Q&A: How to Increase Engagement on Facebook Business Pages

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A writer with no audience gets sad.

So, we  jump on social media to share, share, share our blog posts, poetry, fiction, articles and other collections of words.

Then, nothing.

Does your Facebook business page look like a ghost town? No comments. No likes. No shares. No love.

Well, today’s question comes from an animal lover who simply wants to get the word out about helpful pet care techniques and ideas to grow her canine training business. She wants to write social media posts that will get read.

Question: “To increase likes and engagement levels on a business Facebook page, what are the top five things to keep in mind when posting?” ~ Patricia Bentz CDBC, CPDT-KA, CNWI from K-9 Training & Behavioral Therapy

Answer: Hi, Patricia! You’ve touched on the magic bullet that every writer, marketer, PR person and business professional would like to know. There are people out there who study the analytics behind Facebook for a living, and can map out the exact optimal times to post, how to structure a post and what it should be about to get your audience to respond.

Unfortunately, I’m not one of those people. I’m a writer looking to engage with her audience and share what I’ve been penning. So, here are the top five things I keep in mind when posting to my Facebook business pages that work for me!

1. Be real. People love to see pictures of you doing what you do. Have someone snap a few pictures of you during a training session with a dog. Show some proper hand signaling techniques or make a video showing how to heel and use the leash properly. You’re being helpful, and showing your audience the real person behind your page.

2. Be funny. Some of my top performing Facebook posts are jokes about grammar errors, cute dogs wearing big glassing while reading a book or personal accounts of spellcheck errors I’ve made recently. (Pantry can easily be mis-typed as panty!) While it seems silly to share some of these posts, be sure they still tie into your topic or business so your page has a consistent feel.

3. Be online. I see so many Facebook business pages that are generated entirely by auto posting services and the page owner rarely makes an appearance. If someone takes the time to comment on a post, take the time to reply back. Like their comment. And, if they share your post, visit it on their page and send them a “thank you” or leave a comment relating to the post topic.

4. Be helpful. With your business, it’d be easy to provide basic dog training and care tips. Each day share a two-sentence post that can help pet owners. Think of what questions you’ve been asked in the past (even if they seem trivial to you) and address them with your Facebook audience. Here are a few ideas: What should I use as a reward when training my dog: small edible treats, verbal praise, or physical petting of the dog? What type of collar or harness should be worn when teaching my dog to walk on a leash? How long should my leash be for a causal walk? 4 ft or 6 ft?

5. Be active. OK, for my last tip, I’m going to ask you to veer away from your own page. How often do you explore the other pages you follow? Read, comment, like and share other people’s posts to entice them to find out who you are. Since your Facebook page is K-9 Training & Behavioral Therapy, when you engage with other pages, you might spark the interest of dog owners who have a pet in need of some guidance. Think of visiting other pages like spreading your business card around. Do it often!

Patricia, I hope these tips give you a few ideas to try and you get more engagement on your Facebook page ASAP. Bottom line: Social media isn’t a one-way street. You can’t just post and hope the masses will flock to your page. You have to be just as active on other pages and with the people who comment on your posts as you are with creating posts for your page. Good luck!

Would you like to ask a question on the Web Writing Advice blog? Send me a note! ~Angela

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