One critical element to a successful communication plan for any Facebook page is to encourage engagement from your connections (aka fans). The best advice to optimize your Facebook page’s wall posts is to simply ask a question at the end of the wall post (also referred to as status updates). A good question will entice a response. Keep in mind that open-ended questions that entail too much work on behalf of the fan, questions that are complicated or questions that ask too many things won’t be as successful as a question that’s simple, compelling and easy to answer.
You know your fans best, so ask targeted and relevant questions. They’ll tell you with ‘likes’ and comments whether you succeeded at engaging them with your wall post. If you haven’t succeeded, experiment with content and questions that work best for your fans. If you’ve fostered engagement, replicate the formula but keep in mind that you have to continually offer fresh content and questions that keep the fans interested.
Here’s an example of a status update that is optimized with a question:
Wall post:
“Ever wonder how to engage your fans on Facebook? Here is a blog post that has 10 suggestions for status updates that encourage engagement. [LINK]”
Why there’s room for improvement:
By asking the question at the beginning of the status update it comes across as a rhetorical question with the second sentence serving as the answer. It doesn’t entice a response from fans. Simply sharing information isn’t enough to encourage engagement either.
Optimized Wall Post with a Question:
“This blog post has 10 suggested status updates to encourage engagement on your Facebook page [LINK]. What question have you asked on your page that got the most comments or ‘likes’? Share here!”
Why it’s better:
This status update ends with a question that is direct and easy to answer. By ending with ‘Share here’ it also has a strong call to action for the fan to comment with his or her response.
When you think about social media, think about socializing your content. Asking questions is a key element in holding a conversation with someone in person or online. This is applied to Facebook pages too. Always think of how you can make your status updates more social with your fans.
Post written by Helen Todd aka @helenstravels. To learn more from fbadz.com, connect with us on Facebook!