How to Grow Your Facebook Reach Organically
Social media is a great way for you to reach your intended audience and grow your business. Facebook is a great platform to do this with. Let’s look at how to grow your Facebook reach organically, so you can reach more even more people.
Tips for Growing Your Facebook Reach Organically: The Basics
Optimize Your Cover Photo.
The largest element on your Facebook page is your cover photo, so you need it to be an absolutely killer photo. First of all, it should be high quality. None of this “I took it on my cell phone” or “it’s a really good selfie” business. You need a high quality photo that is going to look excellent on a tiny phone screen and just as good on a 60 inch screen.
Now, the other thing to note is that since this element is so large, it is what people are going to see first. Use this to your advantage. When people come to your business’s Facebook page, you want them to know what your business offers almost immediately. You can use your cover photo to showcase this. Add words to your photo to show what you do. You could write a purpose statement or put a customer testimonial over the photo. Give your audience a taste of what is coming. Canva is a great resource if you are struggling.
Bonus Tip: Write a compelling, engaging caption for your photo. If the photo is a service or item, do not put pricing info in the caption. You don’t want to appear sales-y on your page.
Select a Profile Picture.
We suggest that for your profile picture, you use your logo. You want your page (and posts) to be recognizable right away! If your logo has been created well, it should be memorable. If it is not (look out — shameless plug coming!) we can help you develop a logo that suits your business and your intended audience.
Write a Compelling About Us Section.
Keep winning your audience over by with a fabulous About Us section. Your cover photo should have given followers a taste of what your business offers or does, but your About Us blurb should offer further information.
In this section, offer the blurb, contact information and a link to your website. You’ll want to make it as simple as possible, so your audience to get ahold of you if that is what they intend to do. Be as friendly (and user friendly) as possible!
Related post: How to Write an About Us Page for Your Website
Customize Your URL.
To make it easier to search and share your business’s Facebook page, you are going to need to change the URL of your page. People are not going to remember a series of numbers, so be sure to change it to your company’s name or something that will be easily recognizable.
Tips for Growing Your Facebook Reach Organically: Content
Post Creative Content.
Now, it is not enough to have all the elements above. You may have gotten “likes” from implementing those tips, but your followers aren’t going to stay unless you are giving them a reason to stay.
You are going to need to post meaningful content that is different each day. Find out what your audience wants and adapt your post content to what would be useful for them. You need to see your business as a resource. That is the key.
Related posts: 20 Creative Social Media Content Ideas, Creativity for the Uncreative
Use the 80-20 Rule.
When you are planning your social media content, it is essential that you remember the 80-20 Rule. The rule goes like this: 80% of your content should be social or helpful. (You being a resource for others.) Posts can be funny, inspirational, etc. And, 20% of your content should be self-promotional.
If you are overly promotional, you are going to lose followers very quickly. Most people feel comfortable following business pages because they feel they can keep up with the businesses better. However, if your business is too sales-y, you are going to have your posts “hidden” or be unfollowed altogether.
Related post: Using Social Media to Sell Your Products
Don’t Post too Much.
The top reason people will unfollow a business is that that business posts too much. People don’t want their feeds taken over by one business. Well, let’s be real. It isn’t just business. Most of us have unfollowed or unfriended someone because her/his posts were taking over our feeds. That is just the way it goes. So try to post no more than 4 times a week.
Related post: Sins of Social Media
Don’t Write too Much.
Really long posts can work if someone is sharing a really huge life event, and s/he wants friends to know the details. Really long posts do not work for your business. Keep your posts under 80 characters. If they are short and sweet, people are more likely to read them all the way through. Shorter posts are also proven to attract more engagement.
Don’t Over-Hashtag.
Hashtags are really great tools to connect with people who will “like” your business or who you could work with in the future. On Instagram, you can get away with loads of hashtags. On Facebook, not so much. Do not use more than 2 hashtags per post. If you have too many, you may seem scammy. This rule also relates to the one we just discussed — you don’t want your posts being too long.
Related post: Hashtag Your Business
Keep Your Feed Optimized.
Facebook does this thing where it rewards profiles that have a lot of engagement, and it brings those accounts to the top of people’s feeds. This means that if you have a low average for post engagement, you are less likely to appear at the top of people’s feeds.
Set a goal for your Facebook reach. If your post falls totally short of reaching your goal, delete your post. This will keep your Facebook reach optimized for further reach.
Tips for Growing Your Facebook Reach Organically: Engagement
Post Consistently.
Alright, here’s the thing folks, your business is going to reach more people and appear more organized if you are posting regularly and consistently. Posting consistently is going to keep your business at the front of people’s minds because they will be seeing your logo and name pop up on their feeds at least a few times a week. This is what you want. This is your aim. If people are thinking of you first, they are more likely to reach out to you when they need your products or services.
Related post: How to Create a Social Media Calendar
Talk to Your Followers.
If you want to dramatically grow your Facebook reach organically, here is the key. The key to all keys. The holy grail of all holy grails. Right here: talk to your followers. You need to connect with them directly. It isn’t enough to post something and get a lot of “likes”. Comments, tags and shares are going to be way more powerful. Aim past the “likes”. Don’t get us wrong, “likes” are great, and you want “likes”! But, even more than those, you want the comments, tags (people tagging their friends) and shares — especially shares.
5 Ideas for Increasing Engagement
- Ask fans to upload photos of them with your product
- Offer special promotions only available for Facebook fans
- Like other business pages (and like, comment and share their material)
- Ask fans for their ideas
- Post “fill in the blank” content (Example: Comment your favorite vacation destination!)
Be a Giver.
If you want tags (and you do), be a giver. Here’s the thing. If you give others and other people’s business what you want (tags, comments, shares), they are going to return the favor to you. Do not keep to yourself on social media or see your competition as the enemy. Social media is meant for being social. If you can engage with other brands and companies, you are going to get your name out there.
Plus, even if others don’t “return the favor” and reach back out to you, your profile is now linked to the post that you commented on. Think about it. Now that you commented on their post, people can read your comment and click your business’s name. Congrats! You just got another profile view!
Ask Questions.
To really pull in comments, be sure to ask your fans a question. Questions are more likely to receive comments than any other type of written content. So, as you are writing out your post, be sure to (every so often) end your post with a question.
Bonus tip: The end of your post is the best place for your question.
Do Not Buy Likes.
Fake likes are not going to give your business qualified leads. Don’t buy fake likes just to appear to be more popular, or to try to one-up Facebook’s algorithm. It isn’t worth it.
Do Not Use Fake Accounts.
People can see through fake accounts in the blink of an eye, and you don’t want people calling your business out for using them. Having fake people write comments on your posts is just plain trashy, and again, it’s pretty easy to see through those scams.
Respond as Quickly as Possible.
Being engaging means that you are going to have to be on top of your social media presence. It should be your goal to respond to comments and messages within an hour if you can. If that is something that your business can’t handle, at least try to respond within 24 hours. This will show that you are committed to your social media, and it will encourage others to reach out to you as well. So, bonus! People are more likely to engage with you (growing your Facebook reach organically) if you are timely in your responses.
Bonus tip: Never ignore your audience.
All these tips may seem overwhelming, but if you can get the hang of them, you are really going to grow your Facebook reach. It is going to take work, but it is going to be worth it! If you don’t think your business can handle keeping up with your social media needs, we can be a resource for you. Contact us here.
Related posts: 5 Social Media Fails to Watch Out For, How to Improve Your Instagram Feed