Depending on the type of content you post on social media, you might have noticed a drop in overall engagement when it comes to Facebook in particular. According to published statistics, 2018 was a rough year for Facebook content, with engagement drops varying in 24% to 52% as the year came to a close. This is a staggering drop in content engagement and a good indicator of shifting interests within the platform’s user base.
However, focusing on less content can actually help your engagement rate and reintroduce your brand and posts to a new, untapped audience. It’s also worth noting that HubSpot recently published a piece on how to adjust to Facebook’s ever-changing content algorithms. Let’s take a look at how you can create a Facebook content strategy with less frequent publishing in order to gain traffic and new conversions.
1. Establish Brand Standards
With the growing saturation of content providers on social media platforms in general, people are tired of generic brands and posts. This means that you should reevaluate your content’s brand standards going forward.
Depending on whether you are an individual entrepreneur or a content creator for a large firm, you should approach the redesign of future content carefully. Make sure that elements such as your logo, page photo, cover photo, color palette and copywriting reflect your industry and occupation accordingly.
2. Create a Content Plan
In order to shift to a less hectic content strategy, you should create a plan that you will abide by going forward. Don’t post more than three days a week and do your best to space out content updates as much as possible during a month.
Posting content on the same days each week will serve you favorably in terms of Facebook’s News Feed ranking and allow your followers to anticipate content drops in advance. This will also allow you to create content upfront and post it in regular intervals without worrying about short deadlines or last-minute changes.
3. Fill Posts with Keywords
Keywords can be a great way to promote your content even outside of Facebook. If someone searches for related keywords in Google or alternative search engines, they might come across your content and engage with it. Don’t oversaturate your content with keywords but make sure to use trending, popular phrases and wording in your updates.
Nathan Spencer, SEO specialist at Top Writers spoke on the topic recently: “You don’t need extensive SEO skills to place adequate keywords into your content updates. Tools such as Google’s Keyword Planner offer numerous options for content optimization which can benefit your brand’s social media standing and SEO in general.”
4. Integrate Calls to Action
While they won’t affect your traffic directly, calls to action add a lot of interactivity to your content. Any engagement you attract with well-written, quality content will give your post a spike in popularity. It’s worth noting that different industries and niches have drastically different audiences – keep that in mind when you write your calls to action.
That user’s network of friends will notice that they interacted with your content and attract them to see what your posts are all about. This can only be achieved through careful use of subtle calls to action at the end of each post you publish. A simple “What do you think?” or “Share your thoughts with us?” will do wonders for your engagement and traffic alike.
5. Use Various Content Types
Posting less content will let you refocus your efforts on creativity rather than sheer productivity. In that vein, you will be able to create various content types for your Facebook page without relying solely on written posts or link sharing. Some of the content types you should consider using include:
- Live Video (with Q&A sessions, live demonstrations, discussions, etc.)
- Podcasts, blog posts and other trending topics from your main website
- Influencer reviews of your products and services
- Photos and videos from live events in which your brand participated
- Status updates with calls to action (as mentioned previously)
- Quizzes, polls and surveys
6. Engage with the Audience
Lastly, it’s good practice to engage with any users who leave comments, share your posts or interact with them in any way. Apart from good sportsmanship and personalization benefits, this will help your content reach more viewers on Facebook and subsequently raise your traffic as a result.
Don’t ignore any comments or direct messages you receive on the platform. As we’ve mentioned previously, both Facebook and other popular social media platforms are filled with competitive pages and content providers. If you don’t interact with your audience, Facebook will quickly rank another page above yours because it is more active.
In Summation
While it may seem counterintuitive at first, posting less content can get you more exposure on Facebook. It’s important not to give in and start posting content sporadically due to slow growth of engagement at first.
Give your new content strategy a chance to develop and make sure to monitor your pages carefully for any changes. Before you know it, your Facebook traffic will flourish under new content creation plans and user engagement.
Author Bio: Daniela McVicker is a professional content creator, blogger and an editor at Rated by Students. Marketing degree in hand, she chose to devote her Master’s thesis to digital advertisement. She specializes in blog and social media content which allows her to create unique marketing opportunities for her clients. In her spare time, Daniela loves to read fantasy novels and listen to relaxing instrumental tunes.
