Many companies daydream of achieving more engagement on social media. For some new companies, going viral and staying popular is always the goal. Social media popularity, if done right, can help companies generate more revenue. It can also help them build a positive reputation as a trusted friend of their customers. While this may seem simple in theory, it can be quite difficult in practice.
Why is it that your brand isn't getting more shares and likes on Facebook? Why do people not respond en masse on your posts and why is your number of followers not growing? Sometimes you can do your best and still not get more engagement on Facebook.
Almost every online marketer knows the inner workings of Facebook ads. Paid advertisements are often used to create more leads and engagement, but you don't always have to spend so much money on social media marketing. There are plenty of free options to improve the involvement of your Facebook fans.
Although a customer clicking on your paid advertisement and then immediately making a purchase is an ideal scenario, paid ads do not always yield fruit. A loyal, active user on your social media increases the chance of purchase conversions and involves other users, helping you increase your reach.
Here we discuss 10 tips that will help you increase your brand's engagement on Facebook, without costing you money.
1. Get insights
Facebook Insights is a tool with which you can learn more about your customers. You can find out which content is attractive for which segments of your target group. By continuously adjusting your strategies in response to the results Facebook Insights offers, you can continuously improve your results while effectively targeting specific users. This tool also serves as a kind of guide for determining the number and timing of messages.
2. Communicate socially
Facebook is a social platform after all, so communicate socially and try to personally connect with your customers. Your Facebook page is like your brand's promotion channel. But if you only use it to put your products and services in the spotlight, people will unfollow your page very quickly. Share content that is valuable to your fans and followers. Be social, let there be humour in your posts and always bring your brand's message across in a fun and interactive way.
3. Share relevant content
Try to share only relevant content and make sure that part of your content is interactive. This means: make your followers think, ask them questions, present them fun puzzles to solve or ask for an opinion. It does not matter how you do it, as long as you clearly ask for action or input from "the other side". To really get this, it is necessary to provide relevant content: content that optimally appeals to your specific target group. This does not always have to be your own content. You can also share interesting content from others.
4. More engagement with Facebook ads
If there is one way that actually always works to get more engagement on Facebook, then it is enabling ads. You may have heard that some companies tried Facebook ads and it "didn't work" for them. Well, in practice, this always means that something was not right with the way they went about setting up their Facebook ads. Perhaps the target group was set incorrectly or the ad did not have the correct content.
Make your target group as small as possible, visualize your product, and use meaningful call-to-action.
5. Create a community feeling with Facebook groups
Creating a Facebook group is a simple way to stimulate engagement and distinguish yourself from others. You can limit your focus to users in one place instead of posting the same content in all kinds of different places.
People are often looking for something in common, a community. They don't just want to listen, they want to contribute and be heard. Whatever branch or sector your brand falls into, ask your followers questions to get to know them and involve them in your business.
Remember that Facebook is designed to promote content that gets the most involvement. Responses are a big part of that.
People who join a Facebook group are usually interested in the main focus of the group. Facebook groups can be the perfect way to really bring your brand's message across.
If you want to add people to your group, you can invite people who were already interested in your content in the first place. You already know their interest, but now offer them a beautiful online platform as a core part of your marketing strategy.
6. Ensure active and consistent interaction
Another way to increase user engagement is by sharing content that encourages further action. Popular methods are polls and quizzes. In addition to creating involvement, they also provide a change in your usual feed.
7. Make use of videos
You must have noticed the enormous growth of online videos. Today, users spend less and less time reading than before. They want to watch videos on Facebook about topics that matter and inform them.
There are many statistics that illustrate the importance of video marketing. Pay particular attention to this: 92 per cent of mobile video users share videos with others. This allows videos to increase the overall involvement of Facebook users. Whether your videos are for informational, entertaining or promotional purposes, the strategic use of videos opens doors to more reach among existing and new users.
8. Ask your audience questions
How do you make people think? How do you get people involved in a certain topic? By asking them questions. And preferably in a fun way, so that they feel interested in the topic and are motivated to respond.
People who communicate with each other and have discussions on your page ensure that online involvement increases. Who knows, your post may even go viral because of the engagement on it. Positive publicity is always good for your brand.
When people start responding to your questions and start conversing on your page, make sure you also participate in the conversations and leave short, powerful and entertaining responses. That way you give others the feeling that you know what you are talking about and are the expert in that field.
In the future, they may even come back to you for more information on the topic. The more you help them, the more they see you as an expert in that field.
9. Respond quickly and appropriately
You also get more engagement on Facebook just by being present and being present in the right way. That is, responding quickly and in an appropriate manner to the replies left by your followers. Facebook is not only about posting, but also about engaging dialogues. Therefore always respond to comments. This applies not only to the positive responses but also to the negative ones.
By responding appropriately and kindly to negative comments, you show that you are a company with excellent customer service. Did you make a mistake and your customers aren't satisfied and have brought their grievances to social media? No worries. This happens to the best of us! It's how you handle this mistake that matters most. The best option is to make it right in a neat, friendly or perhaps playful manner.
10. Variation in posts
For more engagement on Facebook, it is important that your posts vary both in style and in content. People don't find it interesting when they see much of the same. There are endless ideas that you can use for your posts, so dig deep, find that inspiration and wow your followers.
There are many more tips out there for more engagement on our brand's Facebook page, but hopefully, these 10 tips can help you get started. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to send us an email.
Good luck!
