There are an infinite number of articles, blogs, and posts floating around in cyberspace that offer copious rules on how to craft a killer Facebook strategy.
I’m going to give you just THREE.
There is no single strategy that works for everyone. Every business, product and industry is different — and each needs to be treated uniquely.
So treat these less like rules, and more like core principles as you craft your Facebook strategy.
1. Pay Attention to Reach, but Focus on Engagement
Reach is how many people have seen your post, or how many digital “impressions” your post has registered. It’s a good indicator of how much exposure your product or business is receiving, but reach without engagement means there is a problem:
It means your audience is not connecting with your content.
Engagement focuses on a user’s interaction with your post: a like, click, comment or share. An increase in your Facebook engagement means that consumers are starting to connect with your brand, and by engaging with your content they INTRODUCE their social circle of influence to your post — and your business or product.
Reach is important for growing exposure, but engagement is your lifeblood.
2. Create Great Content
You would think this goes without saying, but all too often the major focus behind content creation is what we are going to get out of it.
The thing to keep in mind when creating content: it is not about you.
Social Media is about the people. Not about your business. Provide for the people and the people will provide for you. – Matt Goulart
Create more value than you are trying to receive and you will see your engagement rates spike. Putting yourself in the mind of your customer will keep you focused on what excites them the most and connects them to your brand. You could say you’re establishing a relationship of service to future customers…
Pick one day a week to craft and schedule that week’s Facebook posts. This will ensure your content is fresh and up-to-date, and will also help with maintaining consistency.
Giving you followers great content on a consistent basis will build trust between them and your brand resulting in increased organic engagement.
3. Understand Your Audience
You can’t know how to speak to someone who you do not know. Facebook’s Insights give you some basic information about your audience that will give you a better idea of how to connect with them.
Here are a few questions you should answer:
- What percentage of Male to Female are your followers?
- What are the two largest age groupings that your fans belong to?
- Where does most of your audience live?
Just answering these three basic questions can completely transform the way you communicate with your followers.
The second part of understanding your audience comes by analyzing how they interact with your content:
- What types of posts garner the highest engagement?
- What days and times of the week get the best response?
- What types of content gets a share — not just a like?
Remember when your parents used to tell you to do your homework? This is sort of like that. Do your homework! Study your audience, what you learn will make an immediate impact on your social media strategy.
When planned and executed correctly, each one of these steps tie together. Understanding your audience will lead to better content creation. Better content will grow your Facebook engagement with your followers, which in turn will increase your reach.