Keep reading for more tips to increase Facebook engagement in 2021.
11. Post consistently and choose the right times to post
Because the Facebook News Feed is based on an algorithm, your followers won’t necessarily see your content the moment it’s posted. Still, “when was this published” is one of the signals for the Facebook algorithm. And Facebook itself says that you’re more likely to see engagement if you publish when your followers are online.
To find out the most effective times to post on Facebook, learn when your viewers are active using Page Insights:
- From your Facebook Page, click on Insights at the top of the screen
- In the left column, click Posts
- Click When Your fans Are Online
Times are shown in your local time zone. In case your followers all seem to be active in the middle of the night, they’re likely in a different time zone from your location. To verify, click People in the left column, then scroll down to see the countries and cities in which your fans and followers are located.
Of course, you don’t need to get up in the middle of the night to post on Facebook. This can be a great reason to schedule Facebook posts using a scheduler tool.
The most important thing is to publish consistently, so your viewers come to expect to see content from you frequently. Testing will allow you to determine how often you should publish to get the best response from fans, but social media experts suggest posting at least two or three times per week.
12. Drive traffic from other sources
People who are already interacting with you on different channels are potential engagement sources. Ensure they know where to find you on Facebook.
Try including a link to your Page on other social media networks. Add a link to Facebook from your website and email signature — many companies (like The Cut) do this at the bottom of their website, or on their “About” page.
Include a Facebook plugin on your blog to highlight your new posts, or embed a Facebook post directly in a blog post.
Don’t forget about offline materials. Add your Facebook Page URL on your business cards, event posters, and packing slips.
13. Get active in Facebook groups
Creating a Facebook group is an effective way to get followers involved and engaged. More than 1.8 billion users use Facebook groups. And those meaningful interactions in groups can create brand loyalty and lead to increased engagement on your Facebook Page.
Mixed Makeup has a personal group for followers to share skincare tips and ask for beauty advice — with over 64,000 members, it’s an awesome example of community building.
Becoming a member of different relevant Facebook groups can also be a good way to connect with fellow entrepreneurs and thought leaders in your industry.
14. Use Facebook Stories
Like Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories is shown at the top of your News Feed. That’s a great placement for drawing eyeballs to your content — especially knowing that 500 million people use Facebook stories daily.
This casual method of sharing content allows you to post as often as you like, without worrying about annoying your followers on their News Feed. And since people expect production quality to be lower on Stories, you can be more personal and at the moment create a stronger personal connection with followers.
Source: 20×200
That stronger connection builds a desire to see more of your content, making followers more likely to take a look at—and engage with—the content posted on your Page.
15. Add a call-to-action button
A call-to-action button on your Page provides people Facebook engagement options beyond liking, sharing, and commenting.
Eye Buy Direct, for example, has a “Shop Now” button to get more traffic for its slick specs.
Your CTA button can ask viewers to:
- Book an appointment
- Contact you (including via Facebook Messenger)
- Watch a video
- Click through to your website
- Shop your products or see your offers
- Download your app or play your game
- Visit and be a part of your Facebook group
16. Get verified
People need to know who they’re speaking to online. This applies to brands, too. A verified badge shows that you’re the real deal and your visitors can really feel safe engaging with your posts.
We will trust that anything this Showtime account, for instance, is coming directly from the network. (Thank goodness! No lies about Ziwe over here!)
After all, no one wants to like or share a post from a fake Page.
17. Avoid engagement bait
Once you’re hoping for likes and shares, it may be tempting to ask for likes and shares. Don’t do it! Facebook considers this engagement bait and can penalize you by downranking your posts in the Facebook algorithm.
As mentioned above, it’s effective to ask a genuine question or ask your followers for their opinion or suggestions. You cross the line when you ask for a comment that doesn’t indicate any real consideration.
React baiting, comment baiting, share baiting, tag baiting, and vote baiting are all considered a faux pas.
Source: Facebook
18. Boost your Facebook posts
Boosting a post is an easy type of Facebook advertising that allows you to get your post in front of more people, and thereby enhance your chances of engagement.
19. Join a trending conversation
Piggybacking on major events or trending hashtags is an effective way to diversify your Facebook content and show that your brand has some range.
Speaking of pigs: even Peppa was getting in on the trending Suez Canal news when that was the hot topic of internet gossip.
20. Get a bit of help from your friends (or employees, or influencers)
When people share your content, that’s a hint to Facebook that this is the great stuff. So encouraging your team, family, or friends to share your posts with their own network doesn’t just get you in front of their followers: it helps increase you in the newsfeed for everyone.
Some brands use an employee advocacy program to accomplish this. Another way to spread your reach is to team up with ambassadors, influencers, or partners — though this would likely be a paid endeavor.
21. Run contests
Surprise! People love free stuff. Giveaways and competitions are an effective way to get people excited to interact and follow your Page.
That being said, Facebook does have some regulations around contests on its site (and your region or country might, too!) so ensure to familiarize yourself with the rules before you start handing out the grand prizes.
22. Scope out the competition
Keeping track of what your nemesis is up to is a method to ensure you’re not left behind or missing out on something that’s working well.
23. Repackage successful content
If a post worked well, don’t just pat yourself on the back and call it a day… start thinking about how you can repackage that successful content and get a bit more out of it.
For example, if a how-to video is successful, can you spin a blog post out of that? Or repost this link with a brand new photo and a compelling question?
In fact, you’ll need to spread those posts out — maybe by a few weeks — so it’s not obvious you’re repeating yourself.