Social media has become a top resource for content marketing. This article teaches best practices for bringing your content marketing efforts online and to Facebook.
Content marketing is no longer limited to a company’s blog. In fact, new statistics are pointing to social media as the top resource for content marketing. A recent infographic by a UK-based company, ContentPlus, shows that not only is content one of the top three reasons people follow brands on social media, but 70 percent of consumers prefer getting to know a company through articles rather than ads.
In today’s world where there is an infinite amount of data and information available online, it’s more important than ever for businesses on Facebook to use the social space to position themselves as experts in their industry so they can remain top of mind for their customers.
Here are five tips for bringing your content marketing efforts online and to Facebook:
1. Post Frequently
Posting content that inspires engagement is a game of trial and error. Every Facebook Page is different. One consistent truth is that people enjoy and expect great content.
If your business is creating valuable and shareable content, post frequently. If you’re only creating content once a week, you can fill in the gaps by sharing relevant information gathered by other experts and thought leaders in your industry.
A business page should post at least once a day to stay top of mind with their fans. The more often you can position yourself as an expert and someone who cares about providing useful information to your fans, the more often your fans will come looking for your advice.
Even though you’re posting great content, don’t drag out your post. Keep it short and simple. The fact that people like to skim the web is not lost on Facebook. A user should be able to glance at your Facebook post, get the gist and want to click through to your article.
2. Use a Call to Action
Sometimes to get what you want, you have to ask.The structure of a Facebook post can make or break the interaction that post will receive. The fact of the matter is, just because someone reads an amazing post, doesn’t mean he’ll think to share it with a friend. A little inspiration from a business never hurt.Some things to remember about calls to action are to ask questions, provide some additional information, always provide a link, keep it positive and provide an image.
For example, if you’re a gardening company and you write an article about how to prepare your garden for winter a good Facebook post might go as follows: Are you preparing your garden for winter? Here are some tips to keep in mind: (article link) Don’t forget to share with your fellow gardening friends!
3. Deliver Value to Your Fans
Make it a priority to get to know your fans. Finding out what information they like, what kinds of information they engage with, and what information they respond the best to is key to providing value to your fans. The best way to do this is to test out different types of content and see what kind of reaction it receives.
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Facebook Insights provide an in-depth look at every post a business makes on Facebook and is a great tool to use when building your content marketing. Facebook Insights shows the reach, number of engaged users, number of users talking about the post and the virality of every post a page makes. Keep track of what works and what doesn't and focus on what is exciting your fans.
Once you know what your fans are looking for, provide it to them in fun, interactive and relevant ways. Create timely articles that coincide with the holidays or important dates and are relevant to your business.
4. Be Visual
The average Facebook user has about 260 friends. That means a brand is competing with all of those friends, not to mention other brands, for space in news feeds. To make your posts stand out in your fans’ news feeds, make them visual. Use photos and videos to boost their appeal.
This tip applies to everything on your Facebook page, not just the content you're posting on a daily basis.Make sure your profile picture and your cover photo reflect your company, so when fans see your posts in their news feeds they know exactly who it came from.
5. Share Content on Other Networks
If you have great content to share, don’t limit yourself to one social network. Currently, Pinterest is the number one social media visual-sharing platform on the web. Consumers also checkTwitter and LinkedIn for information, so everything you write should be featured everywhere. After all, that is the beauty of the internet.
To make your content shareable on all platforms, add share buttons to your blog posts, ask your fans on Facebook to “pin” your articles or “tweet” the information. Remember that everything from articles and quotes to contests, PDF’s, infographics, videos and company news is all worthy content for Facebook and other social media platforms.
Image courtesy of basel101658 (Shutterstock)
Editor's News: To read more of Jim's advice on using Facebook to connect with customers, check out Facebook Advertising Works - If You Don't Make These 3 Mistakes
