Made You Smile Back is so excited to present this article about how to get crazy Facebook engagement organically.
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As a professional blogger, one of the tenants of success and the ability to reach and capture a large audience (i.e., following), social media engagement is key for success. Made You Smile Back does this by having several social media connections.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/madeyousmileback
Twitter: https://twitter.com/madesmileback
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/madeyousmileback
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-elkassih-made-you-smile-back/
There’s no question that Facebook is a major social media connection that Made You Smile Back is involved with. In fact, not only does Made You Smile Back have a business page (https://facebook.com/madeyousmileback), we’ve also created a dynamic Facebook community group known as ‘Achieving Happiness’. (https://facebook.com/groups/achievinghappiness)
Among several recommendations in getting social media engagement, I discovered a ‘serendipity’ tip known as ‘storytime posts’.
Recently I had the pleasure of attending a Webinar by a successful online entrepreneur, Haley Gray of Women’s Entrepreneur Network. She was hosting a webinar about how to create and grow a Facebook Group and get high engagement from members who joined.
One of the tips she suggested was something known as ‘Storytime’. I had never heard of it, so I was willing to try. This is how it works:
But wait, it gets better. One of my ‘raving fans’ of Made You Smile Back’s Facebook Group, ‘Achieving Happiness’, a Ms. Elizabeth Frederick, took it one step further…
Serendipitiously, she sent me this ‘video’. Yes you read correctly… she indeed sent me a video – complete with accompanying music of this very Facebook Storytime story…
Please please please, take a moment and watch. Is this not incredible? I was totally taken aback upon receiving this. I later learned that Elizabeth Frederick is an online entrepreneur as well. ) Be sure to check out her website below.)
Needless to say, the results of this ‘Storytime’ Facebook Group experiment paid off well. I had close to 98 comments or what is known as ‘engagements’ in less than 24 hours. And since posting this, I have since re-posted other ‘Story Time’ posts and they continue to be very popular within Made You Smile Back’s Facebook Group, Achieving Happiness.
It occurred to me that perhaps many of my readers of Made You Smile Back are indeed on Facebook. And I wonder how many of you are also online entrepreneurs yourselves? If so, then please keep reading as I will gladly share with you how you can get even crazier Facebook engagement… and organically!
Let’s face it. Of all the social media one can belong to, Facebook is ‘King’. Why? Facebook has been a giant in the social media world since its creation, and millions of people around the world use it every day. And despite the recent past issues with Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s founder and CEO, is still ruling the social media world.
Per a recent article from SpinxDigital , they say it best:
“Facebook’s platform can do almost anything. It provides news, games, videos, sales and much more. Facebook has all of the features of many platforms other than search engines. Even despite multiple privacy and data scandals, Facebook has continued to grow each year. Facebook’s seemingly endless resources and capabilities have made it a powerful application that is likely not to go anywhere anytime soon.”
—SpinxDigital
So while there may be many ways in which you can drive traffic to your website, it really is a ‘no brainer’ that Facebook must be a major resource in your social media toolbox. And when used properly, one can strategically use various techniques to deliver your message at the right time to the right person, or your target audience.
In the next section, I’m going to reveal my personal seven favorite action steps or strategies you too can learn in getting what I call, crazy Facebook engagement organically.
Before these seven action tips are revealed, I want to make one thing crystal clear… I quote Brian Boland, Vice President of Advertising Technology for Facebook:
“Facebook wants to improve user engagement and only show people the most relevant content to increase engagement.”
– Brian Boland
Brian’s advice is encouragement to publish great content — content that teaches people something, entertains them, makes them think or, in some other way, adds value to their lives. This coincides nicely with Made You Smile Back’s intent and that has always been to provide thought-provoking content, to make people think… and definitely add value to your lives.
Let’s begin shall we?
Determining the best time to post your content. If you’re an online entrepreneur, you must know your target audience. Are they located primarily in the USA? Can they be located all over the world? Or only certain target areas? Whatever the case may be, knowing the demographics of your audience, not just the timezone they live in, but rather, are they prone to be online ‘after-hours’ or during the most popular ‘daytime hours’? With this information in hand, you can experiment on ‘scheduling’ your posts accordingly.
Learn to build engagement by simply asking your Facebook followers open-ended questions. You want to have your followers feed off one another, talk back to you, share and stay engaged. Just remember, people like to talk about themselves. Let them. Here’s an example: “What do you call that awesome moment when you tear open the wrapper of your favorite chocolate bar?” or “What is the most impressive thing you know how to do?”
Yes, do ‘Storytime’ Facebook engagement. As discussed earlier above, your Facebook followers love to engage in a story… in which they can use both their imagination and creativity. You’ll be one of the lucky ones if your followers are of the type to ‘compete with one another’ and with each subsequent ‘storytime’ contribution, they try to outdo the previous comment. In fact, if done properly and it takes off, this type of Facebook engagement can go viral!
Take advantage of your ‘blog’ and embed your Facebook posts regularly. Did you know that you can provide great visibility into the content of your blog? This is another great way to attract new Facebook members as well in improving your ‘reach’ and engagement.
You must get in the habit of ‘commenting back’. A lot of entrepreneurs are not aware of this simple strategy but it is easy to do and very effective. You need to respond to as many comments as you can. Impossible you say due to time constraints, etc, right? Then minimally, time block at least one hour a day and spend time doing this. It pays back in dividends as Followers love to see their comments ‘acknowledged’ and this in turns, encourages them to ‘invite their like-minded fellow Facebook friends to join! One more thing… when I say respond, it doesn’t mean doing a simple ‘Like’ or ‘Love’, etc!
Get in the habit of doing ‘Facebook Lives’! I have to give credit to both Jennie Wright (http://jenniewright.com/) and Haley Grey of Women’s Entrepreneur Network who got me hooked on this crazy, but incredibly effective action tip. Facebook Live gives more reach and engagement than all the above. Why? Because Facebook Live is designed to automatically boost engagement by encouraging followers to take notice because it is not only a video but a ‘live broadcast’ coming into their news feed.
And this in turn not only gets their interest but can easily turn into an immediate conversation. And one other serendipity benefit to Facebook Lives is that later, they are ‘evergreen’ and ‘watch parties’ can occur any day or time later to even engage more viewers, i.e., engagement.
Authenticity and Transparency. Put yourself in your followers’ shoes. Do you like to be confronted with a ‘salesy’ type of content the majority of the time? Engagement is about getting trust and familiarity from your followers. To have them get to know you and yes, learn about your products and/or services but this is not the time to be blunt and ask them to ‘please click the link below and get my so-and-so!!!’
Instead, put yourself out there. Be your authentic, natural self and yes, by all means, be transparent. You can subtly comment and describe what you do and your business, but let them reach out to YOU! And they will… I promise you in time. Remember, don’t chase your clients. They will come to you when they’re ready.
The grand takeaway is this… you want more organic reach and engagement, right? So take advantage of all these crazy, albeit successful suggestions and get started in creating some dynamic Facebook posts!
Oh yes, and the most important thing to do… do a FACEBOOK LIVE!
Your turn… in the comments below, share your tips on how you gain engagement and traffic to your website or business.
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Loving these tips! I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been neglecting my Facebook page for so long because I just don’t know how to get engagement.. I love the storytime tip – I know for a fact that if that kind of post is on my newsfeed, I’ll join in and contribute. Haha will try to do it in the future, I still need to get more people on my FB page too. I’ve been thinking of doing FB live but with any other video materials, I’ve been putting it off for months now. Sigh will definitely give something a try before the new year.
Thanks for sharing the tips Beth xx
I really like this post. Great ideas. I was thinking about focusing on something other than Facebook and now I’ve decided to keep working Facebook. Thank you
Thanks for the encouragement to do a Facebook Live. I need to give it a go sometime. Appreciate the tips!
Love this! The story time post is super original and I appreciate it a lot. I’m ok with being authentic but authentically I am not terribly good at these engagement posts haha. Great content and sincerely appreciate it.
Shea, thanks for your positive words. Yes, I love the story time posts and I’m getting more comfortable with the
Facebook Lives the more I do. Best of luck to you!
These are awesome tips! I’ve been struggling with Facebook engagement is this post came just in time. Thank you for sharing!
Hailey | https://feelinggoodashail.com/
Hailey, so glad this article helped you! Just do know that Facebook is constantly changing… so there may be other opportunities as well down the road! I’ll try to keep up with editing this from time to time for my readers. Take Care!
Super interesting about Storytime! I’ll have to try it out! Oh and FB lives! I dread doing them but I know that I have to face this fear and just do it!
Great tips! I’ve been more
focused on IG growth and didn’t realize I was neglecting Facebook. These were some good things for me to try!
I need to start doing more Facebook Lives and Video content. That’s where I am lacking the most. Great article!
Thanks for your positive comment. Yes Facebook Lives is where you definitely can get increased engagement quickly.
Good tips. I’m going to give them a try. Thanks.
I am loving this idea. Facebook has changed so much since I first started blogging (about 8 yrs ago) and it’s much harder to get that reach, especially if you’re just stating out.
Cindy, thanks for your comment! You are so right, Facebook is constantly changing their algorithm and I’m always looking out for new ways to get engagement. Best of luck to you!
That’s true. ONe has to be authentic and fb groups are other ways of driving organic traffic. You can make new connections as well.Thanks for sharing this.
Needful content. Keep creating content like this! Tons of love for you
I love the idea of story time! That is just fantastic!
Yes to organic strategies! I’ve managed to grow my Facebook page doing that. Publishing quality content is so important as well as engaging with your audience. Polls and questions are a great way to make your followers more active. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you. I made notes to apply that I really hope to help build engagement. Loved the story video!
I had never actually heard of the story time posts and they sound awesome and perfect for engagement. I think that Facebook groups in general are a good way to get engagement depending on your niche and the type of group. Another great article! Thanks!
Those were some great tips! Didn’t knew that Facebook live could also increase your engagement? Awesome tips!
I love these tips! I’ll try out the story time myself to see how it goes.
Thank you so much for writing all of this down and sharing! Wow 🤩 You truly made me smile back!
Elizabeth, thanks for your positive comment! I’m glad you liked it.
Awesome article. Thank you for the information and the new ideas.
Meg, thanks for your positive comments!