Remember the good old days? You know, when Facebook was still a baby and when you posted you’d get endless people seeing and engaging with you?  It’s a dark and distant memory compared to the beast that is Facebook today! How did we end up here? And what can you do to maximise your Facebook marketing efforts?

The algorithms are coming!

We’re constantly talking about algorithms, and you can’t ignore them.  Your reach on Facebook is low because of the algorithms!

Facebook constantly changes the algorithm, so the minute that you figure it out, the goalposts have once again been moved and you find yourself back to square one.  That said, there are two rules that have always been consistent throughout the years if you want to increase your reach on your Facebook page, and we don’t see these changing anytime soon.

Rule #1 – Provide interesting content

Facebook wants to keep people on Facebook. Here they can feed their users with adverts, and this is how Facebook survives. So, what keeps people on Facebook? When I say “provide interesting content” – I mean provide content that is interesting to your target audience – not necessarily what’s interesting to you!

Here are the top eight post types that keep people engaged on Facebook

• Live Streaming – rolling in at number one is live streaming.  If you have not yet embraced live stream then I urge you to feel the fear and do it anyway!  Be yourself, offer value, communicate with your audience.
• Video – number two is video. My biggest tip for you is to remember that when your videos autoplay in the newsfeed there is no sound, so add captions to all of your videos for that extra burst of exposure on your post. It works!
• Photos – we manage a number of Facebook business pages and with every single page, we get high engagement on photos that are more personal.  Whether it is someone’s birthday, someone is retiring, or perhaps it is a collage of photos from a recent event.  When we suggest personal photos, we’re not meaning share your holiday snaps – we mean give your audience a way of getting to know the people in your business better. There is no doubt about it – photos of people work really, really well.
• Questions with an image – asking for people’s opinions is an easy way to get reach from a post.  The easier you make the question, the more engagement you tend to get. However, the algorithm also favours longer responses, so aiming for some good all-round discussion is advisable.
• Quotes/Memes/Funnies – I’m sorry, I know they sound cheesy and they may not feel initially as if they fit with your brand. But, they really do work on Facebook.  If you have a brand where you can offer inspiration or entertainment then adding this type of content to your page is a definite strategy for you to consider.
• Trivia or Puzzle Posts – people love to solve puzzles.  Perhaps try a close up of a type of food or a gadget and ask people to guess what it is, write facts about a place and ask people to “guess where I am today”. Where possible, find things that are semi-related to your brand and get your audience involved with your posts.
• Topics – there are certain topics that are guaranteed success, but you need to make sure that you do not dilute your brand and credibility. Here are a few top topics to try on Facebook:
  • Family & pets
  • Weekends and work
  • Music
  • Sport
  • Technology news

Rule #2 – Invest in paid advertising

Put your hand in your pocket and have a budget for Facebook advertising. There is no other way to get better exposure on Facebook!  The demographics are incredibly detailed due to the fact so many people live on Facebook!  You can retarget people on Facebook who have visited your website, or who have engaged with you previously.

Facebook adverts are also inexpensive compared to other platforms with campaigns costing from as little as £1 a day.

Obviously, the more money you put into the pot, then the more reach you will have – but at least it is guaranteed!

Summary

There is no quick answer to the question of how to get more reach for your Facebook posts.  You need to experiment and identify what works for your audience.  Keep an eye on your analytics and simply do more of what works, and less of what doesn’t!