If you have a business page on Facebook then you probably have noticed a decline in your organic reach and that’s due to the change in the news feed algorithm. According the an article in Ad Age posted in December 2013, Facebook said “We expect organic distribution of an individual page’s posts to gradually decline over time as we continually work to make sure people have a meaningful experience on the site.”
What does this mean to the average small business owner or brand? The short answer is now you need to pay to play. As online marketers we have been on a free ride for a number of years now where we have had to spend little in advertising to get in front of buyers, so we shouldn’t be so shocked that this is coming to an end.
Three things to keep in mind when engaging on Facebook
Besides advertising we should always be creating consistent engagement with our audience if we expect them to stick around and listen to what we have to say. Here are a few tips:
1.) Be consistent with your posts – Facebook does keep track of the pages that people interact with and those interactions will help you get shown in the news feed more often. This includes photo views, Facebook recommends uploading images that are 1200×1200. You can use a tool like Pic Monkey or other editing software to size your images accordingly. I recently read that Facebook considers images that fit their dimensions: high quality content, which means you’ll be given more visibility.
2.) Mix up the content you post – by posting text, images, links to articles, and video you are likely to receive different results in clicks, share and comments to a post. You create a balance in engagement with different types of content and high quality content is determined by clicks and comments according to Facebook.
3.) Post content that gets people talking – yes as in conversation! – People are mostly lazy on social media, it’s easier to click on the “Like” button than it is to actually write a comment. You can elicit more comments when you ask questions and that is relevant to what your audience wants to talk about. I find that the more I comment and ask for comment back it is more likely to happen. I also find that the more I engage with others, they tend to reciprocate.
Remember why people came to your page in the first place and continue to offer them relevant content, that’s what will keep them coming back.
>>>>Have you made a visit to the Marketing Dish Facebook page yet? Ask me your #1 marketing challenge and I guarantee to reply to you personally! – JoAnne
Click Facebook Page
