How To Increase engagement on your Facebook Fan Page
I'm going to get to the point here. Effective Facebook marketing is not about the likes. Here's the thing. Anyone can buy likes (and I don't recommend it). A like is merely a one time thing where someone clicks a button – and honestly could choose never to visit a fan page again.
On the other hand, engagement is an interactive online community, regularly giving feedback on your content and passing it along to their friends.
And when it comes to return on social media investment, it's engagement that wins every time.
So how can you get the party started on your fan page and boost your engagement?
4 Tips to Increase Facebook Fan Engagement:
1. Don't Use a URL Shortener
As spoofing of links continues to be an issue, people don't want to be taken away from Facebook, and they really don't want to click links that don't obviously show where they're taking you. URL shorteners might make your posts shorter, but they make it very difficult to see (especially on a mobile device). As more and more people access Facebook via mobile devices, they want to know where a link is redirecting them. As a result, best practices are to spell out the whole URL or to use a brand-specific URL shortener.
2. Keep it short, honey!
As marketers get more and more creative with trying to find out best practices on media like Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, a surprising statistic has been discovered. Maybe it's Twitter's fault, but our attention spans keep getting shorter and shorter! Research shows that the fewer characters in a Facebook update the better, and under 100 characters is best!
If a few words are good, a picture is even better! Facebook's internal research shows that posts with a photo album or picture generate 180% to 120% more engagement than posts that are just words.
3. Use the right words:
Words have weight – a lot! The words you chose matter greatly when it comes to getting engagement on Facebook. Certain words generate more engagement on Facebook while other words kill off your engagement almost from the outset. Action keywords, also known as "calls to action" are best for generating engagement. "Like," "comment," and "submit" are great action-oriented keywords to help your audience know what it is you want them to do when reading your update.
4. Ask!
Asking questions is one of the best ways to increase engagement. It's sort of the equivalent of being at a cocktail party when no one's talking. What's the best way to start conversation? It's not by assuming everyone wants to know about you and trying to impress them with where you work, what you do, or whatever. Ask a question to get feedback and create a natural opportunity for others to jump into the conversation with you and with others in your audience.
Where you ask your question matters too (yes, we really do have short attention spans!). Questions placed at the end of an update generate 15% more responses than questions placed at the beginning of a post. Who knew? (Wait…where am I putting that question?)
5. Make It Sweet – Share Facebook Candy!
What's Facebook candy? It's anything Facebook users want to share – and they share it a lot! Images are great Facebook candy, as are inspirational quotes and pictures of cute animals.
What do you think? Are these some good ideas for boosting your Facebook engagement? Leave a comment below!
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About Elizabeth
Loved these tips Liz – they are ALL good – thanks! Now if I can just remember to ask at the end …
LOL I don’t ask very often myself.. I’m afraid of the echo effect.. ask and get notta LOL !
Ohh yes, Facebook candy is a definite YES. Love that one in particular =)
I love your tiles Edmund1 Outstanding work my friend..; !
Shoot…URL shorteners….I use them through Hootsuite consatntly…thanks fro drawing my attention to this!
Now to form a new habit….
Very effective list you've got there. Thanks for posting Elizabeth. These are helpful.
You’re welcome Lorii ! I try new things to see what helps and try to share what I notice.
You’re welcome Lorii ! I try new things to see what helps and try to share what I notice.
I like using a URL shortener. My links are too long for me to post them and a message on Twitter. Lots of good tips though
I find the "use the right words" is crucial. Especially for my audience.
I love these tips, Liz. I didn't know about the URL shortener and wonder what the brand specific shortener is. Also appreciated the tip about asking a question with a picture…at the end.
Carla.. don’t use one on Facebook at all.
Clarifying. Don't use shortened URL on FB, but use shortened on twitter? Thanks. Informative.
yes that’s correct !
Great tips! Love the Facebook candy – the sweeter the post the more they will share with their friends.
Yes Shiley..
be sure it is linked to you..;) !
I think not using a URL Shortener is a biggie, I have seen a difference when I started doing that. I don't even like short lijks on Twitter…
I like them on twitter but yes.. I’m careful who’s I click.. the most clicked links on twitter are bit.ly according to research.. less owl.ly ? Wow who would have thought ?
Thank you Elizabeth. I use the shorteners when using Hootsuite and post to more than one site. Is this what you mean?
yes..
Had no idea about the shortened links…but definitely makes sense! Thanks for this great info!
Great post! Some of my links are very long and don't work for iPad users for some reason on FB unless I use a shortener. Do you think those links should still be full length?
yes if they can ! it’s just that FB users like to know where you are taking them!
Elizabeth, I hadn't even thought of not using an url shortener! Wow, that is an awesome tip, thanks so much!! (The rest are great to, it's just this one really struck home to me because I have been using one! LOL)
,, We’ll i’m learning too !
..;) Thanks Sherie !
Great info Elizabeth, it makes sense that we don't want to be taken away from facebook or I like to know where the link will take me!
Thanks for clarifying about the URL shortener. I'll have to remember when to shorten & went to leave it be. LOL! Thanks for the tips Liz!
Thanks for Visiting Kim ! glad it helped !!!
Great tips…. I didn't realize it's best not to use the URLshortener…. Learn something new every day!! (need to do this in Twitter though, correct, or it won't fit!?)
Just on facebook ! It’s the right thing on twitter..;) !