Increasing User Activity on Your Facebook® Page
 |
With one in seven people on the planet using Facebook®, everyone pretty much knows that they should have some sort of presence on the popular social media site, but many are not sure just how to make the most of this opportunity. After conducting research on this topic for the last 18 months, I would like to share my personal experiences from a Facebook business page that I created and how those lessons learned might translate to your company pages.
When I embarked on my research effort over a year ago, I truly wanted to understand the dynamics of a successful Facebook page, so I created my own business page – Dreamy Desserts. Dreamy Desserts are peanut and tree nut-free baked sweets. Until just recently, I only had a presence in social media – Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest® – with the strongest emphasis on Facebook. In the last year and a half Dreamy Desserts has accumulated over 2,300 likes with an average engagement rate of 1% on every post.
To give you a point of reference, the site average for engagement is 1%. That means if you have 10,000 likes, you would need 100 likes and/or comments for each post to be on par with the site average. An easy way to check this is the “talking about this” stat on your page. You will want this number to be about 10% of your total likes. My page has been meeting, if not slightly exceeding this hurdle consistently for at least the last 6 months.
It’s very tempting to get distracted by the absolute number of likes on your page, but this number lacks any true value if those individuals who “like” your business are not interacting with your brand. So what did I do and how can you do it too? Well, I did advertise my page but I did so with strategic targeting. I always use lots of eye candy (no pun intended) in the form of attention-grabbing images. Finally, I am mindful of the content I post, keeping track of what garners attention and what doesn’t.
Advertising on Facebook
To be known, given I had no Dreamy Desserts website or any other means of communication, I needed to advertise. Facebook offers two types of advertisements: a traditional ad or a sponsored story. The traditional ad is an image with a few words of copy that appears to the right of your newsfeed containing a link offering to bring users to your FB page. A sponsored story is a post that you can promote that will appear directly in the newsfeeds of users.
I’ve tried both and I have to say hands down the traditional ad is more fruitful. That said, the sponsored story was able to extend the reach of my post from an average of 300-400 users to over 10,000 with nearly 2% engagement (double the site average). This could be very useful when you have some content that is viral in nature or important to communicate. With the traditional ads, I learned that with the proper targeting I would yield 8-10 new “likes” for every dollar I spent.
After telling you that engagement is more important than the absolute number of “likes”, why do I prefer to accumulate likes versus increased reach and engagement when I advertise? This is because Facebook, in an effort to keep our newsfeeds uncluttered, now meters page posts from businesses. A typical post will only be seen by about 10% of those who have already liked your page (so this would be 10 if you have 100 likes or 1000 if you have 10,000 likes). I prefer to grow my base so that when I do post a larger number of people will see each and every post instead of just those I choose to promote.
It takes about a dozen impressions to motivate an individual to a purchase intention. I would contend it’s better to continue to create impressions with the same group of people than to blast out a post to a group that may only ever get that one impression. This is why I only suggest sponsored stories with truly viral content or information, like promotions, to help maximize your reach.
Eye Candy
People are visual. The phenomenal success of Pinterest® has made quite a convincing case for this point. If what we see doesn’t intrigue us, we lose interest. I’ve found that imagery is vital to engagement on Facebook®. I no longer post without an accompanying image. If my content is a fact about chocolate for instance, I will make sure to include a visual of chocolate in one form or another.
The quality of the image posted needs to be taken to heart as well. The image needs to be vibrant, eye catching and professional in appearance. You don’t need a professional photographer or even a fancy camera, but rather an eye for a striking composition and possibly Photoshop® to clean it up. Every photo I’ve ever posted was taken with my mobile phone and cleaned up with Photoshop, many times with the PS Express, a Photoshop app on my phone.
People are more inclined to share pretty imagery on Facebook. Shares increase your reach and engagement and possibly the number of those who like your page. I once had a post with over 50 shares. The reach for this post was just north of 6,000, of which over 400 people either liked or commented on it. This single post increased my number of likes by about 20 users. This was not a sponsored ad, just a post with relevant content and an image.
Insightful Content
Some of the most viral posts I’ve seen on Facebook are from those e-cards. These images are simple line drawings designed to accompany a short message that strikes a chord with readers. These insightful posts only affirm to me that if we say or show something that resonates with users, they will respond. Content needs to either entertain, inform, or educate, with an emphasis on entertainment.
People want to be informed or educated when they are seeking something out, but always are open to being entertained. If you’re not particularly witty, don’t be afraid to share posts from other pages on yours. Therefore, if you can manage to entertain them via irresistible imagery, funny comments or both, you will find they will show their appreciation by engaging with your brand more often.
Converting Engaged Fans into Sales
Check back with me in about six months. I’m bringing Dreamy Desserts to market as I write this article and plan to continue my research as I attempt to convert my loyal Facebook fans into loyal customers. I will share my findings next summer, right here on The Giggle Guide®.
 |
About Insights Discovered
Penny Redlin is a regular contributor to the “Business Sense” feature on The Giggle Guide®, sharing insights about business planning, effective communications and marketing strategies.
Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Insights Discovered was founded by Penny Redlin in an effort to share her professional expertise within the children’s product category. The company’s mission is to give every mompreneur an opportunity for success. Insights Discovered exclusively services children’s products brands. The specific industry focus demonstrates a strong dedication to the unique needs of children’s products companies. Insights Discovered offers strategic planning, market research and traditional marketing services.
For more information, visit www.insightsdiscovered.com or call 702.218.5707.
