The best way to succeed on Facebook is to engage with your fans on a regular basis. Take a look a these helpful tips and ideas about what you should post on your page to keep fans interested, encourage them to participate more and improve your EdgeRank:

• Open-ended questions:

Phrase your status update in the form of a question. Use words such as where, who, how etc. EdgeRank Checker recently published statistics illustrating that comments carry 4x more value than likes. Likes remain the most common form of engagement on Facebook but comments receive nearly 4 times as many clicks. When a user comments on a page the comment is shown on their wall and, depending on your EdgeRank, their friends’ newsfeed, generating more awareness and promoting your page among other users.  Starting a conversation or discussion is the best way to get fans to participate but remember not to be too controversial with your status updates. The question feature on the status bar at the top of your page also facilities discussions as it allows you to create polls.

• Post videos or photos:

Content that takes a longer time to process gets a higher EdgeRank score. Videos and photos are visually attractive and improve your page aesthetically. Videos also pose the possibility of going viral which will enhance your profile within the online community. Don’t forget to include a strong call to action underneath your posts such as ‘go ahead and share it’ or ‘so you find this pic funny, share it with your friends and see if they do too.’

• Tell it, don’t sell it:

The purpose of Facebook is to build a relationship with fans that will turn into future sales. Direct, immediate, pushy selling is not appreciated on Facebook and fans will lose interest in your brand and turn off quickly. Furthermore, EdgeRank will downgrade your ranking if your content is all about pushing your products rather than networking or engaging with your fans. It is possible to predominantly use Facebook to engage with customers but insert an eCommerce shop (called fCommerce) onto your Facebook page as a new tab. In this way you can engage fully with your fans, make you product available to buy from you Facebook page and from time to time refer fans to your Facebook Shop for special offers/news. In this way the selling is more subtly allowing fans to approach this at their own pace, maintaining integrity for your brand. 

You can also publish information that is relevant to your business/products but the important point is not to come across as too pushy for sales.  Try not commit the Facebook status crime of boring updates or general status updates that are totally irrelevant to your product. We’ve seen some businesses at a loss on what to say and their last ten updates were merely commenting on the weather. Of course some businesses are luckier than others. For example Travel Agents, have more opportunities to post creative statuses that relate to their products. An example of a status update for a company that sells luggage could be ‘what are your top 3 must pack holiday items?’ instead of posting ‘The weather is miserable here today, I’d love a holiday’ or pushing the product with a status such as ‘New suitcases in stock for just €19.99.’

• Showcase your expertise:

If you write a blog or have a company website, be sure to post links on your Facebook page back to your website and visa versa. Show your expertise in an area by posting a link to your business blog with your latest article. Fans can share and like your articles or company website and this will show on their wall or newsfeed. Blogs create interesting page content and also give fans the opportunity to learn more about your business, comment and interact.

 If you would like assistance setting up, managing your Facebook business page or defining a strategy to use Facebook to sell your products and services – Contact us here…