We live in a time and place where our relevance and popularity can be measured by our number of social media fans or followers.
As a brand owner it looks and feels better to have 500 fans instead of 50. With that said, have you ever wondered how many of your fans are actually paying attention to your posts? Is Facebook worth your time, and are your posts hitting the mark?
According to recent benchmark reports from a Facebook analytic tool PageLever, the following was discovered.
• 1 out of 50 post views earn a negative response.
• Negative responses most likely result in all your page stories being blocked, which is 60 times more likely than clicking “unlike” on your page.
• Post are more often reported as spam instead of the page being “unliked”.
For every 50 posts you are unsubscribed by 2% of your fans. This does not mean that your number of fans is decreased, but the number of those fans hiding from you without your knowledge is increased.
If you were to post one thing a day every day for one full year, 15% of your fans would be hiding from you by year’s end. Why is this happening? And what can you do to keep your fans engaged?
Do not feel discouraged, a few tweaks in your approach moving forward will make a world of difference. It’s time to take the blinders off and focus on maximizing fan engagement instead of fan count. Are we giving our fans relevant brand content, frequency expectations and the things they want to see? Here are a few tips to keep your fans loyal.
1. Quality over quantity: Your current fans are just that…your current fans. Some of them are hiding from you and some are not. Moving forward it is important to cater to those who are actually paying attention or engaging you. This will grow the quantity of your qualified fans.
2. Frequency doesn’t always sell: Your Facebook page is not a traditional form of advertising like radio, TV or print. Set frequency expectations for your fans. This can be done by posting once a day at the same time of day. Think about the time you most often visit your page…post then.
3. Talk the talk: When you make a post be sure that it reads the way you would say it to someone. For example, if you own a flower shop you are by no stretch of the imagination a professional copy writer…..post the way YOU talk. Your fans like you for a reason.
4. Own your brand: Your fans do not want to hear your political views. They are not a fan of your page to be entertained, unless your brand is entertaining. Be sure to keep all of your posts in line with your brand. Keep your fans up to date with product trends, new products or services, your promotions, events etc.
5. Ask for help: As a good rule of thumb you should post at least one poll on you page per quarter. This poll should ask your fans what they want to see more of from you. Measuring your products or services this way is very beneficial as well.
In closing, be sure to have fun. While this is a very serious subject we are still talking about Facebook. Don’t take yourself too serious, stick to the fundamental tips above and treat your fans to a great page.