5 Tips for More Facebook Page “Likes” & User Engagement

 

Claim Your Vanity URL:

When you create a Facebook Business Page, Facebook will provide you with a default URL too lengthy to remember, making it hard to share with others and on marketing materials. However, once your Page hits 25 “Likes,” Facebook allows you to create a custom URL. Take advantage of this! The process to set a vanity URL is easy, just go to facebook.com/username.

As of right now, Facebook will not let you rename your vanity URL once you’ve customized it, so remember to pick a simple URL—something close enough to your company name and that you can use for the long haul.
Provide Fresh Content, Daily: New content is the best way to continually interact with those who “Like” your Page. The benefit of posting worthwhile content lies within the ability for your fans to use the share button to post YOUR message on THEIR personal Page, increasing your company’s visibility and reach. Before posting, ask yourself, “Would I share this content with my friends?” and “Is the message I composed catchy?”

Pin Posts to the Top:

According to an internal Facebook study, "Posts including a photo album or picture can generate 2x more engagement than other post types." That’s why I use photos to promote new content, like a blog post or a recently launched download. Start small and create one to two photo posts a week, pinning the most recent to the top of your Business Page Timeline. Photos sized at 403 x 403px are best for pinned posts. Take notice on how big brands like Target use photos consistently throughout the week to promote products and sales—it’s great to follow big name brands for future post inspiration!

Ask Questions:

In a recent HubSpot study, researchers dug into more than 1.2 million posts from the 10,000 most “Liked” Facebook Pages to determine which types of questions work best. While posts that include questions tend to get more responses in the form of comments, they receive fewer shares and likes. If you do ask a question, the words “should,” “would,” and “who” get more comments than those that include “why” and “how.”
Update your cover photo: If you haven’t changed your cover photo since Facebook launched Timeline, now is the time. While big brands change their cover photos as much as once a week, you should aim for a new photo once a month. Give your page a fresh look to greet your fans. Consider updating your cover photo based on national events. For instance, if you are a healthcare company, update your cover photo for American Heart Month in February. If you are a retailer, you may want to consider a holiday-themed photo.

Run a contest:

Running a contest on Facebook can be a great way to promote a product, increase Page “Likes” and generate fan engagement. Especially during the holidays, many companies will provide giveaways through a third-party application requiring users to “Like” their page to be entered to win. While you may just be getting new “Likes” because of what you are giving away, your posts will still show up in news feeds for exposure to a person who may become a future customer.

Run sponsored stories and posts:

As Facebook found a way to utilize its mobile users in the form of promoted posts, to keep your posts in news feeds, running paid promoted posts and sponsored stories is imperative now more than ever. Using post promotion means as many as 55 percent of new Likes are coming from mobile users. So set a monthly budget dedicated to Facebook ads and keep it in the books for 2013!