Facebook has about 2.5 billion active users. That makes the largest social media platform on the planet and an absolute gold mine when it comes to getting organic traffic for your brand’s message.
With these kinds of numbers, it’s easy to see how one’s message can disappear in the sea of posts and updates that flood the platform every second. As a brand looking to get traffic and business from Facebook, however, you cannot afford to have your message drowned out. You need to find ways to make your posts as interactive as possible to get traffic.
What Interaction and Engagement Means in Facebook Terms?
On Facebook, engagement is any kind of action someone takes on either your page or one of your posts. This is often in the form of likes, shares, and comments.
It could also include other forms of interactions, such as tagging you on an unrelated post to either inform you or to get you to share your expertise on the subject matter. According to Facebook Algorithm, engagements and interactions matter for one very simple reason: they extend your organic reach.
With increased engagement, your newsfeed gets better placement on Facebook just as you would get a higher ranking on Google the more backlinks, shares, and hits you get on one of your articles.
Furthermore, an engaged audience that likes and shares your posts exposes you to their extended network – an audience that you might not have reached otherwise. Most importantly, engagement shows that your audience is paying close attention to your brand message. This helps you increase their trust in your message and, consequently, the likelihood that they will give you their business.
Also Read: How Cross-Posting on Social Media Channels Can Help You Connect
How to Create Content that Increase Engagement on Facebook
Most marketers will tell you that having an engaged audience is an invaluable marketing tool that ensures your brand’s message falls on “warm” and receptive ears. This engagement, however, doesn’t happen by accident. It takes deliberate action on your part.
Here are tips on how you can create content that encourages and increases engagement from your Facebook audience:
Tip 1: Understand Your Audience
This is by far the most important step if you want to get your audience to engage with your content – you have to give them the kind of content they need and like. The only way to do that is to first try and understand them.
You can easily understand your audience by taking a keen look at your Facebook Page Insights. The data here will tell you:
- What kind of content your audience responds to best?
- What type of engagement do they prefer (likes, shares, tags, etc.)?
With this kind of information, you can begin to craft your message with specifically engineered calls to action that will prompt engagement. If they prefer to show engagement by shares, for example, you could simply ask them to share your content in return for some kind of reward.
Tip 2: Create Content that Either Educates, Entertains, Inspires or Informs
Here’s the thing about selling – no one likes to be sold. “On the nose” sales messages rarely elicit the kind of positive reaction you might want from an audience. People like to gain something in return as opposed to just give you their money for whatever you are selling.
When you create content that either teaches, entertains, inspires, or informs them, you are essentially making their lives better or, at the very least, more enjoyable. People like that and are often more willing to share, like, or tag their friends in such messages. More so that they are willing to tag them on sales pages.
Tip 3: Keep the Message Brief and to the Point
Let’s look at the number according to Facebook Data:
- 88% of all Facebook users log onto the platform via mobile devices
- Most people viewing Facebook via their mobile devices spend only 1.7 seconds on any given piece of content
- The few that log onto Facebook via their computers spend only 2.5 seconds on any given piece of content
These people like to scheme through content, and unless you capture their attention within the first few fractions of a second, you will lose them to your competitor. Keep your message short, and to the point, you are more likely to get it across much more effectively that way.
Tip 4: Use Beautiful Images or Great Videos
The numbers suggest that Facebook posts that include an image tend to get higher engagement rates with posts that include a video getting even higher engagement.
Live videos tend to get even higher engagement than regular videos, with there being about six times more interactions on these posts than on those with regular videos or images.
- Pro Tip: When shooting these videos, remember that vertical videos offer you the most screen real estate on most mobile devices (catering to the 88% of the users who log onto Facebook using their mobile devices.
Also Read: How to Effectively Share Your Blog Articles on Social Media
Tip 5: Ask a Question and Respond to Fans
This is the oldest trick in the book. Asking an interesting or controversial yet not insulting question is one of the best ways to trigger a flurry of activity in the comments sections. You could go one step further and simply ask your fans what kind of content they want to see from you.
Granted, this is kind of self-serving, but what you need to remember is that people tend to love giving their opinion on topics they care about. Besides, this will make them feel heard, especially when you respond by giving them exactly what they asked for in the first place.
As for replying to comments, it’s simply human nature: when someone takes their time to write something down on your page, it’s only polite to acknowledge the effort by responding in one way or another.
If it’s a genuine question, take the chance to educate and sell that client on your brand; if it’s just a regular interaction, then respond in kind. It will show engagement from your brand and encourage engagement from other customers. Remember, this is not a one-off activity. Fostering engagement takes time and continuous effort from your end.