MGR Facebook PageFacebook Marketing is one of those terms that nobody can really define. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in different meetings with different clients discussing “Facebook Marketing” and I have realized that the interpretation of the concept is all over the place.

Some people think that Facebook Marketing is just adding posts to your Facebook page.  Others think that it requires promoting your page and services through a variety of Facebook ads.  A lot of companies go great lengths to make sure that their websites drive traffic to their Facebook page!  Well, I always thought that it’s supposed to work the other way around…

In reality, Facebook like all the other Social Media options is nothing more than one more channel that you have at your disposal to market your brand, your products and your services.  The moment you start overthinking this simple concept, you will find yourself all confused about how to use Facebook to boost your revenues.

Social Engagement is one of the key factors to your Facebook marketing success. If you can get your fans to engage with your page, it will automatically become more visible to their own networks and your social media strategy will begin to work.

It’s no longer just about the number of LIKES that your page has.  In order to take advantage of the engagement factor, you will need to go beyond LIKES.  Facebook’s algorithms are constantly evolving and one of the elements they factor in, is how many people share your posts, answer questions and interact with your page.

We’ll leave the discussion of what to consider for a full Facebook Marketing for a later article, but here are three easy ways to achieve higher audience engagement with your Facebook posts*.

Visual Format

Facebook users are more likely to share videos and images than text-only posts.

Videos and images take less time and effort to digest when scrolling through the News Feed. They are also more likely to elicit an emotional interaction by making a reader laugh (or cry), teaching them something new or entertaining them.

Add Value

Deals and promotions generate more interaction because your customers get something out of it.

If you’re not sharing a deal, your content should still provide value. Share expertise, offer instruction and explain topics of interest. Always create posts with fans in mind; as a rule, self-serving posts generate less engagement.

Calls to Action

Clearly ask your fans to comment, answer a question, share and interact with you. It drives more engagement.

When you post a picture, ask viewers to post their ideas for a caption. At the end of a tutorial video, ask viewers to comment with their own tips or best practices. Thank fans for their interaction and be prepared to join the conversation as well.

Driving Facebook engagement should be one of your top priorities for your digital marketing. Each act of engagement builds long-term relationships with potential advocates for your brand.  But still, as I mentioned before, Facebook is just one of your marketing channels.  Dedicate just enough time so that it works for you, but not too much time so that it detracts from other marketing channels.

Now it is your turn.  How much time do you spend on Facebook?  Do you find it useful for your marketing or is it just something “you need to do” but it doesn’t really feel like it’s adding much to your profits?  Please share your comments below.

Until next time, this is Manuel Gil del Real (MGR)

*Source: PRWeb – VOCUS