MediaLabs

We all know that Facebook, apart from being extremely user friendly, is also the most popular social network. It is the king of social networking sites. But is Facebook marketing bogging you down or are you unable to identify and reach your target audience? Here are some statistics that will compel you to rethink your strategy. A study by KISSmetrics shows that Facebook has 500 million active users. Almost 50% of these active users log onto Facebook on a daily basis. Average users spend at least 700 minutes per month and people interact with over 900 million objects, like pages, events and groups. It most definitely is a safe haven for social media strategists for promoting brands and products.

 

 

Facebook as a networking site though has its own challenges. More than 300 million pieces of content are shared on Facebook every month. With such vast content being shared, you need to keep a check on optimizing your page to get more likes and comments. So, what should you keep in mind if you want to improve engagement with your fans? Here are ways to improve and increase engagement on Facebook.

Timing is Crucial

You might be posting the most readable, likeable and sharable content on Facebook, but is it grabbing attention? If it isn’t, then you need to think why it isn’t happening. There could be many reasons, but the first and most important thing that you need to take care of is whether you are posting during business hours, when people are super busy, meeting their targets or dealing with clients. How can you expect to gain an audience at such a time? The solution? Try a different approach! Try posting outside the conventional business hours.

 

 

That is when you are most likely to reach your audience – when people have time to browse through Facebook. The engagement is 20% higher outside the normal business hours. However, you also need to make sure you don’t schedule your posts in the still of the night when everyone is sound asleep. There won’t be any engagement taking place at that time whatsoever.

Add Promotional Keywords

Some keywords like event, winner, offer, win, brand new and entry are most engaging. So, if you are running a contest, you might want to add these keywords. It is noticed that keywords like buy, shop, sale have almost negative engagement. Instead of advertising the brand and asking them to buy something, you should engage with the customers by promoting your brand first. Your brand needs to be visible before you can proceed further.

Avoid URL Shorteners

Engagement rates seem to be at least 300% higher when we use longer URLs rather than shortened ones. A shortened URL may be best suited for Twitter but fails to work on Facebook. A full length URL is more transparent and it also gives the viewer an idea of what the content is all about.

 

However, you need to avoid posting updates that are overly promotional. Facebook penalizes overly promotional updates and they won’t show up in newsfeeds. Rebecca Lieb of Altimeter Group has aptly said, “It’s a clear message to brands: If you want to sound like an advertiser, buy an ad.”

Length of the Post

Posts that are within 80 characters have a higher engagement rate of 27% than posts with more than 80 characters. This means that you need to keep in mind the length before posting on Facebook. You need to grab the attention of the viewers with short and crisp updates rather than lengthy ones, which might go unnoticed.

Final Thoughts

The golden rule for Facebook is not to delete an account even if you find the organic reach is dwindling. Instead, you need to strategize and come up with brilliant ways to inspire your fans so that they connect with you. After all, engagement is what is going to promote your brand.

Do you have the perfect Social Media Optimization strategy for your brand? At MediaLabs, we pioneer brand recognition through a robust social media optimization in India with the best SEO services in Bangalore. Drop us a mail at or visit our website www.medialabs.in. Visit our social media pages – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+.

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