6 Strategies to Engage Potential Customers on Facebook

Facebook remains one of the most popular social media platforms for consumers and businesses alike. With 1.86 billion monthly active users, it’s no surprise that marketers continue to use Facebook to interact with their customers. In fact, 42% of marketers believe Facebook marketing is critical to their business and there have been 16 million local business pages created since 2013.

Now, engaging with potential customers on Facebook can be a tricky thing. When the platform first emerged, a business could post to its page and then its customers would see it and share it with their friends and build engagement organically. Unfortunately, that’s not really the case anymore. Facebook has changed their algorithms and it affects what shows up in a fan’s news feed.

The determining factor that affects the visibility of a post is how much engagement it gets. More engagement means the more likely it is to show up. However, with organic traffic down, it can be difficult for your audience to see your post organically, and much less so later on.

While there is always the option to participate in Facebook ads, you don’t have to give up on reaching your audience through organic means either. Try out these 6 strategies to improve your Facebook engagement without having to rely only on pay to play methods.

Post When Engagement is Highest

An interesting thing about posting on Facebook is that when traffic is the highest, engagement is not. This makes sense when you consider that if every company posts at noon, there would be a lot of competition. Instead, when you post at a less popular time, more people will see it and likely interact with your post. This is because they won’t have as much information to sift through. According to Buzzsumo, the best time to publish for engagement is between 10 pm and midnight (local time.)

Post Interesting Content

If you want to engage your potential customers on Facebook, you need to share the type of content they want to see, not just what you want them to see. In other words, you can’t just share promotional posts about your products. That can come across as spammy and your followers won’t appreciate it. Instead, share various articles, helpful hints, and other types of content that will appeal to your audience while only sharing promotional posts occasionally.

Ask Questions and Reply to Them

Another great way to engage your customers is to ask them questions or to crowd source answers for someone else’s questions. When you ask or share an engaging question, people will respond. When more people respond, your engagement rates go up and it increases the number of people that will see that post. This also increases the likelihood that they will respond.

After people respond to your question, or other posts, make sure you reply back to them, even if it’s only a simple “Thank You.” You’ll want to check your Facebook page often throughout the day to keep the conversation going because if you wait too long, you won’t get a reply. Engaging with your customers is a great way to keep them coming back.

Photos

This can’t be said enough. Use real photos. Don’t rely on stock photography because it can look fake, cheesy, and even lazy sometimes. Using real photography, even if it’s just a snapshot from your phone, can make a big difference. People like looking at photos because they are easier to digest than a standard post and they like seeing authentic photos even more.

Use Video

Facebook has developed its own video platform and if you want to engage your potential customers, you need to take advantage of it. In fact, using Facebook Video vs. sharing or embedding Youtube videos is better for engagement. Facebook’s video platform generates 2x more comments, 3x more shares, and 2x more reach than YouTube videos.

People like videos because similar to photos, they are easier to digest and comprehend than posts or articles. They are also usually more entertaining.

Develop a Facebook Marketing Strategy

In order to truly be successful at Facebook marketing and increasing engagement, you need a strategy to do so. You can’t just randomly share photos, videos, articles, or posts without having something solid behind it. It won’t be effective and won’t do you any good. So make sure you develop a strategy before diving in.

Organic Traffic Isn’t Dead

It may seem hard to believe but organic traffic on Facebook isn’t completely dead. It just takes a little more effort to increase your engagement rates using those methods. These 6 strategies should help you engage with your potential customers in a way that won’t break the bank. Try them out and then let us know how your engagement rates increase.

For more business advice, help and mentorship, try the DA System.

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