Having over 900 million active users, Facebook is the leading platform for brands to connect to consumers. The social network is the optimal resource to spread news and drive awareness among clients. To increase fan engagement, brands should share effective Facebook posts that will get shared and clicked-on.
Here are 10 tips for writing more effective Facebook Wall posts and get the most out of them.
Keep it short
People are scanning Facebook, not reading it. The longer the post is, the less engaging fans find it. Buddy Media research shows that Facebook posts with 80 characters or less receive 66% higher fan engagement, and posts that are less than 40 characters in length receive 86% higher engagement. Give links to long texts or use notes and your blog for topics needing over 140 characters.
Avoid complicated Wall posts
Interesting content can be added to Wall posts in the form of links, photos and videos. The data shows that simple posts achieve the most engagement for the retail industry. The two most effective types of brand posts contain a single photo attachment or use only words. According to Buddy Media, status-only posts receive 94% higher than average engagement.
Consider your audience
Make sure you draw people into what you are saying by asking questions, editing and revising with the audience in mind. Discuss topics people love. Think that you are talking to a person, not a group. Even though you are speaking to your entire network, only one person reads your words at a time. Use personal pronouns and contractions and maintain a relaxed, friendly tone.
Ask questions
People are twice more likely to comment on a “question” post than a “non-question” one. The best way to get the conversation rolling is to ask a question. To drive comments, ask a direct question and ask for the response. Such approach can help to draw in people who like to give their advice, opinions, or ideas. The key guidelines are brevity, ease of reading and answering, and interesting topics. Fill in the blank posts are also extremely popular. They receive a great number of comments.
Use an eye-catching image
There is no type of content that generates better response than photos. Posts with good pictures on Facebook get better visibility in the News Feed due to the higher EdgeRank score. When you share photos, make sure they look great and are eye-catching in a smaller version, as most people will see a reduced size in their News Feed or mobile app.
Add links
If links are good, topical, and regular, you'll have friends clicking on them and leaving comments and likes. But avoid URL shorteners. This finding is the complete opposite of the findings on Twitter. Engagement rates are 3 times higher for Wall posts that use the full-length URL. Use full URLs and let users know exactly where they’re going when they click a link!
Keep variety in your posts
Don’t use images or links in every single post. Keep it interesting by mixing in links, videos, questions, polls, and text only updates. Don’t post about the same thing every time, especially if no one is responding or interacting. Mix up your text posts too, some personal, some valuable, some fun, some current events.
Choose the right time
The best time of the week to write is towards the end of the week. Posting on weekends has rates higher than other days of the week, so make sure to post on these days. Post one to four times per week. Wall posts written between 8 PM and 7 AM have 20% higher engagement rates. More people are on Facebook outside of the business hours, so make sure to think of the time of the day when publishing. Posting one to two times per day produces 40% higher user engagement.
Tell fans what to do
Your fans will follow your instructions; and the simpler the instruction, the better it is. Ask fans to share, comment, or tell you something – fans will listen and respond by commenting. Driving “Likes” happens by asking for them. Simple calls to action such as “Click like if you agree” often work well. Tell users what you want, they will listen and your Facebook page will grow.
Respond
Be interacting and responsive. Act on feedback. For example, if someone asked for a photo, give it to them! And say something like “you asked for it, so here it is!” Acknowledgement is really important. It's not only polite to acknowledge people’s interest, but it can also take things to a new level if you continue to interact about a particular topic. You never know what you might learn or what good might come from it!
Try to follow these pieces of advice and tell us which ones are the most effective. If you have questions or other suggestions, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment below.