How to Increase Your Facebook Page Engagement

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Table of Contents

You may have noticed that the engagement rate on your branded Facebook page is down. The good news is that your brand is not unique in that statistic. The bad news is that the consumer is getting tired of what brands choose to use Facebook for. This nothing new, in the eyes of the consumer, brands tend to overrun new marketing channels and viewership has a way of letting brands know that their space is being invaded.

Facebook engagement rates for brands and publishers is down over 22% since the beginning of 2017. Buzzsumo analyzed over 880 million Facebook posts and found the average engagement dropped from 340 to 264 over 2016.

These statistics are troubling! If you are in charge of your brands social media presence and rely on it for site traffic, consumer advocacy and overall brand awareness then you know how critical Facebook is as a marketing tactic. 

Facebook reaction emojis over facebook logo.
rvlsoft / Shutterstock.com

In this series we are going to discuss the why behind the what. We will discuss the data behind this study, the possible reasons for the drop that relate to your brand and how you use Facebook as well as the ways your brand should approach its use of Facebook as a marketing tactic. Remember, marketing tools and tactics is constantly moving with the changes to technology and more importantly with the consumer's expectations and needs.

Could the data be misleading?

Data can be deceiving and that could be the case here. While many brands reduced their overall advertising spend from 2016, we do know that brands spent more money on Facebook promotional advertising and this should have increased engagement. However, Facebook also has increased the amount of money it takes to obtain the same reach and more and more large companies are using Facebook with paid advertising and boosted Facebook posts. This algorithmic change means that the organic reach of Facebook declined dramatically which in-turn has a negative impact on overall engagement rates.

Marketing Land reported that “Facebook organic reach is down 52% for publishers’ Pages this year .While on average publishers' organic reach on Facebook has fallen by 52% in 2016, video and a lower reliance on Facebook has neutralized the pain for some.”

The Chicago Tribune reported, “Facebook’s algorithm isn’t surfacing one-third of our posts. And it’s getting worse”.

AdWeek reported, “Facebook reported advertising revenue of $9.16 billion in the second quarter of 2017, a 47 percent increase over the same quarter last year. Earnings per share for the second quarter totaled $1.32, up from 78 cents during the same period last year”.

Are there other factors behind the data?

Is the consumer being inundated with content on a channel they view as personal use? Has competition increased to the point that the small business is being drowned out? Could the data be skewed by the fact that 2016 saw a huge increase in political use of social media and the engagement rate dropped right after the Presidential Inauguration?

What do you do with this information if you are reliant upon Facebook engagement to fuel your business?

Over the coming weeks we will provide you with what we believe are the reasons behind the change in engagement rates and suggest tactical moves you must make in order to maintain a vital link to the success of your online business. It is easy to start a Facebook page but it is very difficult to grow one with the right audience and have that page deliver results. Join us as we discuss and suggest “How to Increase Your Facebook Page Engagement”.

 


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Filed Under: Social Media

About Jeremiah Richter

Jeremiah understands the complex world of software, tech, and the web. He knows that security and stability problems with a site not only harm a business’s image but also impact user experience.

Jeremiah combines his web development expertise with marketing savvy to relieve technological stress for our clients. He uses his admittedly “inordinate fascination with the obscura of the internet” to fine-tune each client’s website so they can deliver content and become a revenue-building machine.