Creating an engaged and interactive community on your company’s Facebook Page can be challenging; and while it can take a good amount of time to maintain a page well, statistics have shown that the majority of Facebook users are more likely to buy from a brand/company that they like on Facebook, and they’re more likely to recommend a brand/company to their friends if they like it on Facebook.
Firstly, it is important to note what turns off loyal users from a page:
The top reasons given for being “unliked” and “unfollowed”:
- Company posted too frequently
- Wall too clogged with marketing posts
- Content became repetitive and boring
- Company didn’t offer enough deals/incentives
- Content wasn’t relevant
The important thing is to provide engagement on your page, giving visitors a reason to stick around and interact. Most interactions lead directly to an activity update being posted to the wall displaying their interaction with your brand, which can be seen by their friends.
How to increase engagement? Go beyond the news-feed of the wall
To start you need to strategize on the best ways to get users to visit, stay, share, and interact on your page. To begin do some research. Browse the Facebook page of your top ranked competitors and you’ll quickly see what’s working, and what’s not. A few of the proven strategies include:
- Switch up the cover image from time to time to keep it fresh, and size it properly. The correct size is 851x315px.
- Run promotions – everyone loves a contest and the chance to be a winner. Many pages will require the user to have liked the page and share the post as a requirement of entering the contest.
- Include applications that encourage participation and activity from users: feedback, voting, polls, etc. If you sell products, an integrated shopping cart is a great option.
- Include video, animation, and clever memes. Visual media of all forms are more likely to be shared.
- Encourage interaction by asking asking and responding to questions. Everyone likes to feel as if they’re opinion matters.
- Provide links to other content of potential interest to your visitors, including the latest news about your business and industry.
- Provide links to your other social media.
Create Social Sharing
Many users will choose to like a page or brand on Facebook because they “want to show others that I like and support this brand.” (eMarketer). Where possible, give your users something to share! What do users love to share? Interesting or funny content, jokes, comic strips, pictures, and video.
Create brand affinity
8% of users liked a brand on Facebook to be the first to know information about it, and 6% do so to gain access to exclusive content (eMarketer). Treating your users like insider VIPs, and creating an environment which expresses this relationship, can help to create brand affinity. You might want to try providing exclusive content to those who have liked your page, and adding new content “one at a time” over different dates, may encourage users to come back.
As I’ve touched upon in previous blog posts, Facebook options for enhancement are changing all the time. The important thing to note is that the marketing strategies for Facebook are in essence no different than the ones used for other social media. Your goal is to encourage interest, engender trust, and retain visitors over time.
