More people use Facebook than any other social media platform. Since everybody is there, your brand should be there too. You want to engage with new people every day. Over time, your page can become an easy way to distribute information to your fans.
You have several ways to approach the Facebook marketing game. Content is the core of your strategy since it’s the best way to give value to your audience. You can also cultivate a visual aesthetic for the page and engage with your fans in the comments.
This article will show you how to grow your audience on Facebook in 2018.
The Value Proposition
Your Facebook page needs to deliver massive value to your fans. It needs to be so good that people will want to visit every day and see the newest posts.
Many people spend a lot of hours consuming content online. They are on their phones whenever there is a slow moment throughout the day. Your brand can create the content they are seeking.
Offering discounts and freebies are another way to make people like your page. If they know that there are opportunities to save money, there is a substantial incentive for them to visit your page. This, of course, only works if you already have customers.
You can always change your value proposition later on. Figure out an idea that will let you get started and re-assess it in the future.
The Content Strategy
Creating too much content on Facebook in 2018 will be hard. Brands should aim to post with a high frequency of material at as good a quality as they can. The minimum is one or two new pieces of content each day.
If you have a 10-minute video, cut out a few 15-second clips to share as additional posts. Tease towards your big releases and you’ll get more views when they go out. It’s okay if some content fails to generate engagement as long as you are learning from your mistakes.
Video content with subtitles enabled gets the best reach on this platform. That’s because 80% of video views on Facebook happen with the sound off. Add captions to get a big boost in reach.
How to Measure Your Success
When you log in to your Facebook page, you will see the weekly reach statistic on the top of the feed. That is a measure of the total post reach from the last seven days. It’s a great number to heed.
Set ambitious goals for increasing your weekly reach. Aim for 20% or higher improvement each week for the first three months. It’s a doable goal and will amount to significant progress at that early stage.
Pay attention to the number of views and engagements that your content gets. You can optimize your reactions-to-reach ratio by improving your post titles and thumbnails. Some of the best video creators online spend as much time on their thumbnails as they do on the videos themselves.
Responding to Comments
An active Facebook page will start to generate some comments from followers. You can view each criticism as an opportunity to build the fan relationship with that person. Respond to every comment that you can.
When you respond to comments, you open the opportunity for more extended conversations. These kinds of engagements are compelling for creating brand loyalty. When your audience realizes that they can talk to you and get a response, they’ll grow more attached to your brand. You want to encourage this process.
Eventually, you might have too many comments to respond to all of them, but that takes a long time. For now, respond to every single one.
Visual Assets
There is an established strategy for using your page’s visual space to drive more attention. Whenever you update your profile picture or banner image, that update notifies some of your followers. It also sticks in their mind the next time they visit your page and see the new look.
You should update your visual branding in a small way whenever you have a new announcement. That is how you turn new products into digital events for all of your followers. It’s great for building awareness.
Most importantly, make sure your visuals are professional. If your team doesn’t have any graphics experience, hire a freelancer who can do it.
What’s Coming Up in 2018
Facebook will continue to evolve and change throughout 2018 just like it has in previous years. If there’s one consistent thing about this platform, it’s that Facebook is always tinkering with it. Be ready to explore new features when they arrive.
As a rule, Facebook always encourages pages to use new features. They do it by increasing the organic post reach for content that uses the feature, which means you can get more attention by being an early adopter. The added benefit is that your page will naturally stay exciting and up-to-date in the process.
Video will probably be the focus of 2018. Live streaming features are being tested right now that will allow popular pages to monetize their streams. Facebook is gearing up with television-esque offerings on the new “Facebook Watch” section and is planning to spend one billion USD on original content. They know that YouTube is winning the video game and are trying to fight back.
The Future of Facebook
It is impossible to predict what Facebook will look like in five years. What is clear is that, as of right now, is it the most popular social media network that has ever existed. There’s a great chance that it will remain an essential part of the digital attention ecosystem for many years to come. Building a Facebook audience is one of the smartest digital marketing moves that any brand can make.
