This is post 7 in a series of 10. You can read the previous 6 posts:
1. 5 Reasons Why You Should Use Facebook Ads
2. 7 Ways to Get More Followers On Social Media
3. 10 Ways to Build Your Credibility On Social Media
4. How to Become The Go-To Person In Your Industry
5. How To Gain The Trust of Your Audience on Social Media
6. How to Write An Appropriate Bio For Social Media Profiles
How To Write Engaging Facebook Posts
Now you've gone to all this effort of setting up your social media account, the real work begins.
If you thought it was hard choosing a profile picture, writing your bio and picking a cover image…well now you have to make sure that you are regularly posting high quality, interesting and engaging content on a highly consistent basis.
Forever.
While delivering consistently high quality posts on Facebook is difficult, and developing the skill can be a steep learning curve, the good news is that you will only get better over time. And I'm thankful for that because, honestly, I'm still working on it!
To help you get a head start, here are some pointers that can help you to start being more engaging and interesting right now.
Write for Your Audience
Should you be funny or serious? Professional or chatty? There's no single answer. It depends on your audience, what you're promoting, and your personality.
It pays to keep this in mind at all times. If you struggle with this, take a piece of paper and pen and profile your ideal customer. How old are they? What gender? What sort of job do they do? What are their hobbies? Goals and dreams? Write these things down and give that person a name.
From this point on, imagine that every single post you write is being written for them. This will help you to find the right tone. Remember: you won't please everyone, so focus on pleasing the right people.
Confession time: sometimes, when I'm on Facebook, because it's so casual, I'll let loose with a pun or a geeky joke. Oh…that's my personal profile…sorry about that, move on because we're talking about the Business Page now.
Be Interesting
It sounds obvious right? But you'd be surprised how many businesses forget this one key fact. How many times have you seen articles like ‘The 10 Best Ab Exercises'? Probably a million right? So you're hardly going to click on it. On the other hand, if you're writing things like ‘Why Sit Ups May be the WORST Way to Build Abs' then you just might pique someone's interest. Always ask yourself: would you read it?
Ask Questions
Asking questions will allow you to engage with your audience, which is what ‘engaging' means. Remember: most people on social media love a chance to make their opinion known.
Stay On-Topic
While you can veer a little bit, remember that the people who are following you are doing so for a reason. They're interested in the niche/industry you operate in so make sure your content stays focused on that and doesn't meander.
Be Respectful
Really it all comes down to respecting your followers and trying to give them what they expect from you. Playing it safe isn't really what I'm talking about here. More like “try it but be respectful when you do”. If a post gets no engagement, make another one. If a post gets a LOT of engagement, you just hit gold and should focus on posting content similar in theme.
Use Images and Video
Images and video are excellent content to share on Facebook. Make sure you write a note about why you're sharing the image or video, what lesson you learned or why you think the topic is interesting. And, if you're up for it, the best kind of post is when you can say “I disagree with _____ because ____. What do you think?”
