According to Facebook more than 1,500 possible stories are filtered through per day on an average Facebook user’s News Feed. So, how do you make your story stand out? This week, we’re exploring how to tap into this vast readership, and build your Social Media presence without getting lost in the crowd.
Photos are a fantastic way to engage with fans. They offer an eye-catching visual on the News Feed, while also adding a personal and creative touch to your presence. Make sure your visuals are great quality. You want to only use high resolution photos for the most professional look. It is also important to pay attention to the specific dimensions Facebook allows for pictures. Images are allowed to be 1200 x 1200 px. If you are going to share a link, such as of your website, the preview image your friends and followers see will be 1200 x 628 px. Finally, if you share a video, the preview image will be 504 x 283 px.
Pictures aren’t the only thing you should be sharing on your Facebook page. Links are a great way to circulate your projects and communicate with other Social Media presences and grab a user’s attention. However, nothing is more distracting to content than a horrendously long URL. Space is precious. Ensure your character count includes the content you want, not unnecessary dashes and slashes. Use a link shortener, or delete a URL entirely once the thumbnail appears. Let me say this one more time because it is so important. Use a link shortener or delete a URL once the thumbnail appears! Kindly contact me if you have questions about this.
According to a study from Track Maven, posts with 80+ words result in twice as much engagement. So do what you do best: write!
Explore the unlimited punctuation of Social Media. According to the aforementioned TrackMaven study, various punctuation uses on Facebook garner different results. Each is worth testing to see which works best with your audience. Specifically, posts with hashtags (#) see 60% more interactions on average while posts with exclamation points (!) see 2.7% more interactions on average. Make sure you’re not just posting and disappearing; be interactive. Posts include a call to action or ask questions receive 23% more engagement on average.
Just as you would face-to-face with a customer, have a good attitude online. Don’t be afraid to smile — literally! Depending on your brand, Emoticons can be your best friend! According to an AMEX Open Forum study, emoticons can result in a 33% higher share rate, a 33% higher comment rate, and even a 57% higher like rate on Facebook.
Make sure your Facebook page is organized and professional. Keep titles short and sweet. Any title above 100 characters gets cut off when posted on your Facebook Business Page, and you don’t want the core message to disappear as a result. You’ll also want to look into scheduling your posts or planning which times you want to upload. According to the TrackMaven study, posts published after hours (5PM to 1AM EST), see 11% more interactions than those published during the day (8AM to 5PM). They also see 29% more interactions than those published before work (1AM – 8AM). In a similar vein, TrackMaven found that posts published on Sundays get 25% more likes, shares, and comments than Wednesday posts — even though fewer than 18% of posts are published on weekends. A similar pattern emerges with email open rates. This suggests the need to experiment with Social Media and email promotion.
These tips will help you make the most out of your Facebook page, but don’t be afraid to play with Facebook and find out what works best for you and your brand.