How to Engage on Social Media: Facebook

How to Engage on Social Media: Facebook

How to Engage on Social Media: Facebook

This is part of my series How to Engage on Social Media: The Complete Guide. The other parts are here:

Why Facebook?

Love it or hate it, Facebook is big and impossible to ignore. It’s not the elephant or the room, it’s the elephant AND the room! At over one billion users, Facebook is the most popular platform for social media marketers. Forbes has some of the top ten reasons to be on Facebook. Many people dislike the platform, since it has become “pay to play,” but you can’t deny that your audience is there.

“Fully 72% of online American adults use Facebook, a proportion unchanged from September 2014.”

~ Pew Research Center

Popular with Everyone

In addition, “82% of online adults ages 18 to 29 use Facebook, along with 79% of those ages 30 to 49, 64% of those ages 50 to 64 and 48% of those 65 and older.” (Pew Research Center). So it’s the perfect place to engage with others.

amusement park photo

Engagement

There are so many ways to engage on Facebook now. There’s live video, there are the usual likes and comments, and you can share posts and tag people or companies. There are ways to send messages either privately or publicly. Here’s one way to proceed–decide which level you’d like to be at, with Level One being the easiest, and Level Five, the most difficult.

party resort photo

Photo by familymwr

Engagement: Level One

Simply read and “like” other people’s posts. This is the most basic level. If you’re engaging on behalf of a company or brand, choose where you spend your time engaging. Then make the rounds daily, just the way you might visit favorite relatives during the holidays.

amusement park photo

Engagement: Level Two

The next level of engagement is to comment on others’ posts. Again, be careful where you spend your time. Choose those who are engaging! By the way, if you make a mistake while commenting, you can go back and edit your comments later.

Tip: Use a timer so you don’t get lost down a rabbit hole, distracted by endless cute videos of cats and puppies. Although that could be your reward once you get done!

amusement park photo

Engagement: Level Three

Know your brand’s voice, and use it exclusively when you post. So, rather than posting with a generic headline, try writing a few different headlines until something comes to mind. Or, alternately, comment upon the content or the headline when you post. PostPlanner has an excellent article about using your brand’s voice to boost your engagement.

Engagement: Level Four

Consider the Five Ws and the H when you post: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.

  • Who is your audience? Your ideal customer is the middle of your bull’s eye.
  • What issues bother them? Do a survey to find out.
  • When are they online? Check your page’s analytics to see.
  • Where do you want them to go once they’ve engaged with you?
  • Why do they need the content you’re posting?
  • How will the content you post help solve a problem?

In case you still don’t know why online relationships are important, Justine Pretorious answers that question: “Online Relationships — Are They Important?

disney map photo

Engagement: Level Five

Experiment and vary the types and amount of posts you make. So, for instance, do a newsy post in the morning, a more meaty post at lunch time, and a light-hearted post around dinner time. You might also post differently depending upon the day of the week. Having a strategy and then mixing it up is important–then keep track of what is working. Some social media managers post ten or more times per day. Others only post once or twice per week.

Which Engagement Level Are You?

Are you a six? Or are you closer to a two? Let me know in the comments! And thank you.

Comments

  1. I do a combination of all five. You don’t want to be the one who only likes or who always comments, you know?

    As always, good job writing something with actionable advice.

  2. Thanks, Carol. I recently took my page out of mothballs. I hid it some time ago because I got frustrated with the “pay to play” environment. After discussion with some other individuals who also sell Zazzle and other print-on-demand products, I decided to try again. I’m posting once or twice a day right now and getting active in commenting and liking again. I’m running my first contest at the moment. It’s a lesson in itself.

    • Hi Patricia,

      I know what you mean about frustration with “pay to play.” Facebook is getting more and more pricey, yet more people spend more time there as time goes on. So we can’t afford to completely ignore it. How’s the contest going so far?

      Carol

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