Post links for free

So you’ve probably set up a Facebook page for your business and you’re wondering how all of this engagement is paying off. Social media can be a major time waster if done incorrectly, and where is this so-called return on investment?

I work with so many business owners who don’t understand that you can’t just do social media to build your brand online. You really have to be social but at the same time you can’t forget to think about how social marketing plays a role in the customer lifecycle.

And it’s not just about publishing fluffy, shareable content purely to get noticed. It’s about building a profitable social marketing strategy where you don’t waste your time (or money).

Facebook business pages are designed to help you connect with your audience while giving readers the opportunity to share your content with their community.

This doesn’t work so well when, according to Facebook, the average brand post only reaches 16% of fans.

But, you can cheat the system. Well sort of…

Let’s Talk About EdgeRank

You probably already know about EdgeRank if you read SocialMouths frequently, but just in case here is a quick explanation:

EdgeRank is the algorithm Facebook uses to determine where your post shows up in the newsfeed and how long it stays there. There are three main components that you should know about:

Affinity: By measuring how connected you are with the user or brand, Facebook delivers relevant content based on your ongoing relationship including any relationship your friends have with a certain page.

Weight: Facebook considers posts with photos or videos more valuable than posts with plain text or links. This type of visual content will rank higher in the newsfeed. Facebook also takes into account the level of interaction a particular post receives so the more people engage with your post, the more you can increase overall reach.

Decay: Social media is all about finding the latest and most relevant information as it happens and Facebook is no different. You will notice that most of your post engagement happens just minutes after publishing. Content quickly loses value as time passes to avoid irrelevant posts showing up in your feed.

Now that you know what EdgeRank is, manipulate your content to encourage engagement and spike interest in your Facebook community.

This means adding photos to your posts whenever possible. If you are posting about your latest blog article, add the featured image to your Facebook post and include a link in the message.

If you’re super fancy, you can add text to your image using Photoshop or even Paint so that your fans will know right away what your post is about.

Don’t Forget Your CTA

So now you’re wondering how all this talk about EdgeRank is going to help you drive more traffic to your website. If you can get your content seen by more fans, you’re on the right track, but you have to remember to add a “call to action.”

Don’t just assume your fans will click a link just because it’s there. Tell them.

People won’t take action unless you tell them to and it doesn’t take much to be convincing. You just need to be specific.

Don’t simply copy and paste the title of your article into a Facebook post. Craft a message that calls out the value you are offering and why they need to read it now.

For example, for this article I would write my Facebook post like this:

“Want more traffic from Facebook? Click to read our latest blog post and find out how you can turn your brand page into an insane traffic driving machine: [insert link]”