How to generate more engagement for your Facebook posts

Facebook Business Pages have been experiencing greater declines in organic engagement in recent years. This struggle is experienced by businesses in every industry from sports to finance. Facebook’s drop in organic reach started in 2014 and became even more noticeable in 2018. Without the ability to gain exposure free of ad spend, businesses are struggling to get more likes, comments, and shares.

While you may not be able to get the type of organic engagement of pre-2014, there are still ways to get engagement without ad dollars. You have to be willing to put in the work on a consistent basis. Here are a handful of ways to generate more engagement for your Facebook posts.

Reply to all comments

When you do receive a comment, reply to it right away. It doesn’t matter if the comment is a complex question or someone commented with an emoji. Staying on top of all comments received will help you build a strong following. Replying to comments helps posts rank higher in Facebook’s algorithm. This is because Facebook is more likely to promote content that receives interactions. You also create opportunities for conversations which will improve a post’s organic reach.

Conversations online lead to conversations off-line which means your customers are talking to others about your brand. You’ll increase your sales opportunities and brand loyalty.

Go Live

Facebook wants users to use its Live video feature. This means that your Facebook Live videos will receive greater organic reach than other native videos. In fact, 80% of brands experience this increase when choosing to go Live. Live videos tend to receive six times more interactions than regular videos. You can use Facebook Live in a variety of ways. Here are a few ideas:

• How-to video: Great way to help customers better understand how benefit from physical products

• Broadcast a live event: Use Facebook Live to involve your online community when hosting a seminar or participating in a conference

• Ask-me-anything: This is an effective way to give your followers a chance to ask you questions while you live stream

Pay attention to and use best posting times

If you’re sharing posts when your followers aren’t using Facebook, you’re wasting your time. Use Facebook Insights to figure out when your fans are online. Whether they’re active at 9 am or 1 pm, pay attention to the times they’re on and post accordingly. Use Facebook’s Creator Studio to schedule posts ahead of time. It’ll help you operate more efficiently and be consistent when posting.

Are there are other ways you’ve seen to be effective in generating more Facebook engagement? Let us know in the comments below!

For any questions you may have about Facebook marketing or social media marketing in general, email Josh at josh@jamiascreative.com!

The top reasons why brands fail on social media

When a brand fails to succeed on social media, it’s no mystery as to why it didn’t have success. Social media marketing success comes down to a handful of principles that every brand needs to understand. Here are the top reasons why brands fail on social media:

A brand succeeds when customers receive value through the brand’s social media marketing efforts.

Not caring

One of the keys to success on social media is to be social. When you reply to your comments and direct messages, you show that you care. It’s part of building a strong presence on social media. Companies who struggle with a high percentage of negative reviews also fail to respond to any forms of communication they receive from followers. This leads to the lack of new customers and an overall downfall of brand reputation. Poor customer service will always result in a loss of revenue.

Providing excellent service creates lifetime customers.

Not staying true to brand

Part of building a strong brand is sticking to your brand’s identity. Does your brand have a personality? If you said yes, here are a few questions to clarify your brand’s personality:

• Is your brand a thought leader in a specific industry?

• Is your brand funny? Do people laugh when your brand comes to mind?

• Are you a service-based business or product-based business?

• If your brand does have media coverage, how is your brand portrayed?

The better you understand how your brand is perceived, the more you’ll know what to post on your social accounts. If the current perception of your brand is negative, take steps to change that perception with quality posts. Focus on creating value with posts that are in line with your brand’s mission, vision, and values.

Not posting consistently

Consistency matters with everything in life whether it’s working out or cleaning your home. This is also true for social media marketing. When brands don’t post on a regular basis, they don’t give themselves a chance to succeed. Customers naturally gravitate towards brands they can trust. This trust is built up over time with posts that provide real value for customers.

Just because a single post doesn't instantly convert new customers doesn’t mean you should give up on your social media marketing efforts. Create a sustainable social media schedule and stick to it.

Consistent marketing efforts leads to great results.

Have you given up on social media marketing for your brand? Do you have any questions about what you should post on social media? Email Josh at josh@jamiascreative.com!

10 ways to increase engagement on Twitter

Twitter can be an effective tool to have conversations with real people and build a strong brand. Twitter is a social platform that has been around for a long time and has outlasted many other platforms. It has continued to provide value for many businesses due to how easy it is to use and engage with other accounts.

Below are 10 simple ways to increase engagement on Twitter:

1. Respond to replies: If someone took the time to reply to your tweet, respond right away! It’s a public yet effective way to show that you’re listening and that you care. Your goal is to provide value so focus doing that in all of your replies.

2. Retweet the tweets of relevant accounts: Are other Twitter accounts sharing content and starting conversations that have to do with what you’re doing? Don’t hesitate to retweets their tweets. Just make sure that it’s relevant to your brand and what you want to accomplish. Doing so will expand your organic reach and give you more opportunities to connect with other people.

3. Share your blog content: Another way to get more engagement is by tweeting your own blog posts on Twitter. You can also do the same with videos and other content you’ve produced. As you continue to share original content, you’ll be able to provide value for your followers.

4. Go Live: Have you tried out Twitter’s Live Video option? Give it a shot! It’s an effective way to make a special announcement or go behind-the-scenes on a new project. You can also go Live as a way to engage with followers by doing an Ask Me Anything. Read this post on how to go Live.

5. Publicly thank other accounts: Did someone else retweet something you shared? Is another business sharing your blog posts? Give them a shoutout. It’s simple and will help you earn some goodwill within your growing community.

6. Respond to direct messages: When someone sends you a direct message, respond as soon as possible. This is key if you’re getting a complaint. Not every disgruntled customer starts off by complaining publicly and leaving a negative review but it can lead to that if you don’t respond. Sometimes it takes a quick response to give you a customer for life.

7. Use a scheduling tool: To save yourself time and be consistent with your tweets, use a scheduling tool like Hootsuite or Buffer. You’ll be able to tweet regularly which is important to growing a following who can trust you. Remember that a scheduling tool doesn’t replace organic engagement. Pay attention to your notifications and be quick to respond to the replies and direct messages you receive.

8. Join conversations: Is there a chat happening around one of the events that affect your organization? Go ahead and join the conversation. You can reply to the different threads you can offer value to. You can like tweets you agree and help out other people. Joining conversations will help you gain more exposure and get more people to check out your Twitter profile. It’s an effective way to gain new followers.

9. Collaborate: Find other brands you can partner with. You can run a giveaway with another company. You can also run a forum/panel for an hour on Live Video with a referral partner. There are many ways you can work with other brands on Twitter. Keep in mind that not every partnership will work out the way you’re hoping it will but it doesn’t mean that you should give up on collaborations.

10. Use trending hashtags: Do you know the top hashtags specific to your industry? If you don’t know what they are, take some time to research the best hashtags for your business and start using them. Hashtags increase your chances of getting discovered. Be sure to use them every time you tweet.

Remember that success on Twitter takes time and consistent hard work. You can’t expect results if you’re not putting in the work. You’ll be able to build a strong brand on Twitter by tweeting regularly and engaging with your community.

Have you given up on Twitter? Are you having a hard time increasing sales with social media marketing? Email Josh at josh@jamiascreative.com with any questions you have!