Since Facebook made algorithm adjustments, changing the way its pages work and are seen by audiences, many brands have been struggling to adjust on the social media platform. One of the biggest problems is the decline in the organic reach of posts, with marketers seeing this number cut by over half since the changes first came into play. However, all hope is not lost; here are the five best strategies for getting your posts noticed on Facebook.
Schedule your posts
Take a look at the way you currently use Facebook – are you posting at the best times? Try scheduling your posts to coincide with the busiest times, such as the weekend, to see if you get better results. For instance, research has shown that posting on a Sunday is 25 per cent more effective in terms of reach than posting on a Wednesday. Other popular times are weekdays during lunch, or in the evenings between 5pm to 1am.
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Add images
Since Facebook posts with images receive 37 per cent more interactions, this one’s a real no-brainer – and speaking of brains, yours processes images 60,000 faster than it does text. Picking clear, sharp, intriguing images for your posts should immediately help stretch your reach.
[Tweet “Facebook posts with images receive 37% more interactions…”]
Punctuate your posts
Punctuation, such as exclamation points or question marks, can lead to more engagement from users, as it adds a more human value to the message you’re trying to get across. Ask questions and fans will be more likely to comment. But you know what?!?!!!! Just don’t do this!!!!!!! One or two is enough, or you might start to sound like Keith Chegwin on ‘It’s a Knockout’.
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Hashtag it up!
Now that Facebook has adopted hashtags, you should be using them. You may not yet be in the habit of using hashtags on Facebook posts, but analytical results have shown they generate around 60 per cent more engagement when used correctly. #justdontmakeuprandomsillyones #sticktopopulartopics #dontmentionkeithchegwineither
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Make your posts longer
You may think this sounds counterproductive, and certainly posts that are too long would be a bad thing, but studies have shown that around 80 – 89 words seems like the sweet spot when it comes to the length of your posts. This could be thanks to Facebook’s ‘continue reading’ feature.
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