Your ideal client and customer is on Facebook – that is true for most businesses. Yes, your fans and non-fans, they are already spending time on Facebook. They use it for personal reasons. They spend time following what their real life friends and family are up to, clicking on ads, engaging in groups and following business they buy from. And if you capture their attention, these people can be a big help spread the word about your brand.
You just have to get their attention which is easier said than done – and getting even harder by the minute.
With the way the Facebook algorithm works, people are only seeing updates if they have previously engaged with you or your content. That means as a business owner, you are left with only two choices. You can either pay to play – run ads on Facebook or boost your posts, or you can publish the type of content that naturally get people talking, liking and sharing.
In this post we are looking at ways you can organically grow your Facebook likes and engagement. Let’s dive in.
Be human
#1 Quotes
Quotes are one of the easiest way to get a like or share on Facebook. A quote says something about you. It speaks about your values, opinions and outlook on life. It gets pay to put their hand up and elicit this ‘I feel the same way’ response.
Picture quotes (quotes overlayed on an image) work even better. It is very hard to not engage with a quote. Just try and not click the like button next time you see an inspiring quote in your feed, or a quote that is your all-time favorite.
#2 Images
When you are scrolling through your Facebook feed, what normally stops you and catches your attention? A photo. Facebook gives them a lot of space so they are big, colorful and eye catching when they appear in your feed. Any business would be a fool not to use images on their page.
A picture is indeed worth a thousand words – or a thousand likes on Facebook. But make sure you have a strategy behind the images you choose. Try including familiar images that people begin to associate with your brand. Be sure to add your brand identifier such as a logo or a shortened link to the text so people can follow it your page.
Hard pressed to find relevant, interesting photos that haven’t been done to death in your industry? Try creating your own visuals using Canva or Pic Monkey. Or simply ask someone to do it for you. Your unique images will also help you stand out from the crowd.
Be funny
#3 Jokes and Comic strips
You are not a humorous brand? No worries. But you do laugh at jokes other tell? Well, you can spread a little cheer yourself.
Funny pictures, comics and humorous one-liners are highly shareable content. You don’t have to post this all the time but every now and then if you bring a smile to a fan, you deepen your relationship with them. Plus, they share it with their friends and bring you new fans and increase your reach.
Just post a picture of a cute kid or kitten with a funny caption and see what happens.
Ask your audience
#4 Questions and polls
Asking your audience question is one of the easiest ways to get engagement. However, if you just started your page or don’t have too many likes, it will be difficult for you to get interaction this way. It is preferable to build some useful content first and get people in the habit of expecting actionable content from you before you try to ask questions.
You can ask your audience any question you want so long it relates to your brand. You can ask multiple choice questions and make it really easy for them to answer or you can ask open ended questions to start great discussions.
Try posing a question at the start of a standard update where you simply link to your latest blog post.
#5 Fill in the blanks and captions
Fill in the banks are great for creativity sparks flying. These are often fun and don’t require people to think too hard. You can ask people to describe in one word and choose something that will appeal to your target audience. Here are some examples:
- My biggest pet peeve about (your topic) is ____________________.
- (Your topic) reminds me of ________________________________.
- Tell us in one word. Today I am most grateful for _______________.
- My most favorite ice cream flavor is________________________.
- When my child is not eating, I ______________________________.
- If I had the biggest marketing budget, I would __________________.
A slightly different way to engage people is to post a photo and ask people to caption it. The aim is also bring a bit of fun into people’s lives and of course engage with your content.
The trick is to choose the right photo – something interesting that would make people want to say something. You can use funny pictures of animals or small children, or spell bounding landscapes or pictures of people ‘Humans of New York’ style.
The status update is 90% visual and 10% text and it works great for short videos as well.
#6 Remember when?
Nostalgia is great fodder for engagement. Ask people a question about something that takes them back in time and brings up fond memories.
- “Remember the days of Hammer pants? Do you want them back?”
- “Name the first favorite 80s song that comes to mind.”
- “Remember when you stepped out of the house with no means to stay in touch with others?”
You can ask anything. You can refer to anything that will invoke memories and emotions. This is a fantastic way to get likes and shares on your page.
#7 Crowd source the answer
Somebody ask you a tough question? Do you face an issue you have trouble solving? Ask your audience for help. Here are some examples to get you going:
- I want to start juicing, can you recommend the best site for beginners?
- A reader wants to find an affordable accommodation in a particular city – can you help?
- Most people today are overwhelmed with social media. What is your best tip to avoid it?
Not only do you get tons of engagement, you give shout outs to your fans and most loyal followers (often the most loyal ones ask questions, don’t they?).
Be useful
#8 Takeaway from a blog post
Instead of just linking to your latest blog post, you can lead with the main takeaway of the article. Start with the a-ha moment or the big insight and then give the link. People would be more inclined to click on the link. By the same token, you can ask a question that you then answer in the blog post. It makes your regular, ‘boring’ updates more interesting.
#9 Theme or event based content
Pay attention to what is happening around you. If there is a major holiday coming up, chances are your fans are going to a part of it. Football final or finale of the hottest show on TV? You bet your fans are keen.
Post some content specifically created for a particular theme, holiday or a sporting event. Find and share timely content and you will see your engagement skyrocket.
#10 Top Tips
Tips are great because they are short, to the point and highly actionable.
Your readers are sure to devour them if you post highly relevant, super useful tips. You can pair them with an attention grabbing image or create one specifically using Pic Monkey or Canva but they are also fine as text-based updates.
Tips that are highly practical in nature and can be implemented in a short amount of time work really well.
#11 Little known ways to do something
You can post short status updates of a few sentences showing people new ways to do something or solve a problem.
The most interesting thing about this update is the tip doesn’t have to be ground-breaking or earth shattering so don’t spend hours racking your brain to come up with something. As long it is helpful it is fine.
There will always be people who weren’t aware of it and there will be some who knew about it and still engage with your posts saying things like ‘I already knew that’. All’s good. Here are some examples:
- One little known way to extend the life of your fragrance – store it in your fridge.
- One little known way to increase your email open rate – resend to those who didn’t open them the first time.
#12 Most popular content
Every blog should have some evergreen content published. Firstly, it is great for search engine rankings and will bring you a steady stream of traffic. Secondly, first time visitors to your site are greatly interested in discovering your foundational content and start on the right foot.
On Facebook, you can post your evergreen or most popular content multiple times. You can schedule it so it goes on automatically. Remember, not everybody has seen all your social media updates. It’s wise to repeat this content but make sure you change the format. One time, it can be an image post, the other time it can be a provocative questions linking to the link. This type pf content is fantastic for priming your new audience.
#13 Book recommendations
Don’t forget book recommendations.
What’s the latest book you have read that you can’t stop raving about? Do an image post or ask your audience if they have read it and if so, what their thoughts are.
This type of post can be purely personal where you share any kind of book – fiction, classic or any other topic, or it can be strategic where you highlight something that your future clients or customers are bound to found useful and will thank you for.
Be a business
#14 Promotional posts
I know I said earlier to put up pictures of cute kittens and babies but don’t go overboard. Remember, you are a business after all.
It is perfectly fine to post status updates of promotional kind. You can announce upcoming products, share posts where you take readers behind the scenes or promote discounts. Just make sure that you maintain a ratio of 80% (personal and educational) to 20% (promotional), unless you are a pure eCommerce website and people only like your page to hear about the deals and discounts. Even then you will benefit from posts where you are just connecting with your audience.
#15 Contests
Have you run a contest on Facebook? If not, try it and you might be surprised.
Contests are great because everybody wants to win and because of their inherent ‘fun’ nature. People enter the contest and will often check back your page to see if they have fun. They will also share it if you award extra points for sharing and not ‘minimize’ their own chances of success. You can create different types of contest from sweepstakes to more complex ones (there are apps available to do this so don’t stress about the techy part.)
Remember to choose prizes that will appeal to your target market. If you decide to give an iPad or iPhone, you might get hundreds or even thousands of entries but are these people ultimately valuable to you?
#16 Features and mentions
Have you gotten any amazing press lately? Did you make it on Oprah? Did you have a picture taken with an influencer in your industry?
Go ahead and flaunt it. You have earned the right to do so and if you have been doing everything right, you will see your audience celebrate your wins as if they are their own.
#17 Client success story or employee shout outs
Don’t forget to highlight your best clients and customers. Have they gotten great results using your product or service? Did you receive a fantastic testimonial that made you jump with joy?
Your Facebook book page is a really good place to bring some attention to these well-deserving folks. Take pictures of your employees receiving an award, dealing with others and simply doing their job. Talk about their hobbies or unique passions so your fans and followers can relate to you and your business even more.
#18 Update Your About Page
An incomplete or out-of-date About page can leave prospective and even existing fans with the impression that something’s not quite right. When that happens, their engagement will begin to drop.
Revisit your About page often to make any needed changes like adding a new email address, product updates or a life event.
#19 Vary Where You Spend Your Time Online
Sometimes the best-laid plans will go astray. The most important thing is to remain flexible about where you spend your time online and create strong, active presences on social networks where your customers and prospects hang out.
You may have a personal connection to Twitter or Pinterest, but your customers may be more inclined to spend time on Facebook. It’s a good idea to vary where you spend your time to see what combination receives the highest level of engagement.
#20 Widen Your Reach With Scheduled Weekend Posts
If your target audience is online during their free time on weekends and you’re not posting, you’re missing out on engagement.
Schedule posts to publish over the weekend and be prepared to answer any questions that arise come first thing Monday morning. Better yet, find someone who can keep an eye on the activity over the weekend and respond as needed.
These are just a few ways you can tweak your content and change your delivery to create stronger engagement with your fans on Facebook. Check them out and try a few. See which ones spark your fans’ interest and add them to your strategy.
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Source:
blog.getresponse.com
socialmediaexaminer.com
