Tips I recommend when using Facebook for your business:
- consider Facebook contests and coupons, as they have proven to be very effective
- small details matter, e.g. the setup of the about section on your Facebook page
- test different photos, posts, etc.
- don’t forget to include a call to action in your posts, for example: Take a moment to leave a comment, subscribe to our posts, watch this video; to get instant access do this, etc.
- Excellent results come from Facebook posts that are phrased as questions, for example: what is your favorite…? in what way…? Today is… What do you think…? If you were deciding, what would you choose? etc.
- You should post when your target audience is most active on social media. You can check this through Facebook Insights, where you can find out when your fans are active.
- use videos that you post directly on Facebook, as this will help you achieve greater user engagement. Facebook Live is also an interesting option.
Statistics say…
- Studies show that likes, shares, and comments are usually made within a few hours of posting.
- KissMetrics reports that photos receive 53 percent more likes, 104 percent more comments, and 84 percent more clicks than text-only posts.
- SocialBakers says that posts where you publish a video directly on Facebook achieve 40 percent greater user engagement than posts where you share a video from YouTube.
- Keep your posts under 250 characters, as this will result in greater engagement from users. Even better is under 80 characters.
- Studies show that 35 percent of Facebook fans become fans because they want to participate in contests. Socially Stacked says that 42 percent of fans do so because they want to receive a discount or coupon.
- BuzzSumo analyzed millions of Facebook pages and found that posts without hashtags achieve greater user engagement than those with hashtags.
- SocialMediaExaminer says that targeted posts perform better than posts aimed at everyone, as you will more easily achieve greater user engagement.
- Consider a local Facebook page. Authenticity Marketing says that a local Facebook page has 5x greater reach and 8x greater user engagement than a standard business Facebook page.
- A Buddymedia study found that user engagement is 18 percent higher on Thursdays and Fridays, and that Facebook pages that post once or twice a day achieve 40 percent greater user engagement than those that post 3 times a day.
- I recommend following two authorities in the field of Facebook: Jon Loomer and Mari Smith
As always, statistics should be approached with caution – test and verify with your own Facebook page and target audience.
Use apps and websites to help you manage your Facebook pages:
- Custom tabs and some apps and websites mentioned can also be used for various contests and coupons, e.g. use for photos, restaurant menus, videos or email collection forms: Heyo, short stack, Woobox, Wishpond , Tabfoundry
- Email collection – example Constant contact
- Quizzes and surveys – SurveyMonkey, agora pulse
- Blog and RSS posts – dlvrt.it
- For scheduling posts – Hootsuite, Buffer, post planner
- Integrations with other social media e.g. Instagram – iconosquare
- Connection with an online store e.g. ecwid, shopify, shop tab
- Statistics – Simply measured, sprout social
