What to post on Facebook to get noticed

Every brand out there is competing for our attention on Facebook. But if you’re a small business owner, you’re not only competing against other businesses that provide services similar to yours, but also against family and friends whose status update is right above your brand’s update in the newsfeed.

Jay Baer, American marketing consultant, asks a good question on taking the time to read your brand’s status: “Are you more interesting than my wife?” In other words, are your Facebook posts more exciting to read than the friend below who’s sharing photos from his trip to Asia, or the other friend who just got engaged? Probably not (no offense).

So, how do you stand out on Facebook? What sort of content should you share to get noticed and to engage your audience? Read on to find out.

Videos

Facebook video is big. So big some even say that YouTube should be worried about losing its position as the king of online video.

Statistics from Facebook show a dramatic rise in video content with users now watching more than four billion videos a day. That’s up from three billion views every day, which was announced in January 2015. But what’s even more interesting is that the number of videos showing up in people’s news feeds has increased by 360% compared to last year.

Social media analytics company Socialbakers analysed more than 670,000 posts by 4,445 brand pages and found that video posts reached 8.71% of people organically compared with text-only statuses where the organic reach was 5.77%. Photo posts came in third with an organic reach of 3.73%.

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to share your original video straight to Facebook, one of the key ones being increased exposure. Add a video to a public post and it will reach a significantly bigger amount of people than any other type of post (like a photo or text-only status update).

If you’re a small business owner, Facebook video is something you should definitely take advantage of to reach and engage more fans. Check out this beginner’s guide to effective low-cost online video marketing for some ideas of videos you can create along with tools to put them together.

Personal stories

People love connecting with businesses on a personal level, and Facebook is one of the best channels to do that. If you use a corporate language and you’re all about business and your products, you’ll miss out on one of the best opportunities to build a strong relationship with your fans. Isn’t that what Facebook is all about?

The best way to get close to your fans is to show them you’re human. Sharing a photo of your workspace, your employees or even your customers (with their permission) makes your business much more relatable. Knowing there are real people behind your brand will go a long way to building trust and relationships with your fans.

So, if one of your employees ran a 10K race to support a cause, share that with your fans. If you’re having lunch with the team or celebrating a birthday or a milestone, don’t keep it to yourself. Your fans want to see faces and a brand with personality, so don’t be afraid to show it to them. Otherwise they’ll just see you as another brand.

Pictures from local events

As a small business getting involved in local events is always a smart move. It gives you the opportunity to connect with the local community you’re part of, to build relationships and to give back. So the next time you’re at an event with your business, take pictures and share them with your fans.

Tips and tutorials

Give your fans a step-by-step guide or tutorial on how to do something. For example, if you’re a plumber, show them how to fix their garbage disposal. If you’re an interior designer, do a quick tutorial on how to decorate a small space to make it look bigger. This is your chance to show your expertise, which can help you build authority.

Wrapping up

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make on Facebook is not having enough variety in their content strategy. So, abandon the boring corporate-speak and go beyond just sharing links to your blog posts and product pages. The only way to engage your audience is to share content that shows you’re a brand with a unique personality and a voice.

We would love to know what types of Facebook posts you find work best for your small business, so do share your best ideas in a comment below.