How to write engaging facebook posts
In our internet world there’s one thing which sometimes feels more rare than the lesser spotted slow worm and more needed than an oasis in the Sahara Desert; is engagement.
One word that’s synonymous with Facebook is engagement. BuzzSumo has analysed over 880 million Facebook posts to find out that Facebook page engagement has fallen by 20% since the start of 2017. I was no surprise that in January 2018, Facebook announced an algorithm change designed to;
“bring people closer together and build relationships”. Now more than ever before the focus is firmly on engagement, with priority given to posts that “spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people.”
Figuring out what to post on Facebook can be tough though. How do you create content that encourages engagement?
The perfect Facebook post
There has been lots of research on the anatomy of the perfect Facebook post and most has agreed upon the following;
- Is a link post
- is brief—80-150 characters
- timely and newsworthy
- follows other posts on a regular schedule
- posted at non-peak times
That’s just for starters, there are a host of other factors that can help you create a post which garners lots of engagement.
That said, I want to share with you 15 tips for writing awesome Facebook posts that should help you get more engagement from your fans and tribe.
Short posts win
Facebook feeds are so busy, which means people are skimming more than ever. With an increasing number of pages and people to follow the news feed for many is very crowded. Most people tend to skim through posts quickly and won’t read long winded posts. They will scan its first two or three sentences to decide if they want to click “See more,” so your posts have to intrigue or interest them at the start.
How can you do this? Well, there are a few different ways. Starting with an odd word, maybe a strange fact, an insight of yours, start telling a story or simply by asking a question.
Ask a question
Don’t ask open ended questions as that requires people to think and sometimes people just can’t be bothered. It’s much better to give people to pick from two answers. This makes it super easy to respond to and so you will get more engagement.
Offer valuable information
Whatever the purpose is of your post, make sure you are giving some valuable information. Don’t give everything away, especially if you’re asking them to click a link to find out more.
Include a clear call-to-action
People will actually often do as you ask them to, but you have to ask them clearly. If you want someone to click the link ask them to click the link. This could be ‘click like if you agree’.
Answer comments
We know Facebook want engagement so make sure you engage with your audience. If they leave a comment or a question answer them. It all counts as engagement. Respond with another question to encourage them to respond again (more engagement!). Another great way to increase engagement in this way is to jump on Facebook live (which Facebook prioritise in the news feed) and do an Q&A session for your audience.
Add a link
Make sure you position your link as the solution to the problem you’ve spoken about, leading on from the call to action.
Be positive
The posts which get the most shares, comments and likes are the positive ones, inspirational ones. Ones which make people ‘feel good’.
Use an image
The vast majority of your posts should include images. Photos carry the greatest weight in the Edgerank algorithm on Facebook and also they tend to be the type of post which is shared most often. Facebook posts with emoticons get 33% more comments than those without…
Language
Reading online is different to print. The content which is consumed most easily is using simple words. Short sentences which are to the point and broken into short paragraphs. Use power words, active verbs, and don’t be afraid of sharing your personal and business stories. Be sure to keep your language and tone consistent.
News jacking
Do you have an opinion on a topic in the news, if so share it.
Use stats
Sharing stats, especially shocking or surprising ones can be a great way to increase engagement. So look in your industry for any recent research that you can then share. A great tip is to set up a google alert which means you will get an email with article links every time your chosen keyword in mentioned on Google.
Incorporate user generated content
Sharing posts and images from your audience has two benefits. Your content is created for you which saves you time and also you followers will feel more included and appreciated by your brand.
Delve into your stats
Dive into your analytics page and find out what posts are performing the best for you. Are there any common threads you can utilise to create more of that type of content? On Facebook, there are four types of content you can post: text, video, links, images and images. Socialbakers found that it was video which was the most important engagement driver, followed by text updates, links and photos. Do you find the same on your page?
Plan everything
Plan out your content so you can stay in control and organised. This will lead to improved consistency and people respond to brands who keep showing up day after day.
Try different publishing times
So, the research suggests that posts which are published at non peak time get the most engagement, but this is an average of all the pages they assessed. It’s always better to test things out with your specific audience to see if the research holds true.
Watch the trends on Facebook to see how you could capitalise on them. Their algorithm favours Live video, so could you incorporate that? Working with the algorithm will make attracting that desired engagement so much easier.
Do you have any way of increasing engagement on Facebook which have worked for you?
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Comments 8
This is so relevant right now – thanks for sharing.
It really is important to use Social Media strategy to ensure that you can see ROI on what you’re putting out there, particularly for businesses.
Hi there,
This is a great post. Engagement on Facebook is still on the decline every day, but that is mostly because Facebook pages don’t show up on people’s feeds anymore. With that said, I would highly recommend using a Facebook Group to increase engagement. It is much more easy for posts in groups to reach a wider audience. However, the same tips you have suggested above apply: short posts, images, and everything else.
Thank you for sharing!
Author
Yes you will definitely get more engagement in groups, but often they are the next step in your funnel and obviously you can’t run ads in there yet so worth trying to increase the engagement of your page (so you can retarget etc) 🙂
Before writing posts for a social network such as Facebook, you need to understand its features. I think that everyone will agree that long posts of 1000 words are unlikely to be very attractive to readers on Facebook. But a short description and enticing title can help you translate the reader to your website, where there will be an article in 1000 words. I’ve been doing social media and content for over three years and I know some of the ways that work best.
I have identified three main ways that I have helped to achieve success
– Short and enticing ads
– Jokes and seals(though it is very useful for any audience)
– First-class content
I think it’s a well-known technique, but still)))
All the best!
Hello, love to read your article and get so much information through your blog and learn new things. You write very well, am amazed by your blogging, you will definitely achieve success.
Great! Loved your post. So informative. Thank you!! so much for sharing!
These are all great suggestions! I struggle to get Facebook engagement, especially with my business page. I will be using some of these tips to hopefully turn some of that around although I know the Facebook algorithm no longer loves business pages (grrrr). Thanks for sharing!
P.S. Love your opening line!
Author
Thanks!