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Without paying the piper (or Mark Zuckerberg) your posts on FB will likely not be seen by too many people. Paying to boost a post is just about the only way you will open up your content to more people on FB. It is very frustrating but there are a few tips to increase FB reach and improve your follower engagement to increase the odds.
Updating your content on a regular basis keeps your Facebook page fresh and your audience informed. It’s where you want to engage your fans and have them come back for more. You can also use the embedded scheduling tool to make sure there is always something relevant in the feed. Being consistent is important. For example, many choose to use the #TravelTuesday hashtag and by doing so, draw attention to the content on that specific day of the week.
7 tips to increase FB Reach and improve your Fan engagement:
- Ask a daily question. Engage your, readers, with interesting questions that are relevant to your audience. Consider current events or news releases that are pertinent. Set a time and stick to it, be consistent and be sure to reply promptly. Check for interaction and get back to your respondents within 30 min. to 1 hour. You can ask FB to notify you when a comment has been posted so you can keep on top of the conversation. Your audience will feel more engaged then if you get back to them 24 hours later.
- Post Live on FB. When I travel, I like to post at least one post Live. It brings my audience on my travels with me and they can watch my adventures ‘in real-time’. Don’t aim for perfection. There is no time for editing there, the wind or the background noise is overwhelming but most people understand these challenges. Here’s a FB Live of my visit to Ferme 5 Etoile where we met Jacob the Wolf.
You can also do a weekly update and short video to update your audience or provide a lesson that they will enjoy. I love these updates from fellow travel blogger Leyla at Women on the Road. I look forward to seeing them as she lives in France. She gives daily updates on COVID-19 in Europe and a French expression or word of the day. - Vary your content type (pictures, updates, videos, polls, milestones, events, shares from other sources) – pictures and video have become standard for getting your audiences’ attention. Videos are magnets for readers and usually get the highest reach. Share your best content. It does not have to be current, as a matter of fact, bringing your audience deep into the blog will help them discover more topics.
- Make someone feel special: highlight a Fan of the week. Share a comment or insight that is relevant to your audience. I love to share content from other travel content creators for a few reasons: I like to share the love, I think it makes my page more interesting and I want to support colleagues in this industry. I found one of my favourite pages shares items of all types (viral videos, commentary, current events) and her engagement is amazing.
I also like to get involved in round-ups (when one blogger compiles content from different bloggers with a common theme). Having a part of my content on their blog or FB page is a good way for others to find me. So to thank them for including my opinion, I place the spotlight on them. - Create a short video with Lumen 5 which is an introduction to a blog post. I have found the engagement on my page always increases when people can watch a short snippet of video. Here is an example of a short video that I created to promote a blog post.
- Create a dedicated Facebook Group. I have seen quite a few pages make this option available to their audience. Within that forum is the ability to ask more in-depth questions. For example in the group for a web designer, she will encourage people to ask technical questions. Her guidance shows us how to tackle small problems on our own but makes us think about hiring her for the heavier loads.
Facebook has encouraged creating niche groups to increase engagement and to my view, they are working. - On your page, go to the Insights tab and scroll to the end. You will see a section called Pages to Watch. This will provide information on other pages you interact with or view often. They can create a custom list of competitors in your market. It will give you insights into their engagement, how many times they have posted in the previous week and an increase in fans.
There is no need to re-invent the wheel, watching what other people do can help you navigate the ever-changing landscape of social media.
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Don’t be scared off by Facebook because it’s for “my mom and grandmother”. There is no question the demographics skew older but for a 50+ travel blogger like me, that is where my people are looking right now.
I hope these tips to Increase FB reach have been helpful. Let me know in the comments if you have any other suggestions on keeping those eyeballs on my DownshiftingPRO FB page. While you’re at it if you haven’t liked it, go ahead and say hello.
🥾 Explore: Tours & Experiences
🏡 Where to Stay: Top Accommodations
🚙 Hit the Road: Car Rental Deals
🛫 Get Away: Find Flight Deals
🎒 Shop: Travel Essentials