You’re probably heard that Facebook reach is down. And it’s true, to a degree.
The latest salvo of updates Facebook made to its ranking algorithms certainly had an effect on more than a few industries.
And there are a few more reasons, too.
But, even if reach was improving, you’d still have work to do, because the more organic reach you have, the more you’re read, the more you’re interacted with and the more you’re bought from. No one wants to invest time managing a Facebook page just to realize that they’re shouting in the desert…
First, you have to know where you’re starting from. Check your organic reach per post against the average here for free.
Here’s what you can do, this week, to get more visibility for your posts.
1. Post at Non-Peak Times
This is a very easy one. It doesn’t involve any major changes, really. Just publish your posts at different times.
And more specifically, at the times you don’t have peak traffic. There’s simply less competition then.
Jon Loomer tried just that earlier this year.
He figured out when most of his fans were online. Then, he deployed his posts at a later time. Interestingly, the non-peak times worked very well. At times better than the peak ones.
Why?
It’s kind of simple. As he puts it, it’s good content with less competition. And it works.
When Jon Loomer posted links at non-peak times, they performed significantly better.
[Tweet “Try posting when fewer of your fans are online. You’ll have less competition for your content.”]
Once you know your brand’s best times to post on Facebook, you can start to balance your content strategy between peak and non-peak times.
2. Be Timely
This one’s a bit harder. You have to stay on top of things. But, it can be wildly effective.
If there’s a recent event – news, popular culture incident, product launch, etc. – you can post on it.
Relate the event to your product, service, brand, or industry. People will already be searching for it, so that makes catching their attention easier.
Of course, some of them may just stumble upon that post and have no interest in you. But many will. And this is how they’ll find you.
During the 2013 Superbowl, Oreo tweeted this joke after a blackout. It’s widely regarded as one of the best tweets ever and got the company even more brand recognition.
[Tweet “Don’t just be relevant, be timely. Post about current events for more reach.”]
3. Post More Often
Posting regularly is hard. It’s a commitment.
But, the benefits are well-established. Even if your page has been dead for a while, you can still revive it – spectacularly, even – by posting again and posting often.
It’s simple math, really. The more posts you have, the more chances you’ll have to be seen – to get reach. And since Facebook connects people and pages in its ranking algorithm, it pays to change things up now and again. The more you post, the more opportunities you’ll have for that.
And, of course, you’ll get more data to work with, so you can optimize your unique reach strategy even more.
But what if you don’t have the time to write?
Not a problem. Just curate. There’s quite a few platforms – free and paid – to make it easier for you, too.
Try a platform like Curata to take the timely curation process off your hands.
4. Embed Your Posts
Your job isn’t over after hitting publish. You have to promote the post, too.
A particularly easy way to do it, is to embed that post on your blog or website. You’re not writing anything new. You’re just taking what you already did and marketing it a little more.
You’ll bring in more visitors to your page and grow your reach off Facebook as well.
Do your best to make the embedded post relevant, though. It’ll seem out of place otherwise.
If you’re blogging about Facebook advertising, then a Facebook post on the subject makes sense. But a vacation-related Facebook post will come across as kind of weird if you put it on your industrial engineering website.
As a bonus, embedding your post is also a great way to get likes.
Embed your Facebook posts directly on your website or blog.
[Tweet “Get easy reach by taking your Facebook posts to your website or blog. Just embed.”]
5. Write Compelling Posts
This should be a given, but it can be a hard thing to do. There are more than a few post types, and it’s not always clear which perform the best – and why. Results can be time-sensitive and industry-specific. And you frankly don’t have the bandwidth to test it all yourself.
Thankfully, there’s a wealth of knowledge on the subject. You can read more here about posts that drive Facebook engagement.
But to save you time, here are some of the top performers that gain organic reach:
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- Posts that invoke nostalgia
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- Posts that ask you to tag somebody you know
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- Posts that ask interesting questions
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- Posts that challenge their fans
You can’t go wrong with any of these, so start here.
Challenge your fans for higher engagement.
[Tweet “Go with the proven FB post types first. Then find out what resonates your unique audience.”]
Organic reach is not dead, but Facebook is a much bigger – and busier – place now. It’s going to take a comprehensive strategy to get the kind of reach that drives results.
But it can be done, and this post is the primer you need to do it. Of course, experiment with your Facebook posts (affordable Facebook analytics tools can save you a lot of time here), and your fan base too.
Even if it’s a typical one – the kind represented in study after study – there’s probably some unique quirks you can capitalize on. That’s the optimization part of the process, but it’s not the beginning.
Go with what works first, and tell us how it went in a comment below!
