Here’s a stat that will blow your marketing strategy out of the water: 1,500 Facebook posts are filtered through a user’s news feed per day, but only 300 of them are actually chosen as relevant information to show in a user’s news feed.
Make your post one of those 300 by following these seven simple guidelines. Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect Facebook post. These are not fail-proof steps, of course, but they are a great starting place. Observe your stats and pay attention to what your particular following engages with, then make any necessary changes to reroute your marketing strategy. Ready? Here we go!
- Include engaging pictures in most of your posts.
- Remove long URLs –– URLs are unnecessary and take up space. Shorten them with a bit.ly link or use the provided thumbnail.
- Make posts longer –– Believe it or not, the short n’ sweet rule has been debunked. Facebook readers are willing to read longer texts. Surprisingly, posts of 80+ words actually receive more interaction! I don’t suggest making this a daily or even weekly habit; but it’s a good idea to keep in your back pocket.
- Use hashtags, exclamation points, and question marks — A study by Trackmaven reported:
- Posts with hashtags (#) see 60% more interactions on average.
- Posts with exclamation points (!) see 2.7% more interactions on average.
- Posts that ask questions (?) garner 23% more engagement on average.
- Keep link titles fewer than 100 characters — If the title that appears in the thumbnail is over 100 characters, it will be cut off when you publish it. Make sure your core message gets across and shorten your title before you publish.
- Publish after work and on weekends — Hubspot found that the best time to publish is after work hours (5 p.m.—1 a.m.). Posts on weekends, namely Sundays, receive on average 11% more engagement than weekday posts.
- Use emoticons — Yes, you read this correctly. Test out emoticons in your next round of posts. An AMEX Open Forum found:
- Posts with emoticons receive a 33% higher share rate.
- Posts with emoticons receive a 33% higher comment rate.
- Posts with emoticons receive a 57% higher like rate.
So let those smiley faces shine in your next Facebook post! 🙂
What Facebook posts have been winners with your followers? I’d love to hear your thoughts; please share your comments below. If you’re looking for more ways to finesse your Facebook posts, visit our services page to find out how the ASJ Partners marketing team can help you create a social media strategy suited for you.
