Facebook has notoriously turned the screws on business pages using its platform; continually squeezing out organic reach for all but the most algorithm-busting content. So how do you manage to keep engagement high on your content without boosting each post with hard-earned cash?
Why you’re getting ZERO engagement on Facebook
Just because your brand’s Facebook page has thousands of fans, doesn’t mean its posts will be seen by all of them. In fact, most posts will only be shown to a fraction of that audience (yes, the people that already like your page).
As for generating likes, comments, shares or link-clicks – that’s another story.
But don’t worry – you are not alone. Even brands with hundreds of thousands of page likes are sharing good content that only a handful of their audience engages with.
Before we get stuck into potential fixes, why is this the case?
Facebook has become a behemoth in the internet world. Not only does it maintain incredible usage stats but the information it gleans from users (legally, we are assured) is super powerful for savvy marketers.
In order for Facebook to keep its users coming back for more, it has to keep their experience valuable and authentic. Ultimately, this means limiting the amount of content shown to users from brands trying to sell to them. Facebook has openly admitted to disfavouring business content in its recent algorithm updates.
Furthermore, because Facebook delivers a lot of value to brands seeking out members of their target audience, it knows it can charge them for the privilege. It’s this logic that explains why even pages with an army of followers still struggle to make an impact – Facebook wants them to pay for it.
Despite all this, you can still improve the number of engagements your content receives. Here’s how.
How to generate more Facebook post engagement
Increase your page likes
By increasing the number of people who like your page, you will achieve more engagements (after all, 2% engagement from 1000 fans is a lot more than 2% from 100!). This is particularly the case amongst more recent ‘likers’ because Facebook will likely deem your page more relevant to them in the short term and prioritise your content to them.
Create engagement-worthy content
Easier said than done, but this is probably the most important one to get right. Imagine being a member of your audience – what would they be compelled to do after seeing this post? Would they stop scrolling to take a look?
Simple public service announcement-style posts about your brand don’t tend to capture the imagination. Videos, memes, giveaways etc. are far more likely to generate reactions and comments.
Always start with high-quality images and videos. Stick to bright, eye-catching subject matter and avoid stock images, if possible. Adding personality and humour to posts is always advisable if your brand can pull it off!
Focus on quality over quantity
With number 2 in mind, concentrate on delivering fewer high-quality posts than dozens of thin posts each week. Posts that fail to generate engagement are likely to signal to Facebook that your content is less interesting, in general, than other brands’. On the flip side, if every piece of content shared generates huge levels of engagement, Facebook is likely to provide an algorithmic boost.
Seed your content with friends
Created some great content? Don’t assume it’s going to fly without some helping hands. Ask some of your friends or colleagues to like or share a post. This has two benefits. The first being a great algorithmic boost from the strong signals that Facebook receives from these engagements.
The second is that posts with more engagements become more appealing to people. Few people want to be the first person to like or comment on something, especially content shared from a business page.
This is particularly recommended for competition-style posts where comments are encouraged. Having one or two people comment to effectively demonstrate what fans are meant to do gets the ball rolling.
Create superfans
Superfans are your page’s best friend. Superfans are people who are in your core audience that want to champion your brand. It might be that they know you or were one of your first customers. Maybe they just really believe in what you’re trying to achieve with your business. Either way, having a small group of superfans that like and share your posts, tag their friends in comments and generally love everything you do is very useful indeed.
Superfans become so in many ways. People in your own network are usually the best place to start but you can recruit from other areas.
Personal messages of thanks or freebies in someone’s first order have the potential to makes someone a superfan. This is a popular tactic of modern social media-aware brands who often have some element of social enterprise or charity to their brands to make them more human.
Boosting content
There will be times that you will need to use media spend to boost the reach of key posts. Don’t feel like you’ve lost the battle with Mr. Zuckerberg – ultimately, he can help you reach audiences you’d never have otherwise been able to.
When boosting posts, choose the audience wisely and closely monitor the results so you can keep improving them. Follow all of the above protocols when it comes to creating great content – the better the post the better the results.
Work in progress
Making some small improvements to your Facebook game is likely to have compound benefits to the level of engagement your posts receive. The above five tips will all contribute to your goal of achieving better results. There is no silver bullet when it comes to organic Facebook marketing – you need to work on creating great content and building your page from the ground up.
Head of Social
