You’ve heard it before: today, humans have shorter attention spans than goldfish do. Yep, you read that right. Research shows that since the year 2000 (around when the mobile uptick started), the average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds to eight seconds. That being said, it’s more important than ever to grab your target audience’s attention to drive engagement – quickly and efficiently.
Engagement (likes, comments or any other action on a Facebook post by a user) can help determine whether your hard work planning and posting content updates is paying off, and whether your community and viewers are actually absorbing your content. (More on how to check out data on your page from Facebook Analytics here.)
Check out some of the tactics that can help you create content that encourages users to stop scrolling through their newsfeed and actually absorb and engage with your posts.
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Go the extra mile.
Don’t settle for just a simple, text-only status update. Videos are a great way to grab users’ attention – even raw and real low-budget video content can do the trick.
According to Forbes, 90 percent of customers report that videos showcasing a business’s product or service helps them make purchasing decisions, and that could be the decision to come into your workplace, visit your business or check out a product on your website. Have photos to share, too? Go for it. If it’s quality content, it’ll pay off in engagement.
Optimize your posts for mobile viewing.
Taking up the majority of someone’s mobile screen is one of the key ways to get their attention. The most straightforward rule of thumb is to shoot and/or edit your content in a 1 x 1 (square) format so that when viewed on Facebook, the image takes up a chunk of a user’s newsfeed.
Keep it short and sweet.
On Facebook, post text gets cut off after about three or four lines, depending on the height of the photo or video, and whether the post is being viewed on mobile or desktop. That being said, the photo or video should do all the talking. Keep the post description to two lines, max. When you’re sharing links, try utilizing a free link shortener like Bit.ly to make sure links don’t take up multiple lines.
Create an actionable CTA on every post.
You can create engaging posts by choosing your words carefully and asking your users questions. Think: “Who is doing ___ today?” or “Comment below and let us know if you agree!” or “Tag a friend in the comments who you think would love this!” Plus, check out the actionable CTAs that can help you leverage unique features that Facebook makes available to businesses to drive hyper-focused engagement.
- Extend an offer for a discount or coupon code: One of the best ways to track how well your Facebook posts are resonating with your community (and being shared with new customers) is to create a unique discount code from your page.
- Create a poll: It’s just like it sounds: You can actually create a way to hear from your community with multiple choice options – the poll will show the percentage of their choices, which makes it fun for fellow followers.
- Create an event invitation: Spread the word about an upcoming event (virtual or physical) by creating an “event.” This gives you the opportunity to share a quick description, dates and times, associated pages and hosts and additional details.
Genuine content is the real deal.
Above all, you’ll find posts that share insight into what your business is really all about perform better than bright and shiny, perfectly lit, ad-like content on your page. Focus on sharing moments that spotlight your team members and customers (with their permission, of course), give insight into how your product is made and beyond. Your customers will appreciate the transparency – and show it with “Likes.”