One of the biggest draws of Facebook – and of social media marketing in general – is the ability to help your message reach a huge audience of interested fans. But the real benefits come when your Facebook fan base moved beyond a group of passive receivers and becomes an engaged and interactive community. However, keeping follower engagement high is something that many on Facebook struggle with. Here are a few tips to keeping your Facebook Page followers engaged and interested.
1. Ask Questions
Good conversationalists know that asking questions is the best way to keep both parties interested and involved in the conversation. This is just as true in face-to-face settings as it is in social media contexts. By posing questions to your Facebook followers, you are both inviting engagement and giving them a prompt to help them get started. The key is to ask questions that your fans will care enough about that they’ll take the time to answer. Questions that ask for feedback, ones that allow fans to fill-in-the-blank, and ones that require an either/or response are often quite effective.
2. Be Relatable
Fans may want to learn more about you and what you have to offer – but they want to talk about themselves. That’s not to suggest that your Facebook fans are self-absorbed, of course. It simply means that in order for them to feel compelled to interact and engage with your social media posts, they need to feel that they can relate to the topic. For example, a car company could post about the various trips and adventures their customers could have with one of their more rugged models, and could then spark a discussion about what adventurous vacations their followers would most enjoy. Keep an eye on your Facebook Insights to see how people respond to different topics, and keep going with what works.
3. Interact with Followers
Imagine this: you strike up a conversation with someone you meet at a party. They ask you questions, but when you respond they completely ignore you. Chances are, you would feel awkward, slighted, and as if they didn’t really care about what you had to say. Don’t ignore your followers. When possible, take the time to interact with them. If you have a large following, it may not be possible or practical to respond to every fan, but interacting when you can, or giving blanket responses (“Wow, you guys are giving some really great feedback and suggestions!”) can encourage your followers to continue engaging with you.
4. Find Your Frequency
How often you post on Facebook can make a big difference in fan engagement. If you post too frequently, you risk annoying your followers to the point where they tune you out, or worse, un-follow you. If you don’t post frequently enough, you could lose their attention entirely. What works for you will depend on you, your content, and your fan base, but generally shouldn’t be more than a handful of times per day.
5. Use Images
Using images in your Facebook posts serves many purposes. Images can tell an entire story in one picture, they work well in catching users’ eyes as they scroll through their Facebook feed, and they can be great launching points for conversations. Mixing colorful, interesting images into your Facebook content can be a great way to spark fan engagement.
6. Have Fun
Just because it’s a business Facebook Page doesn’t mean it has to be completely serious all the time. People use Facebook to learn, but they also sign on to relax, have fun and enjoy themselves. Try lightening up now and then – perhaps something such as a weekly “fun fact” or trivia question, a post that references pop culture or a comment that has to do with leisure activities. Your followers will likely appreciate it, and feel more engaged and connected with your company.
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