13 Smart Facebook Engagement Strategies for Business

How many people see your posts on Facebook?

With Facebook’s organic reach decreasing in the past couple of years, many businesses are having a hard time gaining new followers and growing their customer base.

However, there is still a way to increase your reach and gain more traction on your Facebook posts. It all depends on your Facebook engagement.

Engagement is a metric that Facebook utilizes to determine whether people like your content or not. It’s as simple as that. This metric is based on the interactions people have with your posts: reactions, comments, shares, etc.

And as Facebook does its best to show people content they’re interested in, engagement is the one metric that tells Facebook’s algorithm who wants to see what.

As more businesses constantly flood Facebook with content, the competition is getting stronger by the day, and you’re going to have to work hard to reach the Facebook engagement rate you desire.

This is why we’ve decided to share a few tips with you that will help you boost the engagement on your posts, reach a larger audience organically, and eventually, grow your customer base.

What is Facebook engagement?

It can simply be defined as the action people take on your page. This can mean reacting, commenting, or sharing your posts. Facebook engagement also shows whether users interact with and enjoy your content and whether these interactions are regular, which is what you want.

Facebook holds engagement in high regard and uses it as one of the main metrics dictating the reach of your content. Facebook’s algorithm constantly tracks user interactions with your posts, and based on them, extends or reduces your organic reach.

This is part of Facebook’s strategy to improve its user experience, and you can see the results for yourself: How do you like the content Facebook shows you every day?

Why is Facebook engagement so important?

You can indeed use Facebook ads and boost your posts to reach a larger audience, but wouldn’t it be nice to get the same results without paying for it?

Organic reach is the holy grail for many businesses, and with Facebook being the biggest social media platform out there, increasing your Facebook reach can take your business to a whole new level. However, Facebook has a very competitive playing field, and the key to gain your desired organic reach is post engagement.

The more reactions, comments, shares, and clicks your posts gain, the more people will see them on their Facebook feeds. So, you need to create posts that evoke an emotion in the viewer and impact them to the point where they respond to them.

Engaged and excited followers tend to like, comment, and share posts that interest them. Facebook's algorithm acknowledges posts with high engagement and elevates these posts in the users’ news feeds. This can include people who don't even follow your page, which means an increase in potential customers at no extra cost. Who wouldn't want that?

In addition, high Facebook engagement also has many additional benefits. One of them is creating social proof. The more people engage with your brand, the more trustworthy it will become in the eyes of potential customers. Moreover, higher engagement means more brand awareness for you, and, on top of that, an engaged audience is more likely to convert and turn into customers, which is your ultimate goal.

13 ways to increase Facebook engagement

#1 It’s about your fans, not you

It is a common mistake for brands to center their content around themselves rather than their followers. You should understand the content that your audience finds most interesting as this will inevitably lead to them turning into customers.

For example, if you are an ice cream shop, are you going to post only ice cream-related content? The answer is no. There is only so much that can be posted about your business without your content becoming repetitive and cold.

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‍Your Facebook fans are who your content should be based around because, at the end of the day, they are the ones who will react to your posts. Your fans are your fans because they enjoy your content and what your business offers. However, this does not mean they want to hear about you all day. Once you start incorporating this idea into your content, keeping your fans around becomes more realistic for you.  

An example can be using real-world events, such as highlights in the sporting world or current events, and incorporating them into your content. You can also use statistics or interesting facts in your posts to keep your content intriguing and encourage debate amongst your fans. An example would be “working from home decreases stress and about 24% of people a month reported feeling happier when working from home”.

#2 Learn from your successful posts

The answer to increasing your Facebook engagement might be right in front of you. You might have a post that has a ton of likes, comments, and shares. So why not analyze this post to determine how it got so much engagement and use it as a base when creating posts in the future?

Your most popular posts are ones that educate, entertain, and provide an experience for your audience. You want your content to be relevant, and these days it's hard to keep people engaged for a long period.

For example, you might have created an educational post that was a step-by-step guide on how to change a light bulb, or perhaps it was a funny meme that made your followers laugh. Furthermore, it can be content that resonates with your audience, such as a post that had a link to donate to save the arctic.

This post by Madgicx, for example, has seen great success. Why was it so successful and what did we learn from it?

First, it was a huge announcement about a service that many advertisers were waiting for - Madgicx for Google ads. Second, it contained a professional video, produced by a high-level videographer. Lastly, this was a direct message from our CEO, which let our customers understand how important they are to us and directly connect with our brand.

#3 Write posts that people would like to share

Facebook is a social network, which means people use it to exchange content, right? So why not use this to your advantage and create posts that users would like to share with their friends?

Users tend to share posts that engage with them directly and will encourage them to come back. However, they are less likely to share and engage with posts that are too salesy. Although you must promote your business’s services and products, you need to do it in a way that focuses on bringing value to your followers.

A few examples of the types of posts people are usually attracted to are “breaking news”, educational posts, or humorous and entertaining posts. This is because people tend to stop scrolling when they see a post that stands out.

It is also important to note that users tend to share original content and not something they might have shared before. Therefore, you should create authentic content that stays true to your brand and is unique to the same old posts people see on Facebook.

#4 Put your brand’s personality on display

Businesses often sound too professional on their posts when trying to present an impressive corporate image. Although it's important to introduce your products and services, social media has different rules for other channels. This is why many posts created by brands end up being boring and do not contribute to their Facebook engagement.

However, the more you show your brand’s personality, the more likely your audience is to engage with your content. This is what makes your brand special and allows your followers to empathize with your business.

So, how can you do this?

• Stay consistent with your content and the type of message your brand puts out. Make sure you maintain the same brand voice, even when your business and content team get bigger.
• Demonstrate your company’s values and show people what you stand for. This makes your brand stand out from the competition and builds trust like nothing else.
• Show off your team. You have most likely spent a lot of time forming a team of employees that will make your business successful. So why not show them off and give people an inside look at who they are? This is another great way to build trust and empathy.

There are unique aspects of your business that drew customers to your business in the first place. So leverage these aspects and showcase your business’ personality.

#5 Add emojis to your posts

This might sound obvious or insignificant, but emojis make a huge difference. They help express emotions and convey a clear message that easily resonates with your audience. Also, emojis break through language and cultural barriers since they speak an international language.

Adding emojis to your posts immediately grabs attention. These little icons instantly bring your text to life. So, they must be part of your Facebook marketing strategy.

Facebook has its own set of emojis, which is slightly different than Google or Microsoft's/Apple's set. Therefore, we have created a FREE Facebook emoji keyboard that will help you find the emojis you need for your Facebook posts and copy them directly from the keyboard.

#6 Leverage fan-created content

Using fan-created content or user-generated content (UGC) can give your business a unique edge and at the same time increase your organic reach. Increasing your organic reach is necessary if you are looking for long-term growth for your business.

Furthermore, if fans see their content being used on your page, it may give them an incentive to continue creating content for your brand and maybe even encourage other Facebook users to check your page out. Also, these people may post this content to their page and bring more fans to your page.

Fans tend to engage with content that is authentic and unique, which is exactly what UGC is all about. It has been reported that this type of content rakes in more views than regularly generated content as this content seems more credible to people that are unfamiliar with your business.

Moreover, user-generated content usually looks exactly like something your friends might have posted. Therefore, you would be more likely to engage with it rather than something the brand had posted

User-generated content is not new to your audience, however, your business may be new to understanding and leveraging user-generated content. Doing so will help you reach full engagement on your posts and content.

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#7 Ask questions

It is common knowledge that people love to talk if you give them the chance. Asking your fans questions tends to spur interaction and encourage them to think more about your page. You can ask your fans different types of questions to increase engagement with your posts:

• Close-ended questions: these types of questions require a simple yes or no answer, which of course many people find easy to do as it requires very little effort to think of an answer. An example can be “Did you find the product or service you were looking for today?”.
• Open-ended questions: answers to open-ended questions require the fan to think a little deeper and spend time on going beyond a yes or a no answer. If your fans take the time to answer these types of questions, it generally means they value your business.
• Brand-orientated questions: it is also useful to ask questions that relate to your brand. These types of questions help you connect with your fans and allows fans to empathize with your brand on a deeper level.
• Image-based questions: basing questions on images is a simple yet effective way to get your viewers to interact with your content. People often engage better with visual content. Using an image with your question will help you stand out from the competition.
• Asking for opinions: this allows people to start a discussion about a topic you have presented. Sharing links and blog posts, for example, is common. However, when you add a question to these links people are more likely to engage with the post. These questions don't need to be complicated, they simply need to relate to the article or link you shared.

#8 Use captivating images

Facebook posts that include an image have higher engagement than posts that do not include a picture. This can be a quick and simple process as all you need is your mobile devices to take a photo of your product or service. This way, your followers can see firsthand what your business produces.

Nonetheless, if you have the resources to create high-quality images, you have better chances to gain engagement.

Starbucks is a great example of a brand using captivating images to grab attention, on their posts and their engagement rate is in accordance. Starbucks also stayed on trend with its image.

However, if you do not have the resources to create new images for your posts, there are many available solutions. For example, Sparkle is a great service that will provide you with unlimited graphic designs that suit your business needs.

#9 Get creative with videos and go live

If you think that images increase the engagement on your posts, wait until you try using live videos. There’s no doubt that video posts are taking over the world of online content in the past few years, and most marketers argue that this format is significantly more effective than static photos. Similar to photos, Facebook videos can be taken using your mobile phone, which makes them just as easy to post.

In addition, broadcasting live on Facebook is an immediate way to connect with your audience as part of your engagement strategy. You can go live on your page at any moment, and there are many reasons to do so. For example, you can do it if you want to promote a new service or a product, or even if you simply want to say “Hey” to your fans. Live streaming simply lets you directly communicate with your followers with the click of a button.

So why not try it? Get creative and live stream the next time you want to interact with your fans.

#10 Schedule your posts

The idea is to post when most people are active on social media, specifically Facebook. This way you can ensure that viewers don't miss your post because they were not online. You are more likely to see an increase in engagement if you post when your viewers are online.

An important reason to schedule your posts is you might find yourself in situations where you are not online and are not able to post on the best days and at the best times. Therefore, scheduling your posts in advance for these specific times will help you avoid this problem.

Scheduling posts are also very helpful when creating content in bulk, which is more useful than creating individual posts. You can schedule, for example, an entire month's worth of content that has been created in advance. This can alleviate pressure as you might not always have the time to create high-quality content and post it right away when the right time comes.

And what is the right time? Tough question.

Many blogs have tried to tackle this question and their researches had all come up with different results:

• Buffer claims that the best time to post on Facebook is between 1-3 pm during the week and on Saturdays.
• HubSpot stated that the right time to post on Facebook would be Thursday to Sunday at 9 am, between 11-12 pm, or between 3-4 pm.
• Sprout Social, on the other hand, wrote that Facebook engagement peaks on Wednesday at 11 am and between 1-2 pm. In general, according to Sprout Social, Tuesday-Thursday between 8 am to 3 pm are the best times to post across industries.

Note: all the above times are in EST or CST, as these time zones apply to most of the US population.

Moreover, since the competition on Facebook is getting stronger and everyone's feeds are overflowing with content, the best time can become the worst time. All your competitors are probably targeting the same days and times. So, it's going to be harder for you to squeeze in.

The solution would be relying on your own data. Facebook Page Insights shows you the exact performance of all your previous posts. If you analyze it and learn from your experience, you can figure out exactly when you get the best results with your content.

Furthermore, if your page has a lot of followers, you can leverage the feature called "When Your Fans Are Online". This will inform you of the activity levels of your fans during the week, helping you post when they are most active.

Scheduling your posts and staying consistent will allow your audience to expect when to see content from you and ensure you get the most engagement you can.

Pro Tip: Facebook suggests posting at least 2-3 times per week.

#11 Make use of Facebook stories

Stories are a great way to share content without the fear of overwhelming your viewer’s newsfeed. Facebook stories, similar to Instagram stories, appear at the top of your news feed. This location is great as it is the first thing customers see when looking at your newsfeed. Stories allow you to be more personal as you can take in-the-moment snapshots.

Facebook stories are a relatively new feature and are, therefore, not well-utilized by most businesses. Using stories can then help you stand out from the other competition and take over an area that is not yet overflowing with content.

Building a strong connection with your viewers is key to increasing your Facebook engagement. So be creative with your stories and have fun with them as your viewers will love to see entertaining content.

#12 Get your page verified

Having the verified symbol next to your name on your Facebook page makes people more inclined to engage with your content.

When people see this blue check-mark next to your business’s name, they know for sure that your business is trustworthy. This prestigious badge tells them that Facebook trusts you and your brand. This makes them respect you and be more prone to engage with your business.

Getting verified on Facebook might not come easy, as Facebook considers carefully which businesses to verify. However, it is definitely worth the hassle, and you can get some tips on how to get verified in this article.

#13 Boost your Facebook posts

Facebook has a feature that allows you to boost your posts and get them on more people's newsfeed, hence increasing reach, and eventually, engagement. Boosting a post creates a Page Likes ad.

Boosting your post can be done in a few simple steps:

1. Go to your Facebook page.
2. Select the post that you want to boost. This can be anything you like.
3. Click “Boost Post” in the bottom right corner of your post.
4. Fill in the correct information for your ad. Facebook will automatically use the images and text from your post. However, you can specify your audience (based on specific characteristics, such as gender, demographics, or location), your budget, the duration of time on which the ad should be active, and your preferred payment method.
5. Once you are done, click “Boost”, and your post will be boosted.

Advertising on Facebook is essential to any business, and it should be an integral part of your marketing strategy. Advertising should go hand in hand with your social media activity, as you should aspire to increase your reach both organically and using paid ads.

If you want to start advertising on Facebook, read our article about creating your ad account.

To conclude

Improving your content to make it appeal to your audience should be your top priority. Ensuring that it is relevant to them doesn’t only make it easier for your content to stand out, but it also helps you reach more people organically.

Facebook’s number of users increases daily. Therefore, it can be difficult to make your content unique and authentic. Hence, working on your content to get it noticed by your target audience is one of the fastest ways to succeed in growing your fan- and customer base.

However, increasing your engagement is not just a quick fix. You should invest time into creating Facebook content that is relevant, quality over quantity, to your audience. This will inevitably increase the likelihood of users engaging with your content.

We hope our tips were useful to you, and hope you and your audience will live happily ever after.