4 Keys to Higher Facebook Post Engagement
Facebook is an invaluable tool when it comes to online marketing. As of 2016, it is home to almost 1.8 billion users across the globe. The odds are beyond good that your target market is a part of the vast Facebook community, and they are simply waiting for you to make yourself visible in their feeds. Once you do, you have a world of opportunities for lead generation and, hopefully, sales.
But how can you make posts that will grab the attention of the demographic you desire? What makes an engaging, successful Facebook post that leads to more comments, likes, shares, and referrals? Through trial and error, we’ve found four keys that tend to increase engagement. Using this keys to their fullest extent will help immensely in the effort to stand out from the crowd and attract your audience to your website.
- A Picture Says a Thousand Words
For centuries, mankind has been fascinated with the world around them. More specifically, capturing it through art and, later on, photography. And when the digital camera came into existence, the ease of taking and sharing photos skyrocketed. People are still as interested as ever in photography and love to see photos as they scroll through their feed.
That’s why it’s time you start implementing photos into your Facebook posts. Adding a picture, even a simple one, can generate up to 120% more involvement in your post from readers. Adding an interactive entire photo album, that urges followers to click through all the pictures, can add up to an extra 60% increase in involvement, equaling 180%. That’s a lot of interaction that will get you seen more and your message shared with a wider circle of potential customers.
- Audience Participation Makes a Difference
Everyone enjoys feeling like they are part of the action. Simply telling them something or offering them a deal may not be enough. You should sometimes write posts that are simply for fun and allow for a little audience participation. It can increase post involvement by up to 90%, which is nothing to scoff at. One fun post every week or two can really make a difference. Here are a few ideas for an interactive post that takes little to no time to write up:
- “If I won the lottery I would ______.”
- “Tell us about a cringe worthy experience you’ve had at the DMV before.”
- “Tell us how you feel about Christmas shopping using three emojis!”
- “Like for chocolate, comment for vanilla.”
As you can see, the possibilities are endless! Let loose and get creative. If you plan on writing posts like these throughout the year, be sure to mix it up and get it interesting.
- Be Short and Sweet and to the Point
What users liked most about Twitter was the simplicity of it all. You only had 140 characters to get your point across and do it quickly. What really caused such a downfall to the popular social platform was that people abused this layout and started writing post after post to, in essence, write a full length post. It causes an overabundance of posts that confuses and clogs the feed.
What we can learn from this is that users enjoy a concise, to the point post. The fewer the words the better is a good method to stick to. Some experts recommend posts that contain 100 to 250 words have the most impact, get shared the most, and generate more engagement. 60% more engagement to be precise. Writing a short post may be harder than you think. Trying to squeeze a message into fewer words can be challenging for many, but it will pay off in the long run.
- No One Likes a Shortened Link
This may be a bit of a shocker to many. There are various websites and tools you can use to create a shortened link, a smaller version of a sometimes very long link to an article, deal, or website. You’d think this may improve the tidiness of an article or make it easier to read, but some experts say otherwise.
BuddyMedia says links that are the full link, not a shortened version, receive up to three times more clicks. Though the exact reasoning is unknown, it may be a safety precaution. Seeing exactly where you’re being directed to provides some ease of mind in a world where computer viruses are a serious, and costly, problem.
As you can see, there is countless research into what makes a successful Facebook tick and how to duplicate it. A properly written and composed post can open the door for more clicks, more shares, more referrals, more interaction, and more revenue. So why not give it a try? None of the tips above will cost you a penny, so post away.