Facebook timeline is effectively a gate to content. The Facebook algorithm decides what, when and how things appear on individual timelines and even once you are there under the noses of your audience, you still need some magic to ensure they engage. It’s frustrating and it is easy to become disillusioned with the platform, but Facebook is still the biggest and most active social media platform, indeed with engagement of traditional media dropping, quite possibly the biggest media platform across the globe. Whilst its size now means you are battling for position alongside much competition just following these six simple tips could ensure your efforts are not wasted and keeps your Facebook followers engaged.

Use an image

It’s nothing new, but if you forget this nugget you are going to miss out on a great deal of engagement. In fact it is such a well-known tactic that using an image in your post is probably now no longer the difference, it is those not using an image that will notice the difference – in a negative way. With over 80% of business Facebook posts including an image nowadays, those without, risk suggesting you are behind the times.

Ask a Question

Again, this is a much tested approach and one that still continues to engage with great success. It’s common sense. Make a statement that requires no feedback and the chances are, that’s exactly what you will get. However ask a question that by its very nature invites a response and your increased engaged will be obvious to see.

Post Longer

A recent survey from TrackMaven which looked at more than 1.5 million pieces of content on nearly 6,000 Facebook pages revealed that longer posts showed much better engagement. The study showed that posts with between 80-89 words actually got almost double the engagement of those posts with 70-79 words. (6.19% to 3.42%). That also suggests that sharing posts across Twitter and Facebook may have a negative impact beyond just duplicating output to your followers. Keeping posts shorter so that they can work on Twitter and Facebook means you could be missing out on the impact of longer Facebook posts.

Think beyond the 9-5

Want better engagement? Post when there is less traffic on those timelines. Trying to get spotted during the peak periods of the working week is a bit like trying to stand out in the crowd at Wembley during the FA Cup final, it’s a busy marketplace. However, wait until after hours and your chances of an interaction actually rises. There is less to compete with an ironically, more people are likely to be looking at their personal Facebook timelines. With less than 20% of Facebook posts being posted on a weekend, the chance to stand out increases with via a weekend post and the TrackMaven data suggest that a Sunday published post gets 25% more likes than a post published on a Wednesday.

Use hashtags

#winning hashtags can boost your post engagement by 60% according to the TrackMaven data. Facebook officially launched the use of hashtags on their platform in the summer of 2013, although many marketers had been trying to use them prior to this thanks to their success with them on Twitter.

Invest in Facebook Ads

The only way to ensure that your Facebook Posts appear under the noses of interested parties is to use targeted ads. Don’t worry if you’ve never used them before, they needn’t be ultra-expensive and the system is actually very easy to use. Getting started is simple too as we showed you here.

It would be foolish to abandon Facebook for your business needs. If you can beat the barriers and get under your audience’s nose Facebook is the platform it is easiest to gain engagement on. Getting likes, shares and comments on Facebook is far easier to get than a bundle of re-tweets and favourites on Twitter. Facebook also offers you incredible Insights into the people you do engage with, essential if you are to tweak and improve your social strategy. Hopefully these six tips will help you on your way.