Facebook has introduced ‘distribution scores’ to business pages. While the addition of this metric is only available in certain areas at this stage, it will help those business people who have access to get additional information on how their posts are performing.
Thinking that everyone that follows you sees your posts is a common misconception by business owners. In fact it’s estimated that only about 10% of your followers will actually see your posts turn up in their news feed.
How many people see your post (reach) is determined by Facebook algorithms that reward business pages for quality posts and how many people are actually interacting with your page, commenting on and sharing your content. The reason Facebook does this is to encourage quality content and to also encourage businesses like you to spend money with them. (Hey, they are a business too)
There are ways for you to increase your reach and engagement that don’t cost money, but be warned, it does take time. Most business owners don’t put enough effort into their business Facebook page. Rebel Agency’s Head of Digital, Kylie Freeman, says most business owners and managers don’t delve far enough into their target audience.
“Many business owners are so time poor that they are literally paying little attention to their business Facebook page which is a big mistake. A business Facebook page is one of the three main tools needed to run and market your business.”
“Even if you are a retail business owner with a shopfront you have to be competitive online.”
“This means allocating time to creating quality content about your business on Facebook, Instagram Google My Business or LinkedIn”
So how can you make your content work for you?
The new distribution scores show you which posts are performing better than others. The higher the number the more people are seeing and interacting with your posts. Take note of the number and then work on those types of posts.
Here are four tips to enhance your content and in turn, increase your reach and engagement and in the long term, get more connected with your audience and be rewarded by Facebook showing your posts to more of your followers.
1. Create quality content that connects to your website
Watch which posts have higher distribution scores and start building similar content. In the first half of this year, Facebook started rewarding businesses that connected website content. It’s important to keep people on your website longer, so to get even better metrics, increase the time spent on your website by including links to other content on your pages.
2. Use quality photos, diagrams and videos
Your Facebook page is representative of your business, so posting stolen content from the internet is a big no, no. It’s always best to use your own photos, graphics and gifs. As the owner of a business page, do not use;
- watermarked photos from paid photo suppliers
- incorrectly sized photos – Facebook prefers landscape sized photos
- Videos posted sideways (urgh)
- Badly pixelated graphics (from trying to stretch an already too small photo or graphic to make it bigger)
3. Post it yourself
If you run multiple business pages, you will understand that creating content, posting and scheduling can take up a lot of time, but it’s important to know that Facebook loves user-posted content over posts scheduled by services like Buffer or Hootsuite. This is one of the most important factors in getting your content seen organically.
4. Know your customers
Business owners need to understand who is consuming their content. Building an audience profile is vitally important to your business. If your content is better targeted at 20 somethings when your customers are in their senior years, you are never going to engage them on Facebook!
Take a look at your current customers and start building a profile. Consider their gender, living arrangements, whether they work or not, have family, what are their interests and most importantly: what problem are you solving for them?
Start creating content for them, not for you.
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Creating quality content is time consuming, so if you don’t have your own content marketing team to do it for you, consider using the services of a content manager to help you with your social media and raise your profile organically. Rebel Agency has a team of content creators to help you with Facebook management and paid social media advertising and at under $175 per week, it’s worth considering.
Cheryl Jowitt is co-founder of Rebel Connect PL, a family owned and operated Australian business that provides total marketing solutions. Rebel Connect clients have access to advertising across the company’s radio networks, Rebel FM & the Breeze and Rebel Agency, a digital marketing solutions company providing website development, SEM and social media marketing strategies.
