Everyone who uses Facebook for business pays attention to a little number below the post showing the post “reach” – number of people that actually saw your post. And those numbers can sometimes be a little devastating. If you have 1,500 people following your page but only 34 see your post… that makes you scratch your head in disbelief and wonder: “What am I doing wrong?” And that is a very good question to ask. If your post reach numbers are not impressive at all and more than that – plain disappointing – it’s time to analyze, tweak, and test – the key principles of marketing. So, first thing first – analyze!

1. Analyze Your Data

Go into your page Insights and see what posts get the highest reach – what kind of content, key-words, photos and especially pay attention to the time of the day the post was published. You will notice the most popular times when most of your audience is online and checking their Facebook feeds and your post has better chances of being seen. Lunch time is usually a very popular time to post and get seen. Make adjustments in your posting schedule and content based on your findings.

2. Reduce Promotional Content

Be cautious about heavy use of promotional words in your content such as: buy now; share this; like our page. As you may know, Facebook changed their rules and algorithms and these words may affect your posts negatively. Facebook (just like Google) encourages people to share better, authentic content and not just push/sell their products. (That’s what ads are for). Keep that in mind when working on your posts: what would be interesting for your audience? How can you better serve them? What can you tell them about your business/brand that will be of interest to them?

3. Know Your Audience

You will notice quickly that some posts get more engagement – pay attention to those. Usually, people like to see the “other” side of business and people behind it. So, announcements on new staff members, a funny story about a staff member, a behind-the-scene photo and some funny authentic moments from your work day usually get noticed. Learn the demographics stats of your audience through Insights and cater to your loyal fans. Remember, you regular customers are your advocates and your best marketers!

4. Videos

Upload videos! Facebook (just like Google) loves videos, especially native videos. Native video means a video uploaded directly on Facebook vs. a link to YouTube – big difference in the eyes of Facebook. Make sure your videos are short, to the point and of decent quality. Hey, you never know – they may go viral too!

5. Know Your Competition

Keep an eye on your competition. You can select which of your successful competitors you want to “follow” in Insights and get statistics on “likes” and reach that they get. You can then compare their posts, content and times and find out what they do better that gets more visibility.

This is the editorial side of your business but do not disregard Facebook advertising and promoted posts! Facebook advertising is one of the most powerful tools that you can use promoting your business and putting it in front of the very specific targeted audience. Facebook’s Power Editor allows you to “hand pick” your target potential clients and select specific area, gender, age, income level, purchasing history, hobbies and more! Depending on clients’ goals, Ambiance Marketing creates turn-key campaigns for businesses promoting events, new products, brand awareness, for generating leads, collecting emails, getting phone calls, selling products, and driving traffic to your website.