A few years back, when Mark Zuckerberg came up with a concept for a social networking site called Facebook, he certainly had no idea the significance it would have in peoples lives in years to come. And now, 11 years on, Facebook’s more than one billion users make it a cultural, economic and social phenomenon and has revolutionised the way we look at social networking. It’s most definitely the biggest platform you can get if you seek to engage with many people simultaneously and the fact that it can help businesses in growing and reaching out to a new customer base has added to its popularity. It’s simple: businesses nowadays simply cannot ignore Facebook and it’s social media power in an effort to promote their brand.
Today when you look at Facebook and the groups or fan pages that exist on the site, you will find that every popular brand is there. They are not only there but are active on almost a daily basis. For the present generation, who spend a lot more time on the internet than on the TV, brands needed to change their approach and ensure that their Facebook pages were up to scratch with relevant and appropriate material. Which poses the question: What is the key to posting effective and engaging content on Facebook? In this latest blog, I have come up with 5 top tips for creating great Facebook content, including some relevant examples who use Facebook effectively. So, my top tips are as follows;
- Post interesting content
There is no doubting the fact that content is king. The key to developing a winning fan page that builds fans and pushes your business forward is to post content that genuinely interests your customers. Whether its funny, emotional or controversial, the content on your Facebook page should ALWAYS be interesting, if not, then no one is going to remember or interact with your page.
An example which always springs to mind for me is Paddy Power, the mischievous bookmakers who never disappoint with their cheeky and often controversial posts. Its content creation strategy focuses on humour and fun, deriving from the main sporting news stories of the day while promoting its own campaigns.
As well as using humour, Paddy Power never fail to shock with their advertising. This can be seen in the above image which was posted to their Facebook recently in which they unveiled a controversial IRA inspired billboard for the Marriage Referendum in May. Although controversial, Paddy Power’s strategy is clearly working over the longer term.
2. Use Competitions, but in moderation
Facebook competitions are a great way to interact with fans.Most businesses with a Facebook Page have run a contest of one sort or another, starting from some original prize ideas. Contests are great, but they should be a fun and exciting, try to avoid the usual ‘Like and Share’ competitions. Try an essay, photo, or video contest to get a higher level of engagement with fans.
Dove’s Real Beauty Should be Shared contest on Facebook hit the branding bullseye. They ran a fill in the blank contest, with photos. They asked their Fans to tell them why their friend “represents Real Beauty”, by filling in their friend’s name, and two things that make them beautiful. This was a brilliantly branded campaign. Not only does Dove get a real, genuine face for further in-store marketing campaigns, but their brand is further associated with real people sharing – making their slogan more than just words.
Also, if you choose to run a Facebook contest, tag your customers so that the post appears on their wall too. That way you’re furthering your sphere of influence by reaching out to friends of your fans.
3. Ask Questions
Facebook is one of the best ways to have a direct conversation with fans of your brand. You can make the most of this by encouraging discussion and sharing on your page. One of the best ways to do this is by asking questions. According to social media blogger, Jeff Bullas, Facebook posts that ask questions result in double the comments of other posts.
4. Keep it fresh
Like anything, building a presence on Facebook takes time. Posting regularly will make sure your followers get new content. Facebook suggests posting about once a day to ensure people keep returning to your page. However this will vary depending on your business. There can also be a risk with posting too much. As Mashable explains, posting more than that can have an adverse impact on your page engagement. It’s always best to post content that is well thought-out and valuable to your audience.
5. Target your posts effectively
Depending on your goals, you may want to post something that will interest people in specific ages, genders or more.
To help you reach precisely the right people, Facebook offer the ability to target posts to a subset of the people that like your Page. For example, a publisher can use targeting to post a story about a sports game that will only be shown to people that like the teams playing.
If you would like to know more about targeting Facebook posts, here’s a quick tutorial by NetBiz which should help:
There you have it, my top 5 tips for creating great Facebook content! If you would like to see more, don’t forget to like my Facebook page AB Digital Marketing or follow me on Twitter for more digital marketing related content, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Until next time,
Áine
ÁINES DIGITAL MARKETING BLOG 