I’m blessed, really I am. I’m infinitely passionate about what I do for a living. I also love helping people. Despite some isolated incidents when I’ve felt that prospective clients have taken advantage of my good nature (which I’ve blogged about here), I love to share information that will help us all engage better via social media.
Facebook costume detail 1 (Photo credit: opacity)
Which brings me to the point of my post. Last week I was having a conversation with someone regarding his current social media content for his business. On the surface there was nothing “wrong” with the manner in which he was engaging with his community – but (on the flip side) there wasn’t much right about it. Off the top of my head I offered some insights that I’ve gleaned from the practical experience of managing Facebook pages for large brands like Littlemissmatched, and from information published in a white paper by former company Buddy Media. Now I’m going to share them with you. Enjoy.
1. Post early in the morning, or late evening – This is much more difficult than it seems. Here’s the rub – everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is posting on his or her Facebook page on Monday morning. If you must do so – then do it early, and only do it once. Allow some time for the post to brew, and to be read and digested by your community. Don’t hit refresh every two minutes to see who is engaging. Try this – only post as the first thing you do in the morning, or the last thing you do before you leave the office. People tend to look at Facebook more in on the edges of their workday. During the day – they’re working! Buddy Media says “Brands that post outside of business hours have a 20% higher engagement rate.”
Image via CrunchBase
2. End the post with these words: Like, Share, Comment – this is another difficult one. It seems like it would be easy, but sometimes these words just feel awkward – get over it. It works.
3. Don’t end your post with these words: Where, When, Would? – People are lazy. Give them direction that they can follow with a simple click or a simple one word response. When you ask open-ended questions people get anxious. Our culture realizes now that when they post an opinion on a Facebook page that their friends will see it. They don’t want to think to much – so don’t ask them to. Make it easy on them and ask them to like your comment. Once click and everyone is happy.
4. End your post with a question – Posts that end in a quesiton have 15% more engagement. Please refrain from just pushing your content with statements like “check out” “take a look at our” “did you catch” these are all equally stomach churning ways to start your posts. Try to end them with a question to stimulate engagement. It will work – I promise. question at the end of the post – not in the middle. If you want to ask a question – don’t bury it in the wall post. Those questions that were posted in the middle get lost in the mix.
Give these simple tips a test this week and share your results with me!
Chris Dessi
View More PostsChief Revenue Officer, Diamond Standard, Co.