Making your social media accounts work for your bottom line is a bit of a mystery at times. As a business owner, we can sometimes be under the impression that simply having a Facebook page is enough. It helps put your name in more places on the internet and gives you a platform to post promotions or exciting news about your company. Nevertheless, how would you rate the amount of customer engagement you’re getting from Facebook?
What is engagement on Facebook?
Let’s turn to the source for this one—Facebook defines engagement as the rate or percentage of people who saw your post that reacted to, shared, clicked on, or commented on it.
It’s important to know the stats behind your various posts to determine what is working for you and what is not. When planning to increase your engagement on Facebook, it takes more than just posting your most interesting observations or a steal of a deal to actually trigger customer participation.
Related: Facebook Marketing for Business Owners
How to Increase Engagement on Facebook
Aside from the obvious responding to comments, there are other ways to engage with followers on Facebook. Creating activities and directly reaching out to your online followers will help you rack up the likes and reposts.
Providing an incentive to engage with your business through social media is that little boost you need to actually get people involved in a way that will eventually get your brand more exposure and hopefully draw in some new customers. Here are a few ways to make that happen.
Facebook Contests
Running a Facebook contest is a simple and fun way to encourage your followers to get involved with your organization. The planning process is simple on your end, and there are so many different ways to run a Facebook contest that the possibilities are virtually endless. Once you get the hang of organizing social media contests and see the value they bring your business and overall social media presence, you’ll be tempted to run them on a regular basis. Check out these examples of Facebook contests as inspiration for your own.
Tag People on Facebook
Tagging people on Facebook is a direct way of saying, “Hey! We see you Loyal Customer!” And guess what? People love it! Tagging gives customers a warm fuzzy feeling when they’re mentioned in a company’s post. Not to mention, it will show up on their page and subsequently in the feed of their followers, giving you exposure to hundreds of possible customers and new followers.
Also, if you tag another business, chances are they will return the favor by either reposting (it’s self-serving for them to do so) or by liking your post. Small business owners all know that marketing and self-promotion are an uphill battle and most of them are happy to return the favor.
Add Location to Facebook Posts
Adding your location on your Facebook page does more than just round out your profile. Including your company location on Facebook is a fantastic way of pushing organic traffic to your page.
Many times, people will use Facebook to check out events in their area or in a similar way to how they’d use Google. If someone has, say, moved to a new area of town or is looking for a new place to eat on a Saturday night, if you’ve added your location to Facebook, you’ll pop-up in their search, which hopefully leads to a pop-in from a new customer.
If you’re having an event, posting on Facebook and adding the location may also entice followers nearby to drop in. Post a photo if you’re at a particularly scenic location or let people know where you’re going to be and give them time to get ready for the fun!
Share Consumer Generated Content
We absolutely love the notion of using consumer or user generated content. Sharing photos or stories that your customers have posted to their personal pages does a few things:
- Produces free marketing that took you no time to create
- Sharing a customer’s post helps them build a connection with you and your business
- Demonstrates your appreciation for their support
- Tells the world that people are actually buying your product or service and are satisfied with it
When people see that their friend just had the most amazing appointment with their massage therapist or that a life-coach helped someone make meaningful changes in their life, there’s someone out there that’s going to look at their posts and want a piece of that happiness.
You can encourage consumer generated content by finding ways to work it into social media contests and by regularly rewarding the unsolicited PR by reposting the kudos with a big ‘thank you’.
Facebook can be a tremendous channel for generating interest in your business, but let’s face it, we’re not all social media wizards. Luckily for those of us that may need a little hand holding, there are resources available to help you navigate and use Facebook as a powerful marketing tool.
Don’t forget to keep track of how your efforts are panning out so you can be sure to double down on those that are succeeding and maybe work a little harder or throw out the ones that aren’t.
