oreoYou may think you’re doing everything right on your Facebook brand page. But, when your metrics tell you otherwise, it’s time to take a closer look.

If you find that people aren’t engaging with your brand’s Facebook content, you’ll need to make some changes. Here are 10 reasons people aren’t engaging with your posts and how to improve your performance.

 

1.    Your Content Isn’t Share-Worthy

The average Facebook user spends 33 minutes a day on Facebook spread out between 14 separate sessions. If you want to capture your fan’s attention, you have to create strong, captivating content (especially with the decline of organic reach).

You’ll need to capture the attention of your current fans to inspire engagement. The type of content you choose to create depends on your audience but it should also be a balance of different content.

It’s best to look at what types of posts have done well in the past. Post quotes, run caption contests, offer exclusive deals, post about new product releases, ask questions, or add videos. Make sure to track how well each post does.

Posting exceptional content is also a way to bring in new customers. If your content is share-worthy, your users will also be inspired to share branded posts with their friends, increasing your reach and driving more consumers to your website.

 

2.    You’re Not Posting Promotions

People like brand pages for various reasons, one of which is to receive coupons or discounts. If you’re not posting any promotions on your brand page, you should be.

Facebook fans will expect to see this type of content. There will always be a little give and take. If consumers support you by liking your page, they’ll expect a certain value in return. You need to prove to your fan base that there are specific advantages for liking your page. Without exclusive offers, users may find less reason to interact with your brand page, meaning your content’s visibility will decline.

Promotion posts drive sales. Facebook fans will likely click-through to your page if they see an exclusive offer on your brand page and potentially make a purchase. If you’re offering a discount code, there’s a good chance users will want to share the love with their friends, helping you potentially score new customers.

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3.    Your Page Lacks Pure Branding

A good deal of your fans liked your page because they wanted to receive discounts. This is your opportunity to make them long-term customers who don’t just buy your products or services because they are the cheapest, but because they feel connected with your brand.

Simple branded images and captions can drive a ton of engagement.  Explain who you are and why your brand is the best. Give consumers a reason to buy from you instead of buying from your competitors.

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4.    You’re Not Holding Contests

Contests are excellent Facebook content for a number of reasons. People love the opportunity to compete for a prize and contests generate engagement, user-generated content, and conversions.

Contests give you a great opportunity to reward your fans, generate excitement, and incentivize users to spread the word about your brand. Yet again, the top reasons people like a Facebook brand page is for promotions and discounts and free giveaways. If you don’t hold contests on your brand page, people might not feel the need to interact with your page.

 

5.    You’re Not Asking Questions

Spark conversation by asking questions on your Facebook brand page. Customers love to weigh in and have a voice. No only are questions great for driving engagement, they’re also a way to learn about your audience and improve as a company.

If you’re not asking questions, there’s probably a lack of two-way communication on your brand page and your fans may feel like their opinion isn’t valued. To increase your engagement and fan participation, there are a variety of questions you can ask: specific, timely, fill-in-the blank, tips, preference, etc. (See more here)

Asking questions helps to create a dialogue between you and your fans. Questions can just be for fun or they can have a specific purpose like driving excitement about an upcoming event or discovering what people’s favorite product is.

 

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6.    You’re Not Paying Attention to Timing

Posting on social networks has become a science. Sure, you can post whenever you want, but Facebook posts do better during certain times of day. If you don’t pay attention to timing, you might be posting when most people aren’t active. This means you’re missing out on potential eyes-balls and engagement.

Paying attention to when spikes occur is essential if you want people to see and engage with your posts. According to Dan Zarella, the best time to share on Facebook is noon and a little after 7pm.

 

7.    You’re Posting Too Frequently (or Infrequently)

Post frequency has been shown to have an effect on Facebook engagement.  According to research by Buddy Media, pages that posted 1-2 times per day receive 40% higher user engagement compared to pages that had more than 3 posts per day. This means, Facebook engagement is higher with quality not quantity.

If you’re posting a bunch of content to your page everyday trying to improve your engagement level, stop. Concentrate instead on posting fewer, more quality posts. In the same sense, if you’re not posting daily, you should be in order to keep your fans constantly involved.

 

8.    You’re Not Posting Photos

Photos are a go-to for inspiring engagement because they are the best way to get more attention from your fans. They stand out from simple text, can communicate emotion, and are easily digestible.

Photos get 39% more engagement than links, videos, or text-based updates and account for 93% of the most engaging Facebook posts. They get 53% more likes, 104% more comments and 84% more click-throughs on links than text-based posts.

Make sure to incorporate photos in your Facebook posts very frequently. But keep in mind, not all photos were created equal. Make sure you know which type of photos work best on Facebook before diving in.

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9.    You’re Not Including Calls-to-Action

Sometimes, users need a push in the right direction. In order to foster engagement, you should give them a psychological nudge so they interact with your post. When giving specific instructions, your audience will respond better.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that Facebook recently changed the way it sorts these posts in the News Feed. Make sure your post is truly fostering conversation and thought instead of just trying to get additional distribution beyond what the post would normally receive.

 

10. You’re Not Including Outside References

To add personality and variety to your page, be sure to switch it up. Don’t make every post about you, your promotions, and your discounts. Bring in things from outside that are timely or relevant to your audience. Think about what’s going on in the world or what your followers are interested in. Post quotes, photos unrelated to your brand, or anything that’s appropriate that you think your audience would relate to or enjoy.

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Generate leads by communicating with your fans and by inspiring them to share with their friend. Apply these 10 strategies to your Facebook brand page to improve your engagement level and to drive more consumers to your website.