How much time do you spend on your Facebook marketing efforts?
Are you stuck in a rut, posting the same types of updates over and over again, without even paying attention to audience engagement?
Do you find you’re only using Facebook to quickly share your latest blog posts, without adding much of a comment other than the title and maybe a few hashtags?
Or are you spending too much time on your Facebook marketing, but still not seeing the results you want from all your hard work?
These are all common problems – but we’re here to help. We’ve put together a list of 18 Facebook marketing tips that will help to make your efforts not just successful – but insanely successful!
1. Entice your fans. When you post an update announcing your latest blog post or article, don’t just give the title, or say something along the lines of: “Here’s my latest blog post.” Intrigue your fans by referencing something within the content, without giving away too much. If it’s a numbered list, for example, you could try something like: “#14 might seem ridiculous, but it’s been proven to work.” That will pique their curiosity and make them more likely to click on your link.
2. Change things up. If all you ever post is the same type of content, presented in the same way, over and over again, people will start to get bored, no matter how great it is. Mix things up by creating content in different formats, like videos, slideshares, or webinars – and then experiment with different ways of promoting them, as well. Try varying the image sizes in your updates, or using memes to draw people’s attention. Give your updates some variety to keep your fans interested.
3. Use incentives and calls to action. Don’t assume people will click on a link just because you posted it – you have to actively persuade them to click. Tell them what they’ll get out of engaging with your post – what benefits they’ll receive. Maybe it’s a discount, maybe it’s valuable content, or maybe it’s just a fun time taking a quiz or playing a game – the important thing is to let them know why they should engage. And then, come right out and ask them to click! Phrases like “download this free report” or “visit this page” will help spur people into taking action.
4. Make use of evergreen content. Of course, you’ll want to post about seasonal or trending topics, as well, but don’t give everything you share an expiration date. That way, people scrolling through your Facebook page might see an interesting post from some time ago, and still click on it, if its topic is as applicable as ever. And another bonus is the fact that you can share that same content again and again over time, introducing it in a different way with each update – and if it was popular the first time, it’s a good bet it’ll stay that way.
5. Humanize your posts with emoticons. It’s all well and good to be formal in certain marketing arenas, but Facebook is not one of those arenas. It’s a platform meant for hanging out with friends, so the more like a casual friend your company seems, the more people will want to hang with you. Put a smiley face or a heart in your update, and you’ll be surprised at the uptick in likes, comments, and shares.
6. Share helpful information about things other than your business. If there’s a big event going on in your town, share details about dates and times, or reminders about traffic, with your fans, even if it has nothing to do with your business. Or if your city’s sports team has a big game coming up, post a good luck message along with a reminder of what time the game starts. That way, you’ll be showing off your connectedness with your community – after all, you live here, too – and everyone likes rooting for the home team.
7. Tweak your posts based on Facebook Insights. If you’re not using some sort of analytics to track your fan engagement, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to boost activity on your page. Look to see which types of posts and which types of content do best with your particular audience, and then produce more just like them.
8. Use Facebook apps. Custom apps are a great way to promote a contest or event, or even just solicit email addresses from fans. They’re attention-getting and pretty darn effective at doing what they’re created to do.
9. Stay in the loop when you’re on the go. You don’t have to be at your desktop to manage your Facebook page. In fact, you’ll be missing out on opportunities to connect instantly with fans when they comment, if you have to wait to reply until you’re at your desk. The Facebook Page Manager allows you to take care of business on your smartphone. If it becomes clear that you interact with fans in real time on Facebook, you’ll be more likely to get more comments.
10. Use the right types of pictures. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to this aspect of Facebook marketing since each company’s audience and brand identity is different. But the one thing we can say with certainty is that images make a big difference in engagement, so some experimenting is definitely in order. In general, fans seem to prefer images of products without people, or with close-up shots of body parts like hand or feet, to images of models.
11. Facebook-stalk your competition. It’s not as creepy as stalking your ex, and it can actually help you in your marketing efforts. Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing, in order to either jump on the bandwagon when you see something good or fill a gap they’ve left wide open for you.
12. Image presentation matters. Here’s another area for experimentation with your unique audience. Does it create more engagement when you upload a bunch of photos to an update all at once, or when you post them one by one, over time? Or is it better to put them in an album, or even to create a collage? Vary your approach until you find the method that works best for you.
13. Try to post when your fans are online. This is another thing that Facebook Insights is helpful with – it can tell you the actual times when your fans interact with your posts. If you post while they’re online, you’ll get a lot more engagement, and you’ll get it more quickly, too.
14. Use calls to action specifically tailored to the conversion you want. If you’re looking to increase engagement, use a CTA that reflects that, such as “share your thoughts.” But if you’re utilizing Facebook marketing to capture leads, use something like “sign up for our newsletter.” Using wishy-washy calls to action, or CTAs that aren’t extremely specific in directing fans to take a certain action can undermine your efforts.
15. Ask your fans to share their interests. Not only will this increase engagement, as people love to share their hobbies or interests with others, it will also give you great insight into what your fans are into so that you can appeal to them more effectively. Try asking them what their favorite movies or books are, or some other question related to your industry.
16. Upload videos directly to Facebook. The easier and faster it is to do something, the more likely it is that people will do it. When you upload a video directly to Facebook, you eliminate that little time lag people have to wait through if they click a link to a YouTube video, instead. And that’s enough to make a big difference in clicks.
17. Keep your About page up to date. It’s something most people fill out once and then forget, but it’s important to keep this page well-maintained and up-to-date. If a fan tries to contact you using information found here, but the phone numbers or email addresses have changed, you can lose business simply because you didn’t take 5 minutes to update it.
18. Schedule weekend posts. Especially if your target audience is online more often on the weekends, you’ll want to be posting then, too. But instead of coming in to work on Saturdays and Sundays, simply schedule posts for the weekend, and use your smartphone to keep an eye on any comments that need responses.
So if you’re looking for ways to make your Facebook marketing efforts more successful, try implementing a few of these tips today. And then let us know how they work for you! We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
