As the largest social media network, Facebook is a necessary part of any brand’s inbound marketing strategy. Facebook is built for sharing and it’s most often used tool is the “like” button. However, for your Facebook marketing to have an impact it is no longer enough to only have your fans “like” your content. By focusing on generating likes, rather than engagement, you could be missing opportunities to generate leads, extend your reach capabilities, and increase your brand’s recognition.
A higher engagement rate on your Facebook is much more valuable to your brand than the number of likes. Likes on posts do feed into your engagement statistics, however they do not help to convert your visitors into qualified online leads or customers and that should be your ultimate goal. Your Facebook social media marketing strategy should be used as another tool that you can to use to drive traffic to your website, generate leads, and build brand loyalty with your visitors, leads and customers. A successful engagement strategy should mean followers that actively share/promote your posts, comment on your posts, and click on your links.
The Facebook for marketing landscape has gone through many changes over the past two years. You may have noticed in particular that your reach statistics have been steadily decreasing. This is not by accident. In 2013, the organic reach capabilities of a Facebook post were 16%, as of March 2015 this reach capability has decreased to 1-2%. This means that having a heavily liked page now no longer matters, what matters is fan interaction with posts. If you have fans that engage with your content, it tells Facebook that they want to see your posts in their Newsfeeds.
Facebook's algorithm now actively seeks out premium content. The goal is that only high quality, relevant content will get through to a user's Newsfeed. This is where engaging with your visitors can make a significant difference to your marketing campaign. When people engage with your content it tells Facebook's algorithm that the fan wants to see more from your page on their Newsfeed.
To engage your followers, you will first need to take the time to understand your fans and target audience. Determine what they like and then design your premium quality content around this knowledge. The content that you do post should always be focused on encouraging your fans to engage. Fans traditionally engage with relevant and useful content that starts a conversation. Sample posts can include: blog posts, creative images, topical news stories and targeted questions.
After all when a fan interacts with something that you have posted it means they are interested in you and your product. Additionally, having your fans like a post or photos feeds the Facebook algorithm and enhances your ability to continue to have your posts show up in their news feed. But if your ultimate goal is to turn visitors into leads and then customers, you need to provide content for the fans that will drive them to your offers and your website.
The takeaway? In every decision that you make for your Facebook inbound strategy should centre on influencing your audience to engage - so when you do have a promotional post go up (which Facebook's algorithm frowns upon) you will have a better chance of it ending up in your fan's Newsfeeds. Increase your chances even more when you have the social media experts at H&C Inc. creating and executing your Facebook strategy. Contact us to see the potential for your social media channels.