by on July 19, 2016 in Social Media
According to Facebook, “organic reach refers to how many people you can reach for free on Facebook by posting to your Page.” The ability of business owners to post to their business page and get seen by Facebook users has fluctuated over the years as they refine their algorithms. The social media giant has recently announced another hit to organic reach by stating that they are going to prioritize friends’ posts over page posts on newsfeeds. This will further limit the organic reach of business pages, making paid advertising an increasingly attractive option for engaging Facebook’s massive following.
Even if you’re dead set against paid ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, there are still ways to increase your business’ organic reach. Facebook takes into account engagement rates on business pages to figure out the quality of the content and then determine how frequently it should be pushed to users’ newsfeeds. For example, if 20% of the users who see a post engage, then it has to be interesting and probably deserves more visibility. However, when there is less visibility of business page posts to begin with, it becomes more difficult to qualify for more. The result is a downward spiral in page visibility that you can stop by taking action. Here’s how you can leverage the power of social media to boost your business with organic reach.
Post Engaging Content
It’s something of a no-brainer, but posts need to be thought out carefully to better the chances that people will like, comment, or share; just don’t ask for engagement because it might get marked as spam. Original content is best, but when creating it, ask yourself this: if you were scrolling through your Facebook or Twitter newsfeed, would you like this post? Would you retweet it? Would you have something to say about it? Does it pique your interest or would you keep scrolling.
Facebook ranks post shares as the most important type of engagement, followed by comments and likes. It’s easy to hit the ‘Like’ button, but shares are where it’s at. To focus on shares, think about your target audience. Why would they share your content with their own friends and family? Will they learn something from it? Will it make them laugh?
Humor is a classic social bonding technique. When people share a laugh and have a good time together it builds rapport and eases dialogue. A good laugh can easily get more likes, simple comments like “lol” or even a few more shares all while building a better relationship with your audience and customers.
Why Not Ask a Question?
Comments are the second most valuable type of engagement. One of the best ways to get more comments on your posts is to ask relevant questions. Ask about the customer’s pain points or simply ask for feedback. Not only will this tactic help to increase engagement, it will also give you insights on your followers’ thoughts. You can even ask some personal questions, such as “Where are you travelling this summer?” or “What are your plans for Halloween?”
For the same reason asking questions gets more comments, a poll gives viewers a chance to easily engage with your post in a meaningful way. Ask a simple question and come up with few sensible answers to choose from – and maybe a silly one or two. People like to talk about themselves, especially on the Internet. Give them a soapbox – that has something to do with your business, of course!
Explore Different Media
Newsfeeds are becoming increasingly content-driven. Grabbing the limited attention of your audience means sharing your ideas through bold, stimulating visuals. Infographics present information in a readily-accessible way and even make following it fun. Striking statistics or surprising information might be worth a few shares to your viewers’ friends.
Multimedia is constantly at the height of its popularity and growing. A three-minute video beats reading a 500-word blog post any day in terms of getting engagement. Check out the different styles of entertaining and educational videos you could use for your page. You could even make your own by simply repurposing your old blog posts. Invite a friend to help you act out your own little infomercial.
Even marketing with today’s tools can be tough or confusing. If you want to make the web work for but think it best to seek professional help, contact us or schedule a free consultation now!