Our Blog

January 29, 2013

6 Ways to Boost Your Brand’s Facebook Engagement

by Dana Reinertson

Many people turn to social media every day to not only connect with each other, but also to read the news of the day and research topics of interest. With social media at the forefront of how we communicate, it is critical for brands to build a strong online presence and online community. Facebook is at the heart of most social media campaigns – but once you’ve created your page, how do you build your brand’s Facebook presence?

Here are six ways to boost your brand’s Facebook engagement, gain more likes and connect with your online audience:

Encourage discussion. Social media should be an ongoing conversation with your online audience – not just a way to shout into cyberspace. To start a conversation online try engaging as you would in person: ask a question or share useful information. Make your posts relevant to your brand and interesting enough to invoke a response. As a result, your post will be more likely to gain comments and begin a discussion.

Be visual. It’s no secret that people are attracted to things that catch the eye. So it makes sense to include photos or links when posting on social media. Not only does this make your post larger without getting wordy but including links has a number of advantages to drive traffic.

Promote internally. Make sure your Facebook page connects your audience to your own content. Does your company have a blog? Link to new posts with an intriguing teaser or related question. Share new products or even ask for feedback about how to make a good thing even better. Your subscribers will appreciate the opportunity to be heard, leading to re-shares of your content and expanding your reach.

Incentive likes. Are you having trouble gaining enough page likes? Hold a contest on your page or offer a small donation to a good cause per like. These tactics work best when they are connected to your brand – base the contest around your area of expertise. If possible, make the contest visual – then use the number of likes or shares to determine the winner.

Stand out. Many brands try to be so professional in their Facebook posts that they end up sounding dull – not a word you want connected to your brand identity. Users are far more likely to connect with a humanized voice than a stuffy, corporate tone. Don’t be afraid to have an opinion when sharing posts – just be careful not to go too far. This method creates an easy way for consumers to interact and increases the virality of your brand’s page and post.

Pay up. Though “paid” seems to be a dirty word in social media marketing, Facebook’s promoted posts are cost-effective and provide a lot of bang for your buck. Using the information Facebook gather about its users, you can be extremely targeted. Additionally, since users read their timeline with the most recent posts first, promoted posts allow your update to stay near the top of the news feed rather than getting lost in the clutter.

What do your favorite brands do on Facebook that you would like to emulate?

[Images via WikiMedia Commons and NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover's Facebook page]