Chances are you saw a drop in your reach during the holidays. If you’re like many, you came back to work after New Year’s only to see that reach number you’ve worked so hard for, to be low again. That is perfectly normal. Much of the activity on social media slows during the holidays. People are spending time with their family and not on the computer. If it happened to you, you sure can bet that it happened to a whole lot of people.
Here’s a quick guide to help you recharge your reach, and start putting your content in front of more fans.
Know your audience.
Take a look at the Facebook analytics. You can dissect your posts and uncover the types of posts your audience responds to best. You can also take a look at the time of day you are posting and analyze the amount of interaction you get. The key to being a successful marketer is to know your audience. Know the move they are going to make before they do. If you haven’t spent some time navigating through the Facebook analytics, then give it a try. Surprisingly there’s a lot of information in there that can help you plan and post strategically.
Practice Brevity.
Whether people are still in holiday mode or not, they don’t want to sit and read lengthy articles. Keep your content short and sweet. Sometimes its what you don’t say that makes all the difference. Think like a news anchor. What’s the most important information you want to convey, and what is the shortest, easiest, and most compelling way to say it. Act as though you are writing headlines, what can you say in a single sentence? Keep your content concise and to the point and you will find that more people will stop and pay attention to it.
Mind Your Content.
Your content is the most important piece to Facebook interaction and it requires a combination of the above two suggestions. You have to know what your audience is looking for and how to deliver it to them. The most compelling content tells a story. It has to create an emotional connection for the reader. Pictures, videos, visuals etc, all foster a strong connection for the readers. Make your business transparent on social media. Give your audience an inside look at what you’re doing. People like to attach themselves to stories about other people. It provides common ground in which they can relate. Remember content is king.
Engaging Your Fans.
Remember that if you want your fans to engage with your content, you must engage with theirs. Its a two way street. Very few companies can afford to sit back and let the fans come to them. To get people excited about what you have to offer, you must proactively get them involved. Much of social media is proactive, not reactive. Talk to fans, respond to comments, converse with other pages, do something to let the 900 million users on Facebook know that you are there. Don’t be spammy, however sometimes laying the initial foundation is your job, not your audience’s.
Capture 2nd Degree Fans.
Your second degree fans are the friends of your fans. The more people you get in front of the better. Therefore as best you can, try to leverage your fans. If your fans have a genuine interest in you, chances are their friends may share that similar interest. Facebook tells you just how many “friends of fans” that are in your network. By looking at this number you will find that your marketing pool grows, exponentially. Going back to engagement, in order to capture these “friends of fans” you have to be present. Be active and be aware of whats going on. If you do that, then over time fans will come to you – just wait.
For more social media tips, please join us on Facebook.
