Facebook marketing is an effective and inexpensive way to reach your target demographic. But as users’ news feeds become more cluttered, you may find it harder to stand out from the crowd. Facebook recently overhauled their algorithms, restricting the number of people who actually see your posts- especially posts to your business page.
But marketing on Facebook is still just as rewarding as it ever was, perhaps even more so. The only difference is that when Facebook culture changes, we must all change with it! Try these four methods to reach a wider audience and reap a greater benefit from each Facebook post.
Post videos. We’ve always known that a post containing a visual will receive more attention than a post containing text only. But we can take this concept one step further thanks to Facebook’s auto-play feature for videos. As your audience members scroll through their news feeds, videos that you post will play automatically (depending on the user’s settings). This will grab far more attention than a standard update, which translates into more publicity for you.
As always, there are rules for reaping the most from your video posts. First, post the video directly to Facebook, rather than linking from YouTube, Vimeo, or your website. Second, take advantage of the ability to choose one video to be featured prominently on your Facebook page at all times. Third, check out Facebook’s video playlist feature, which allows you to group related videos for your audience. Facebook is currently rolling out that last feature, so try again in a few weeks if you don’t see it yet.
Target your posts. Unfortunately, Facebook’s algorithm prevents all but just a small percentage of your followers from seeing your posts organically, but through the use of targeting (a paid feature for business pages) you can get your posts in front of a specific demographic. Even though this option is not free, it is fairly inexpensive and far more effective than relying on organic distribution of your posts. Use this feature to ensure that the audience members who would most value your posts will actually see them in their news feeds.
Post more frequently. If your posts aren’t reaching a wide enough audience, posting more frequently can help to increase engagement. Naturally, you don’t want to annoy your audience, so only try this tactic if you have the time to keep an eye on your Facebook Insights. These statistics show you how often your audience is engaging with you, and helps you to see whether frequency of posting is causing negative feedback.
Stretch your creative muscles. If all businesses in your area are posting the same type of content, how will you stand out among the crowd? By getting creative! In the upper right-hand side of your news feed, you may notice “Trending Topics”. And when you click on these trending news topics, as many of your audience members do, you will see other posts by people who have mentioned that topic. Remember, if you want people to be interested in your material, it must be interesting first!
If you can word your posts creatively, you can take advantage of free publicity. For example, if “Obamacare” is trending, a health insurance company could use that word in their posts. If “Kim Kardashian” is trending, a health or wellness company might mention her in reference to their skin care line. Use your imagination, and you can multiply the reach of your posts!
