Yesterday we welcomed more than 20 local businesses to our free quarterly ’10 ways to improve the performance of your Facebook page’ event.  Below is a recap of some of the key points we made, and if you’d like to have a copy of the slides then please let us know.
If you’d like to talk to our team about your Facebook, social media strategy, or any other part of your website and online marketing then please give us a call on 01566 232323 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk and we’d be happy to help.

Some of our key points:

Try to post from Facebook…

1. Facebook like you posting to their network, from their network.
2. Many people will use syndication mechanisms such as Hootsuite to save a minute or two but you can and will see slight gains if you post directly onto Facebook over a concerted period of time.
3. Some won’t like this as it takes a little more time – but if it’s the difference in one sale – whether that’s £300 or £3,000, then it’s definitely worth using an additional minute to do it.
4. You also have more control over how your post looks, and you can add emotions and alike to make your post more interactive.
5. Facebook sources have confirmed this!

Getting the timing right…

1. Facebook posts that gain engagement and interaction quickly after being posted travel further and are seen by more people.
2. For that reason you want to post when the most people are actively on Facebook.
3. Posts made between 9 – 11pm gain 88% more interaction.
4. Posts made on Sunday (afternoon and evening is the best time here) gain up to 53% more interaction than the average post.
5. Saturday’s are likely to have the lowest interaction as people are out and about.
6. Remember this needs to be taken in context with your business and industry – for example, many tourists will do research as early as a Thursday evening, before making a decision on Sunday and ringing (if applicable) on a Monday / Tuesday.

Make sure it’s the right length…

1. People have a lot of messages from a lot of brands on Facebook – you need yours to be punchy and to hit home – QUICKLY!
2. Facebook adds an ellipsis (…) after posts go past a certain character limit (usually 2 – 3 lines depending on the device).  It’s not the end of the world if you go past this but you don’t want to be going too far past it.
3. Publish posts with 150 – 200 characters.
4. Keep posts short and also try asking questions…
5. Ending a post with a question can increase interaction by up to 162%.

Sounds a good idea, doesn’t it?

Getting the right photos…

1. If you can’t write very much then the good news is that a picture paints a thousand words!
2. With that in mind, your Facebook posts should more often than not be accompanied by a photo – at least one!
3. Interaction is always higher on posts with imagery or video.
4. Posts with imagery gain 179% more interaction.
5. Videos are actually the most shared content on Facebook, and therefore the social media world!

Getting them to your site…

1. You’re in a crowded marketplace so try if applicable to get them back to your website by including a link.
2. This will not only drive traffic to your site (good for SEO), but also save you on words, and increase your interaction (by up to 40%).
3. You are also more likely to get sales if you can get them to your site rather than competing with other information on Facebook.