building credibility, authority and attracting new followers and clients . We don’t work in a cookie cutter environment, each of our clients is unique and their accounts are fully managed using their voice, talking to their specific audience and sharing value that keeps them coming back.