Consumers are spending more time on social media! There has been a 66% increase in the usage of Facebook and Instagram. However, analysts are assuming the usage of these platforms will go down. That is why it’s important to create content that will appear higher up on a user’s newsfeeds.
Facebook and Instagram facts and information
- On FB and Instagram alone there are 2.27 billion users, and of these users, 75% of them log in daily.
- After Facebook rolled out the new layout, small businesses immediately began reporting changes to their reach and engagement (50% drop in engagement, 40% drop in sales)
- Facebook states the changes to mobile and desktop news feeds is to improve user experience & user satisfaction
- Due to the changes on Facebook and Instagram, organic reach continues to decline for small businesses (1.6-2% organic reach)
What is Organic Reach?
Organic reach is the free reach you get through social media that the business isn’t paying for. Facebook claims about 1,500 posts can be seen on a newsfeed, however with the recent changes made by Facebook, only about 300 posts will actually be seen by the user.
Organically, Facebook will show your content to a segment of your followers, and the reach will increase based on the engagement of the content. Facebook will base the 300 posts on their ranking of the post and each user’s preferences. The Facebook algorithm ranks the posts in the order that the user is likely to enjoy them, based on ranking signals.
What Are Ranking Signals?
- How long a page has been active on Facebook
- Percentage of followers engaging with posts and your page, in general
- Consistency of posting
- How actively the page engages with followers
7 Tips to Increase Your Organic Reach
- Encourage Engagement
- Create clever and creative content
- Create posts users want to share
- Avoid clickbait
- Focus On Quality Content
- Videos – at least 3 minutes long
- Images
- Text only
- Links – AVOID OUTBOUND LINKS!
- Know When to Post
- Use the Facebook Insights tool
- B2B locations 9AM and 2PM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
- B2C locations noon on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
- Inform Followers
- Ask your followers to add your page as a see first! The following tools can improve your visibility.
- Have the customer go onto your business page and click the 3 dots, click follow, set the settings so your posts show up in their highlights
- When a customer does this, they will receive a notification whenever you post, go live, etc.
- Build Interaction
- Ask your employees, friends, and family to share and engage with your content.
- The more engagement you get, the better your organic reach is, and the better your organic reach is, the more likely your posts are to show up on the top of a user’s newsfeed!
- Focus on Interaction
- Be sure you are responding to comments and direct messages on messenger within 24 hours.
- Leverage Low Cost Ads
- Utilize Facebook and Instagram ads
- Ads improve organic reach
- Facebook is limiting ads for larger businesses freeing up inventory and lowering costs for small businesses
Things to Avoid
- Posts created to push people to buy products
- Posts that promote promotions, giveaways, or contests
- Posts that link outbound content
- When you do these things, your organic reach will automatically go down