We all spend time posting things to our Facebook Pages and look with excitement at our Insights. Reach, Likes and Talking About This are tantalizing statistics that make us think that we are connecting with others.
The reality is, only about seven percent of your followers see your page on any given day. Facebook’s algorithm actually hides a large portion of your posts from the News Feed. Facebook is changing how it views updates and how it moves important items to the News Feeds. We alluded to some of these changes a while back in the post “Google+ and Facebook Just Got Bigger”.
The key to getting noticed is not the number of updates you perform, but the interaction within your updates.
So how do you get more interaction? Here’s some basic ways to improve the number of people who actually see your page.
1. Photos. I know, you’ve heard it before. However, it’s more than just a picture. If you include a photo with your update, you’re on your way; it’s better than just text. However, Facebook’s algorithm is actually looking for stand-alone photos.
In other words, you upload a picture without text in the “How has your day been?” section. To do that you need to include your graphics directly on your picture. Tools like PowerPoint and Paint will help you do that. Our own KS Brooks showed us how to use screen shots and customize them in Paint; you can see that article here.
By using this little trick, your update gets the preferential treatment of a photo instead of a status. Which means more people will see it!
2. Provide the missing word. Start a sentence and ask your fans to fill in the blank. This is a great way to get interaction with your base. The more interaction, the greater priority your post gets.
3. Caption contest. Post a picture and ask others to provide the caption. I remember seeing this frequently from our own Evil Mastermind Stephen Hise in days past. Once again, the greater number of comments adds to the importance of your post in the news feed.
4. Pick One. This is the easiest way to get people to post comments. Ask a multiple choice question and watch the comments grow. Even if it is a simple response, it still counts as a comment in the eyes of Facebook.
There you have it, four easy ways to improve your engagement on Facebook. Try a few and see if your “XX people saw your post” numbers go up.
Well, maybe I’m not in the desired demographic. But I consider all of those except the photos to be annoying and avoid them. And I might not be all that weird, because I’ve been seeing a few people on Facebook lately complaining about all the clutter of people trying to bait you to their page.
I think a big question going largely unasked is, “What benefit does anybody get out of hitting my page?”
It’s important to be sure people find value once they get there. It has to be worth the trip.
Lin, you hit the nail on the head. There has to be something of value on the page or it’s just bait and trap.
Interesting. I’ve noticed when I post link, the amount of views is dramatically reduced. Out of say 2300 likers, only 1.5% will see it. This is FB “Tom Foolery.” Of course when they started this, they also came up with a new tab for promo. “For only $10, $15 or $20 more, we’ll let all your followers join in. I think Zuckerburg is preparing for a job as a carny or used car salesman.
No doubt that there is money behind every decision. That’s why we need to figure out how to maximize exposure without the extra bucks. The bottom line is that the majority of people on FB aren’t there to make money, but the ones that are, will stop at nothing to reach those 1 billion possibilities. Thanks for the comment, Jeff.
10-4 on that Jim. Why pay the extra money when let’s say 700 people like your page, during the promo. Sounds great doesn’t it? On the surface yes, but then reality sets in and only maybe 49 of those new inductees will be notified. Not a good return on the dollar. Looking for more productive avenues.
I can attest to this, Jim. I tried an experiment this week on my FB page. I normally get 50-150 views, depending. I posted a photo graphic that I created… 465. Great ideas, thank you!
Nice, Laurie. That’s the way to make an impact.
I had also heard (although the gods know it could have changed again by now…) that if you post a comment without a link on your page, it will show up on more newsfeeds than something with a link. I have seen that happen, for sure. And I think that speaks to both what Jim’s saying when he suggests asking a multiple-choice question, and what Lin’s saying about making it worth a follower’s while to interact with your page.
The link thing used to be a real algorithm grabber, but they’ve eased off of it’s impact in the secret behind the scenes stuff. Thanks Lynne.
I find the Facebook algorithm frustrating as a user of Facebook. If I like a page, it is because I am interested in the content, but if FB decides that I don’t deserve to see it on my newsfeed because I don’t make a comment on it, then who does that serve? But that is not your fault. =} I would say that I am more likely to interact with a page if the postings are infrequent, then #1-3 are all interesting and may be something I would respond to.
That’s an entirely different issue, Krista, stay tuned to this weeks post and I’ll talk a little about how to get your stuff in the news feeds. Many people don’t realize the changes that FB made to the news feeds. Thanks for your insight!
This is so much fun. I’ve been using NASA images of deep space with gasclouds and galaxies and layering my own dolphin drawings over them with some transparency. Then adding text including my web address. The emphasis is leaning towards humour now. Then I tag it with various people from my friends list. I make sure to always go and “like” and comment on THEIR pictures too of course. Now that I’ve got the hang of the images, I’ll start in with your ideas about the missing word and multiple choices etc.
Here’s my latest effort:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/966607_10151481770618269_1619428297_o.jpg
First a question. How do you see the “XXX people saw your post?” I can’t find that.
Second, I’ve been creating and posting new graphics to my facebook page, ever since reading this article a week or so back and I think it might be working. I use beautiful NASA space images and layer my dolphin drawings over the top with transparency to create the effect of ghostly astral travelling dolphins.I then add text. I usually include my web address and possibly people have gone to my web page and found my links to my book for sale on Ammie. Strangely it seems to me help me sell print books more than e-books. Weird. has anyone else found this pattern?
Here’s my latest creation inspired by this article:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/1008880_10151496053483269_557906298_o.jpg
I’m also uploading all of the graphics to a newly created page on my website for permanent display there. That page is here:
http://www.tuiscope.co.nz/pagefiles/dolphinpix.html
I see I already made a post here and then forgot I had! Must have alzeimer’s, but the second post doesn’t have ALL the same stuff as the first so its not too bad.