Writing good business posts on Facebook can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! With some preparation and planning, you can create engaging posts that attract new customers and keep existing ones coming back. Here are some tips to help you get started:
Know Your Audience
The first step is understanding who you’re trying to reach with your Facebook posts. Are you targeting existing customers to encourage repeat business? Trying to attract a new demographic? Appeal to local residents? Identify your target audience and what motivates them.
For example, existing customers may want special deals or new product announcements. Potential new customers could need educational content explaining your offerings. Locals may want community news and involvement.
Have a Posting Strategy
Once you know your audience, develop a posting strategy to engage them. Here are some approaches to consider:
– Post frequency – How often will you post? 1-2 times per day is optimal.
– Post timing – When do your followers check Facebook? Post during peak times.
– Post variety – Mix up special offers, product photos, behind-the-scenes footage, employee spotlights, polls, local events, etc.
– Post tone – Match your brand’s voice; be personal but professional.
– Post engagement – Ask questions, run contests, encourage shares, respond to comments.
Optimize Your Content
Every post should quickly communicate something useful to your audience. Follow these tips:
– Write concise captions – Get to the point within 2 sentences.
– Use visuals – Posts with images/video see higher engagement.
– Leverage hashtags – Include relevant hashtags for discovery.
– Add a clear CTA – Tell followers what to do – shop, signup, read more.
– Track performance – See what content resonates then do more of that.
Best Practices for Engaging Facebook Posts
Now that you understand your audience and have a posting strategy, let’s look at specific types of content that works well on Facebook.
Behind-the-Scenes Content
Give followers a glimpse at what goes on inside your business. Share photos/videos of:
– Your team – Spotlight individual employees.
– Workspace – Show daily operations or renovations.
– Products being made – A fun look at manufacturing.
– Company events – Awards, celebrations, parties.
This makes your company more relatable. Just ensure you have employees’ consent first!
Educational Content
Position your brand as an industry leader by sharing your expertise. Create how-to videos, product tutorials, insider tips, business spotlights, etc. This builds trust and establishes thought leadership.
Contests, Polls and Quizzes
Keep engagement high with fun interactive content. Offer prizes for contest entries or quiz participation. Use polls to survey customers and get feedback. This content grabs attention with the prospect of a reward.
Promotions and Deals
Attract new customers and reward existing ones with special offers. Some ideas include:
– Discounts – Percent or dollar amount off purchases.
– BOGO/Free gifts – Buy-one-get-one or free add-ons with purchase.
– Free samples/trials – Let customers test your product at no cost.
– Loyalty rewards – Special pricing, gifts or perks for loyal shoppers.
– Seasonal sales – Holiday or event tie-in discounts.
Promote each offer in a post with a strong call-to-action. Link directly to the sale on your website or Facebook shop.
Spotlight Customers
Showcase happy customers using your product/service. Ask permission to share their photo and testimonial. This social proof builds trust and credibility.
Share User-Generated Content
Repost any reviews, tags and photos from customers. This authentic third-party advocacy is very powerful. Be sure to tag the user and thank them.
Make it Local
For location-based businesses, play up your local ties. Promote involvement with hometown charity events, sports teams or community groups. Share local news and weather alerts. This strengthens your bond with neighbors and residents.
Announce New Products and Services
Let customers know when you’ve expanded offerings. Create buzz by teasing the new launch in advance. Share photos and details as soon as it’s official. This keeps customers excited about the evolution of your business.
Collect Reviews
Proactively ask satisfied customers to leave an online review on your Facebook or Google Business Profile. This gives you control over when reviews come in rather than waiting and hoping.
Respond to Commenters
Don’t forget to engage when customers comment on your posts. Reply promptly to questions, concerns and feedback. This shows you care and are listening. Customers will appreciate the personalized attention.
Creating Share-Worthy Facebook Posts
The more shares, tags and engagement your posts receive, the more new people they’ll reach. Here are some strategies to inspire shares:
– Stimulate an emotional reaction – Happiness, laughter, nostalgia and inspiration are just some emotions that drive shares. Figure out which resonates most with your audience.
– Use surprising facts/stats – Include an attention-grabbing factoid, statistic or piece of news. This piques interest to share.
– Incorporate trends – Capitalize on viral trends, holidays, events or news stories by incorporating relevant themes. This increases visibility and discovery.
– Pose questions – Ask followers questions to spark discussion in comments. Request feedback and suggestions too.
– Run competitions – Encourage shares for contest/sweepstake entries. Offer prizes and rewards.
– Include calls-to-action – Explicitly tell people how to engage and share your post. For example “Like and tag a friend who would love this!”
Test different approaches and see which get the best response. Then fine-tune your strategy based on what makes followers actively engage.
Facebook Post Ideas and Inspiration
Stuck thinking of content ideas? Here are some examples of great Facebook posts for business pages:
Product Promotion Post
This showcases a new product line in a stylized image with discount details. It uses hashtags for discovery and a clear call-to-action.
Behind-the-Scenes Post
Gives followers a fun look into the company’s social media planning meeting. The caption explains what’s happening for context.
Educational Post
Shares an infographic with statistics and tips related to the brand’s area of expertise. This establishes them as an industry thought leader.
Customer Spotlight Post
Reposts a happy customer’s photo using the product. The caption tags and thanks the customer. Social proof like this builds credibility.
Caption Contest Post
This grabs attention by inviting followers to come up with funny captions for the photo. The caption explains how to enter the contest.
Local Connection Post
Promotes the brand’s involvement with the local minor league baseball team. Connecting with hometown sports teams is great for local engagement.
Holiday Post
Timely holiday-themed posts like this one help brands stand out in feeds during seasonal events.
Behind-the-Scenes Employee Takeover Post
Letting employees take over the Facebook page for a day offers followers an authentic inside look at the company culture.
Measuring Facebook Post Performance
It’s important to track metrics so you can optimize what works and improve underperforming posts. Here are essential data points to follow:
Engagement Rate
Engagement rate measures how many people interacted with your post divided by total reach. Interactions include reactions, comments, shares and clicks. Benchmark against your averages to identify high versus low performing content.
Post Topic | Reach | Engagements | Engagement Rate |
New Product Launch | 5,000 | 500 | 10% |
Behind-the-Scenes | 2,000 | 150 | 7.5% |
Caption Contest | 10,000 | 2,500 | 25% |
Reach
Reach shows how many people had your post enter their screen. Monitor this number over time to see if you’re exposing your content to more people.
Link Clicks
Count clicks on links in your posts. This indicates you’re driving traffic to your website or ads.
Shares
Track how often followers reshare your content. Viral posts see higher than average shares.
Follows
Did new followers increase after certain posts? Follows show your content resonated enough that people wanted to continue seeing it.
Sales
If you run ads or promote offers, note any spikes or drops in sales related to posts. This connects engagement to actual revenue.
Continuously evaluating these metrics allows you to fine-tune content that gets results. Over time, you’ll unlock what makes followers engage, share and convert on Facebook.
Conclusion
With the right strategy, creativity and performance tracking, Facebook presents an invaluable opportunity to engage customers. Determine your target audience, craft compelling content tailored to them, and consistently monitor effectiveness. Soon you’ll be mastering Facebook like a pro!
Let me know if you have any other questions on rocking social media for your small business. I’m here to help!