The game of social media can be challenging to be successful. The battle against viral memes, “influencers,” and ever-changing algorithms is a challenge for any business, especially charities, whose mission and values frequently don’t translate into a flurry of viral posts.
This is why we’re starting an article series on increasing engagement through social media. There are, of course, several platforms to choose from that. We’ll concentrate on the top three: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
In the process of tackling the first of this list: Facebook, be sure to keep in your mind the following cardinal rule:
Keep in mind what people use on the platform.
On Facebook, users are more likely to browse through their newsfeeds while taking a moment to look (and click) at exciting posts. Users on Facebook tend to be more inclined than those on Instagram and YouTube to click the link that will take them off the platform and onto a different page click here.
Your followers are likely to view your posts in two places: either in their news feed (if you follow them) or when they look up and visit your page. This rarely happens, while the former only applies to about 2% of followers. Therefore, it isn’t easy to be noticed by people on Facebook.
Here’s our animated question If even those who have consciously followed your page don’t seem to be getting your updates, what is the best way to get them to see it? What can you do to make your business visible on Facebook?
SIX TOP TIPS
Here are some ways to boost engagement, gain more attention to your posts and appear on your followers’ feeds more often.
It is optimized for mobile devices.
Social media management may post from their desktop; however, most users will view your posts via smartphones. Therefore posts which consider this tend to be more successful:
Utilize the square (1:1) and Vertical (4:5 or 9/16) aspect ratios on every single video or image you upload. They will take up more significant “real estate” in a Facebook feed. This results in long “dwell times” and higher engagement.
Keep videos short. Take a video that is about one or two minutes at max. Your viewers’ attention span is limited, and people typically do not go to Facebook to view videos. (YouTube, however, is an entirely different matter, and we’ll discuss this in the third instalment of the series.)
Keep the copy short . . . It’s not except if it’s LONG. Listen to me out. Facebook is a platform on which two types of content thrive in the form of short, quick sentences and lengthy “rants.” The latter is something you should only do in moderation and should be reserved when the issue is urgent or time-sensitive. It should also convey a compelling story that cannot be limited to a mere 50 characters.
Encourage sharing.
You can accomplish this easily by adding a short line of text, such as “Share with your friends”, at the end of your post.
However, one strategy that’s more likely to succeed is creating content that people instinctively desire to share. For instance, you could post:
- Insightful quotes
- Stories that move or testimonials about the mission of your organization and the impact it has had on society
- Compelling statistics
Here’s an illustration that shows “shareable” statistics in a blog post by Pew Research Center. People come across content like this and are eager to interact in share it with their contacts.
Visualize.
You might have seen articles similar to this recently go viral:
Yes, it’s the screenshot of a tweet uploaded to Facebook. Why is this more effective than simply writing out an update to a status?
It’s easy: a screen occupies more space.
People are more likely to be aware of this while scrolling. It’ll catch their attention and draw their attention until they put it down . . . and then dwell and focus on it for a while. They may tap it to look it up more closely. This can make to increase your engagement.
Content that you reuse.
If you have articles or news you want to share, make sure to publish them. If you distribute an annual donor report or magazine for donors, make short pieces that highlight the successes and then share the articles. If you’ve sent out an email blast that you are proud of, then take some of the text and make an article on Facebook.
All blog posts, surveys, quizzes, ebooks, or other educational materials are ideal for sharing on social media.
The bottom line is that if you’ve already written something, you can create a few lines of text and publish an image on Facebook. This keeps your followers informed and helps keep your page updated.
Are you concerned that your followers will get exhausted or witness your content being shared across different channels? Not just you are worried about this but do not be worried.
There’s an old marketing adage called “the “Rule of 7” that states that people should be shown the same message at minimum (you probably guessed the number) seven times before the message becomes a habit. It’s OK if they encounter the same message repeatedly. It could even be beneficial. (Remember the things I mentioned earlier about the short attention spans?)