Every time I meet with new clients or speak or do a workshop, someone inevitably asks me, “What the heck do I post on Facebook to attract more customers?” The answer is a simple one but not so easy to find.
Engagement is still king on Facebook. It drives everything.
Solid, original, high-quality content achieves organic reach and engagement. People like, comment and share, which builds more authority with Facebook’s algorithms.
Paying close attention to what’s working and what’s not is key. You must learn how best to promote your content to improve on what’s happening organically.
But what do you do when you hit a brick wall for ideas? These 5 ways will help you figure out what to post on Facebook to engage customers and reach your goals.
1. It all begins with your WHY.
If you’ve done the work to determine your true why – why you’re participating in this race, and why your customers choose you over your competitor – the search for what to post on Facebook gets so much easier.
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. The goal is not to do business with people who need what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.” -Simon Sinek
Without inspiration, motivation and passion to craft meaningful content, your Facebook page falls flat.
2. Determine What Your Target Customers Want to Know
Building relationships with buyers is how business gets done (with or without Facebook, right?). Knowing your customer’s interests and challenges helps you create content that matters to them.
Whether you realize it or not, there’s a story happening in the mind of your customer. They are the hero of their story and when you actively participate in that narrative in a meaningful way (which Facebook is ideal for), you position your business within your customer’s story…and have a great shot at the sale!
3. Identify and Develop Your Resources
Part of your plan for what to post on Facebook is sitting down and assessing just what it is that you have available. Failing to identify and develop your resources makes it even harder to know what to post on Facebook.
Answer these questions:
- Who will produce our content?
- Who’s in charge of our content?
- Who will maintain our content? (Content is a business asset!)
- Examine and describe what forms of content are most comfortable right now (written, images, audio, video).
- What types of content do you want to focus on in the next 12 months?
- What do we need to do to get there?
4. Encourage Employee Participation
Most businesses agree they need to A) produce more content and, B) connect on a deeper, personalized level with today’s hyper-connected buyers. Shifting your internal processes to engage employees in content creation helps with both of these challenges.
When you showcase employees as thought leaders in your industry, the company receives more recognition online. Employees reap the benefit of their voices being broadcasted, paving the way for more referrals, leads and sales.
The company looks smarter because its employees look smarter.
5. Don’t Make It Too Complicated
If you’ve been managing a Facebook page for a business, chances are you’re one or more of these:
- You’re a current or potential customer
- You possess similar attributes to the customers you’re trying to attract
- You have empathy for customer’s struggles and feel a connection
This means you are uniquely positioned to understand your customer (because they’re just like you) and you have an idea of what would be valuable to post on Facebook.
Try this: identify 4-5 Facebook pages that you like and what it is about them that you admire. Write down your answers.
Review your list and discover that you’ve just experienced what it’s like to know what to post on Facebook. Those pages you identified are successful for the reasons that attracted you. They are the same or similar to the reasons customers like your page.
Brainstorm with others within and without your organization to come up with a game plan to create content that elicits the same interest, excitement, and belonging you feel when you visit those pages on your list.
We all get busy and it’s nice to have one place to refer to our game plan. A content calendar helps you think through what to post on Facebook and gives you the room you need to plan your strategy.
Figuring out what to post on Facebook is a creative process.
Not everyone is cut out for it but those that are usually realize it’s fun once you get things in place. Don’t be afraid to test different types of content with your fans. This will build your self-confidence and motivate you to keep going.
The answer to “what to post on Facebook” is simple but it is hard to find. Do the work, test your ideas and make good use of a content calendar. You’ll soon stop struggling, find the answers and become a Facebook superstar.
Kathi, thanks for sharing these great ideas with us. I don’t have trouble tweeting but making Facebook posts can be more challenging. I like the idea of writing down what you like from your fav pages. Always a good starting point !
Thanks, Lisa! I always look for ways to inspire me. I feel like if we’re more deliberate about noticing inspiration and why, we can become better marketers. I agree, too, Twitter can be easier to find content for…the RT is always useful 🙂
Kathi, I love the concept of making the customer the hero of the story. That’s a concept I always try to teach my clients. Great piece!