Facebook launched company “brand” pages in 2007. Originally, these business pages were a way for companies to have a non-intrusive presence on social media, where they could connect with and engage their customers and brand fans.
As the years passed, companies became more prevalent and bothersome to Facebook users as they attempted to stand out from their competitors. Posts became too promotional or low in quality. As a result, in June of 2014, Facebook announced they were reducing the organic reach of news feed impressions for brands in an effort to show its users “higher quality content” (and, of course, to encourage further spending by companies on their advertising platform too).
In January 2015, Facebook again tightened their algorithm to decrease promotional type content from brand pages. According to recent studies, the average organic reach of brand pages is down to 6%. Here are some best practices for Facebook to ensure you are reaching as much of your target audience as possible:
1. Don’t be too promotional.
Promotional posts include those that reuse the exact same content from ads, those that push people to enter contests or sweepstakes with no real context, and those that solely drive people to buy a product or download an app. Posting overly promotional content will cause the your posts to be seen less, organically, in a news feed.
2. Respond to comments.
Respond to your Facebook followers questions and comments promptly. Be sure to respond to both positive and negative feedback. If a consumer had a bad experience with your business and wrote about it on the company’s Facebook page, an apology and an attempt to correct the issue will go a long way – with that particular consumer and other potential clients.
3. Improve engagement.
The more a person engages with a page’s content, the more likely that page’s content is to show up in their newsfeed. You can improve engagement by organically posting on the page, using paid promotion to reach new fans and garner engagement, or simply asking your followers to like, click, share, by using a Facebook poll or contest.
When posting, be sure to follow the 80/20 social posting guidelines. That means, 80% of the posts should be aimed at adding value to the page and growing your brand, while 20% of posts can be promotional and aim to convert followers in to leads.
4. Post at strategic times.
Your Facebook business page will give insight on your followers such as gender and when they are most active on Facebook. Start posting at different days and times to gain your own information as to when your particular users are most active and engaging in your content. No two business consumers are the same, however a recent study shows that posts published later in the work week (Thursday and Friday) and later in the day (mid-afternoon) will have more user engagement.
Questions about social media posting, or looking for assistance to ensure you’re reaching your target marketing online? Ask your Faster Solutions Account Manager about marketing assistance today!
By Maggie Paulson
