The Simple Science of Facebook Engagement
Facebook is still by far the biggest social network and a high customer engagement rate is increasingly becoming an essential requirement for the success of small businesses. Let’s break down the facts and stats behind raising user engagement, the best times for posting and great Facebook contests.
Facebook Interaction Stats
92% of industry professionals have acquired customers through Facebook. Posts that include images receive an increased interaction rate of 39% more than posts without images. Posts that are short and to the point receive 23% higher engagement rates. A short post was counted as anything with 80 characters or less.
Using emoticons has proved a very effective method of increasing user interactions. People are more likely to share, comment or like a post that uses emoticons.
A fun and entertaining way of improving the number of comments left is to ask users to “cap that”. That is to ask them to write a caption for a photo in your post. This method has shown to increase interaction by more than 5 times.
Many people also use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to give them a place to complain about a brand. Responding to these complaints as quickly as possible is very important in both undoing any damage done and to turn around the situation into a positive interaction. 25% of people expect a response within an hour. Also, 6% expect one in around 10 minutes. Fast responses can be very effective at turning even the most disgruntled customers into a happy fan.
Best Posting Times
Wednesdays at 3 P.M. EST has been found to be the absolute best time to post. Other good times to send a tweet or post is weekdays between 1 P.M. to 4 P.M. These times are more likely to get a response from fans and followers.
The worst time to post is after 8 P.M. and before 8 A.M, as less people are checking on their social updates. Also, weekends from after 4 P.M. are not a very good time to share your message.
Facebook Contest Ideas
A Facebook contest is a great way of encouraging interactions from fans. Some stellar contest ideas include:
• Run a photo taking contest
• Collect favorite quotes from fans
• Ask fans to share their tips
By posting the highest quality content and at the right time, you can significantly increase engagement rates and get the most out of Facebook for your business.
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