Social media and its uses have continuously evolved, especially in recent years. It has almost become a necessity for people, with the number of users reaching the billionth mark (3.8 billion as of 2020) worldwide and surpassing nearly half of the Earth’s entire population. It has indeed left a tremendous impact on people’s lives, and changed the way people interact with each other completely. However, social media has not only impacted its users; it has also affected businesses and the entire digital marketing scene. Social media has made global reach and influence possible, and this massive opportunity is not taken for granted by businesses. Some businesses truly invest in their social media marketing by seeking the help of a team of experts to manage it for them, like acquiring social media management services in the Philippines to make sure that every platform is properly managed and maximized.

One of the biggest and most used platforms that businesses need to keep an eye on is Facebook. However, it was much easier to have hundreds of clicks through posting a single link through Facebook and Instagram in the past years. Nowadays, Facebook’s reach has plummeted dramatically and one post would only reach about 5% of your followers on average. While Facebook’s organic reach has taken a nose-dive since 2017, it still remains as one of the most used social media platforms as of 2020. The challenge is to uncover ideas that would beat the Facebook algorithm in order to reach those millions of users organically.

Establish a Strong Brand Presence

Having a strong image and presence online means capturing the attention of the audience. Create an image that would not only capture the audience’s initial attention, but would also stick in their minds. This would give you the opportunity to attract the right people to your Facebook page instead of having to draw random fans in, and have them willingly engage to the content that you post. Then, create a target persona using Facebook audience insight to make sure that you’ve gathered the right audience.

Promote Through Different Social Channels

Establishing a solid foundation for an audience is one of the most difficult steps in expanding Facebook organic reach. One of the simplest ways to drive traffic is by making your page visible to other platforms and accessible to all users. It’s an important factor to remember that not all social media platforms are being used the same way by each user, and you can always capitalize on that simple idea as long as it could give you the opportunity to introduce your Facebook page.

Join Existing Facebook Groups

Joining and posting in groups with the same interests is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to attract new followers and users from different backgrounds. This also allows you to post content related to your business and engage in posts similar to your brand. This expands your reach in larger groups of people, and you establish a direct connection with your audience, as well as relevance and significance for your business rather than just collecting casual fans with lower chances of engagement.

Consistently Ask for Feedback

Another simple way of bumping up interactions is to actively engage with your audience. The questions or topics you can post depend on the type of business that you run, but it’s important that these questions are also information that you can use for improvement on your service, and not simply questions asked randomly just for the sake of getting attention and interaction.

Post Content Other Than Your Own Products or Services

According to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s latest algorithm prioritizes content that engages the audience more and encourages ‘meaningful’ social interactions. They wanted to emphasize the idea that Facebook is often used by people to be updated about their friends and family and stay connected with them, and not look for products that are completely unrelated on their feed. One key step in driving organic traffic is to engage the audience through posting content that shares timely and relevant information, like groundbreaking news updates around the world, as opposed to strictly promotional posts that most people would likely scroll past.

Establish Consistent Organic Reach through Publishing ‘Evergreen’ Content

Posting content that is currently trendy might boost organic reach exponentially, but the growth would only be limited within a specific period of time. Once the current topic has passed, there’s no guarantee that the reach will still be consistent with your following posts. What you need is to publish content that is relevant regardless of the month, date, or even year of posting — the type of content more popularly known as ‘evergreen’ content. Creating content that people love regardless of the date it was posted means they could revisit it any time, and that it is guaranteed to drive organic traffic. It would also exist in people’s feeds for longer periods of time, and could reappear every once in a while.

Upload Facebook Native Videos

Capitalize on one of the easiest content formats that most people consume — video. The trick is to create something that would make your audience stop scrolling and engage. Native videos prove to be one of the most efficient ways to make that happen. It was revealed that they have a higher rate of organic reach compared to shared links, status updates, or even pictures. There is a rate of at least 135% of native videos reaching users organically, compared to other forms of content. It’s also important to note that Facebook rewards pages that upload videos directly to the platform, and they’re much easier to consume and engage for the audience through its auto-play feature.

Use Facebook Live Often

Another form of video content that is efficient in reaching users organically is Facebook Live. One study even revealed that Facebook Live is 80% more likely to drive organic traffic compared to native videos. This is due to Facebook Live having a real-time engagement with the audience, which encourages a higher rate of interaction (at least six times more) compared to native videos. These live videos could also be archived and revisited by the users even after the broadcast has ended.

Provide Different Content and Mix Up Formats

Videos might be one of the most efficient ways to boost your reach organically, but it certainly isn’t just the type of content format that you could focus on. While videos are definitely the easiest form of content that the audience could consume, there are some who find other types accessible as well. For instance, photos or blog posts may contain more detailed information compared to videos with limited time. Mixing up posts could also be an effective way to encourage new leads through new and different types of content.

Maximize Optimized Posting

There would be certain peak hours where most people would be on Facebook, and it’s important to take advantage of it in order to drive traffic. The Facebook news feed is updated based on the most recent posts, so posting within those peak hours where most users are active could capture the audience and get them to engage almost immediately. Studies reveal that the best times to post vary on the type of business and the time difference. Some showed that the best times would be between 9am – 10am, 12pm – 1pm, and 4pm – 6pm. However, in order to have a specific timetable, you may check your Facebook insights to see the right time frame for your business, where audience engagement is at its peak.

Create Consistent Content

Once you’ve figured out the most effective time frames of when to post content, it’s time to create content that is consistent with your brand. Being consistent with the type of content that you post would most likely increase engagement from your existing audience and would give them an immediate clue about your page without having to figure out who posted it. Your consistency would also, in a way, give you that sense of identity among the audience, which may spark interactions enough to draw in casual users as well.

Analyze Your Posting Frequency and Adjust Accordingly

Having a scheduled time in posting and aiming to release consistent formatted content does not automatically mean that you should post more. The frequency of your posts is also dependent on different factors like the number of followers and likes that your page has. According to a study, Facebook pages with over 10,000 followers have expanded their reach and clicks when they started posting more than usual. However, those pages with less than 10,000 followers received lesser clicks and audience reach when they doubled their posts in hopes of ramping up interaction. Take these factors into consideration before you increase or decrease the number of times you post.

Re-share Top Posts with the Most Number of Engagements and Reactions

Recycling and re-posting top posts might be Facebook’s version of Twitter’s quote retweet: essentially quoting an already successful tweet, but with the chance to make it better. Since it’s already proven to have a positive reaction from the audience, top posts are expected to produce the same results, with some even outdoing the original post depending on the content and its relevance. You could also get creative by mixing up some of the content, like adding photos or videos in order to catch a viewers’ attention and essentially drive more traffic.

Encourage Consistent Audience Interaction

One way to spark up audience engagement is by encouraging them to turn on their post notifications on your page. This already seems like a programmed spiel said by almost every influencer; however, these influencers aren’t just reminding their viewers because it sounds realistic and professional. When a user accepts your polite request to turn their notifications on, they would be notified immediately once you’ve posted, and engage right away compared to casually seeing your posts on their feed. It could also be a way to encourage the user’s friends and followers to engage and get more organic traffic.

Respond to Feedback and Opinions

Creating content and posts that encourage your audience to engage wouldn’t be enough. You have to return the favor. When they post reviews or opinions asking for your response, you have to engage. Replying on posts and separate comments also help you constantly reappear on user’s feeds, but more importantly,  they also reflect quick and effective consumer-response, leaving a good impression to your existing audience, and to those who have just discovered your page.

Be More Personal with Your Posts

If there is one type of content that is guaranteed to be appreciated by many regardless of their backgrounds, it’s the transparent, most natural and genuine ones. Posting content that emphasizes the human side of your brand would most likely garner engagement, as the audience is seeing something they can relate with and react to. For instance, celebrity posts that appear more casual and natural are more likely to spark a reaction from their fans compared to auto-generated messages of promotions.

Use Relevant Hashtags on Every Post

Hashtags are considered to be one of online marketing’s most valuable assets. They make it easier for users to find shared posts, products, brands, and anything else in between that is related. It’s important to get creative with the use of hashtags. Make sure they aren’t too generic, as they might be drowned out by too many posts relating to the hashtag. This is also a chance for you to create a hashtag unique to your brand’s identity.

Maximize Every New Facebook Feature

Facebook marketing has evolved throughout the years, and so did a lot of its features for better usage and convenience. For businesses, this means more opportunity to achieve organic reach. For instance, messenger bots are now widely used in order to cover immediate response and at the same time try automated and targeted message sequencing. Photos can also now be viewed in 360 degrees and Facebook stories are easier to access and available for preview for 24 hours. These are some of the other ways to encourage and maximize audience engagement.

Engage Your Followers through Special Promos

While having great content is how you would initially get your followers interested, for some who are struggling and aren’t too creative with their content, you could always strike a win-win deal with your followers. This means offering special deals that are available for a limited time only, discounts, or any other promos that would make them interested and click on your page. Make sure that visiting your Facebook page is tied around the instructions of the promos in order to guarantee engagement.

Get Your Page Verified

Facebook is one of the social media platforms that give the blue tick to select users and accounts. Getting the blue tick could mean that your page is genuine, real, and trustworthy. It could also be seen as the platform’s reward for your page’s achievements and consistent performance. Verified pages are much easier to find and easier to trust for the audience. It will help you in getting newer leads and followers. Smaller businesses are also rewarded with a gray verification that also provides the same impression.

Facebook has evolved just like any other social media platform, but with its features that are generally much easier to use compared to other major platforms, it’s no shock that it still remains as one of the top, most-used social media platforms. The users and the platform may have evolved, but so did the competition. Get creative to adapt, beat the odds, and increase organic reach.