If you are a business owner or someone who has a Facebook business page, this post is for you. And it starts with a bit of bad news. First, if you post something on your Facebook page, there’s a good chance that very few people are going to see that. The reason is that the FB algorithm is designed to depress your posts because they want you to pay for ads. If you aren’t paying for ads, how do you get your content in front of the right people? There are several ways to increase engagement on facebook posts and get your posts in front of people, so let’s drive in.
Post Timing
Believe it or not, there is a science to the best posting times and if you’ve been waiting for the weekend to post, then I have bad news for you. Stop doing that. Here are the optimal times to post to your Facebook page:
- MON: 9 AM – 12 PM
- TUE: 9 AM – 2 PM and 5 PM
- WED: 9 AM – 3 PM and 5 PM
- THU: 8 AM – 2 PM and 5 PM
- FRI: 9 AM – 11 AM
Now, these can change based on your target demographic, but this is a pretty good rule of thumb.
Think about this – when are people looking at their phones? Lunch time is a pretty obvious time, and those times in the list above almost all include lunch time. Post around 11:30 AM during the week to get more views on your post.
Post Frequency
Here’s the thing about posting, you are probably not doing it enough. You think, oh, I already posted once this week, I don’t want to be annoying with posts. But not that many people are going to see it. Facebook prioritizes fresh content. However, if you publish too much, Facebook can “punish” you by pushing down your content.
Posting on a Facebook page 2-5 times per week is the recommended number to get the most eyes on it.
Post Content
What you post on social media is important too, and I don’t just mean the message. Did you know that if you add a link to your post, it’s going to be “penalized” and get less views? That’s because Facebook doesn’t want people to leave their site, and if you share a link, they try to suppress it.
On the flip side, images get the most views.
So if you want to get the most eyeballs on your post, the idea would be to share text with an image that you upload, and not to include a link.
What if you need to add a link or reference? You absolutely can do this, but my suggestion is to add a note to the post that says “Link in the comments” and then add the link into the comments, rather than into the post itself.
Side note – the optimal image size for a Facebook post is 1200×638 pixels.
Engagement leads to more engagement
The more comments, likes, and shares your post gets, the more likely it is to get in front of other viewers. But how can you make people do those things? First, you need to have content that people want to engage with. Nobody cares what you had for lunch. Think critically about what your audience is looking for, and write out thought-provoking posts that hit on those points.
Additionally, don’t forget about adding in the CTA (call-to-action). If you don’t ask someone to engage, they probably won’t. Ask a question, seek feedback, and above all, respond to any engagement you get. If someone leaves a comment, at the very least, like it but whenever possible, respond to it with words.
Use Facebook Stories
A Facebook story is a collection of photos, videos, or animations that a user can share on Facebook and that disappear after 24 hours. Stories appear at the top of a user’s news feed on both the Facebook app and the web version, making them easy to see and click on. They are similar to Instagram and Snapchat stories.
Facebook stories get way more views than a regular post. I highly recommend that every post you make, you also share as a story. It’s pretty easy to do. Make your post and publish it, then click on the Share icon and one of those options is Your story. Easy peasy, just click that and you’re done, but keep in mind you have to include a photo or video for it to share to a story.
I also recommend incorporating video this way. Short, 30-60 second clips that you upload and share to your story. One of the things about text posting is that there’s no nuance or tone, but videos do. Record short videos of your thoughts and upload to your story and you’ll automatically get more interaction and increase engagement on facebook posts.
Share it
If you have a business or organization Facebook page, you probably have a personal Facebook profile. Share that post on your personal wall. Share it on Twitter. Share it on LinkedIn. If you can get it in front of more people, more people will see it and interact with it, and the more people interact with it, the more people interact with it, the more the algorithm will push it up.
Your friends and family can share too.
Be Funny
Guess what? People like to laugh. Have something funny to say? Say it! Got a blooper real? Share it!
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou
This is absolutely true, and it applies to laughter as well.
Does this mean you won’t ever have to pay for Facebook ads? No. Depending on who you are trying to reach, your time, your budget, you might also want to run Facebook ads. But you can’t post once in a while, without any strategy, and expect to get results. It takes time, planning, and strategy to increase engagement on Facebook pages and posts.
Don’t make it an after-thought.