[[updated March 30, 2018]]
It can be tough being a social media manager responsible for maintaining a Facebook page for a business. You need to engage your fans, grow new ones, generate leads, increase web traffic, and manage your online customer service.
All this involves posting the right content at the right times. Easy, right?
What Do I Post on Facebook and When?
Posting promotional material day in, day out isn’t why your fans followed you in the first place. So, with that in mind, let’s look at some content you should post on Facebook and when.
MONDAY
Monday is the start of the working week and a time when your fans may be feeling like they need a bit of a push. Here are three Monday Facebook posts you can try:
Crosspromote with someone else in your niche. Team up with a business that offers a complimentary product or service and help each other. Whether you write an influencer roundup or simply tag them in your post, this will help you to boost fans. Here’s one we recently ran at Contentworks Agency which got a good organic engagement.
Share an expert tip. Monday is a day when your fans will be business focused so try sharing a tip from an industry expert which solves a common problem or overcomes a challenge. The industry expert could even be YOU!
Monday motivation is needed. #MondayMotivation is a great hashtag to use today. Think about what motivates your fans. If you’re in the financial services sector then it is probably nice cars or holidays, if you’re in the fitness sector then it could be a great six pack but if you’re in the beauty sector then maybe it’s great hair! Check out this funny #MondayMotivation gif from hair salon Azzuro Hair Design.
TUESDAY
The Tuesday mood of Facebook users doesn’t change much from Monday. What do to?
Run a contest. If you are able to run a short contest then Tuesday is a great day to do it. This gives you three clear days for the contest to run and one day to announce the results.
Share a blog post. Tuesday is a good day to share a blog post but due to the lower engagement rates you might want to give it a boost until Thursday to maximize your reach. If you are sharing company news to Facebook, then make sure it hits the spot for your audience.
Ask a Question. Asking your fans a question on Tuesday can provide great content marketing fodder for the following week. Pick a subject and ask fans to comment with their questions. Next week you can answer them using Facebook Live or a prerecorded video. Here’s how StoryCorps crowdsources ideas through asking questions.
WEDNESDAY
Here are some ideas to share on hump day.
Share some Wednesday wisdom. Wednesday makes you two more workdays wiser than Monday, so why not do a mid-week wisdom sharing session? #WednesdayWisdom is a popular hashtag among thought leaders and business experts, so add your voice to the mix. Why not make yours a Wednesday Wisdom video like this one from Sony Entertainment.
Mid-week news roundup. We’re halfway through the week so why not post a mid-week news roundup. This could be a roundup of what’s been happening in your company, your industry or any related news worldwide. This shows that you’ve got your finger on the pulse and also gives your fans a chance to engage in debate.
THURSDAY
When Thursday rolls around, your fans are already thinking about the weekend ahead and workplace environments loosen up a bit. Thursdays are a great time to show off the human side of your brand with trending hashtags #ThrowbackThursday and #ThankfulThursday.
Thankful Thursday. This is a theme to use if your brand is involved in CSR (corporate social responsibility). You could share the results of your latest charity fundraiser, update fans on your ongoing CSR news or raise awareness for upcoming events.
Why not thank your fans for their support of your page and brand? Check out this great Thankful Thursday post from Build-A-Bear-Workshop.
Throwback Thursday. Another great trending hashtag which can really showcase your brand if you think about it. Share a photo of your office when it first opened, share an interview with your longest serving office employees or a story about your earliest products. Knowing there are real people behind your brand and that you’ve been established for a long time, will go a long way to building trust and relationships with your fans so be sure to give it a go.
FRIDAY
Tap into the Friday good vibes on your Facebook page and be sure to keep your posts, links and stories happy and energetic. Here are some great ideas for Friday Facebook posts:
Share a coupon. The weekend is approaching and the mood is turning to shopping, leisure and relaxation. Friday is a great day to share a discount coupon with your fans who will then have the opportunity to purchase over the weekend. Bonus points if you add a time limit to your coupon or if you post it just after payday!
Consider a different contest. Contests work really well on Fridays so whether you are announcing your winner or running a weekend contest, you are sure to see plenty of engagement. Be sure to have your rules and terms prepared earlier in the week to avoid a last-minute rush!
THE WEEKEND
Weekends are all about relaxation, fun, travelling and eating so don’t post corporate updates on Saturday or Sunday. If you are in the leisure or food and beverage industry then this is your time to shine!
If you have a physical business such as a shop, restaurant or hotel then make sure you take lots of fan photos on the weekend (be sure to ask first!) Share photos of people playing in your pool, a tasty dish you just prepared or that 50% sale that ends on Monday
What to Post When You’re out of Ideas
At times, it can seem like everything requires too much organization and you just want something quick to post. I hear you. Here are a few quick and easy things to post when you’re out of ideas.
- Choose a fun National day and post a photo of your team celebrating it.
- Republish an old post with a new headline and new image then share it to your page. Use the hashtag #ICYMI (in case you missed it)
- Read your fan comments and questions and answer one of them
- Share a glowing review or nice testimonial from a client. Perhaps you received it on G+ or Yelp… share it on Facebook too.
- Ask your fans what they are doing, how they are celebrating the upcoming holiday, what they thought of a recent piece of news and how they found your latest product or video. Turn the content writing over to them for a day and relax.
- Use a calendar prefilled with great ideas like the free one from Agorapulse.
Keeping on Top of Your Content Strategy
It’s really important that you have a content strategy because this will help you to stay focused, prepare the necessary content, images and videos and have it all scheduled and ready to go.
A big part of having a content strategy is having a great content calendar to schedule your updates in advance. Combine that with a great social media management app like Agorapulse so you can easily schedule posts, requeue evergreen posts, share from other pages and respond to fans. You can even set up publishing categories so that your rescheduled content is organized and publishes out with a decent mix of topics! Never be boring.
When your content is hitting the right notes, keep it singing!
You can post in the right time zone for your audience which is super important for engagement. You can also view valuable data about your previous Facebook posts so that you can repeat your popular ones, and put those in your publishing categories!
Get your evergreen looking mean in the publishing calendar.
Which Facebook post idea will you try next? Comment below and let us know.
