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You’ve had a personal Facebook account for years, so posting feed updates on your business account should be really similar, right? Maybe not.
Communicating authentically as a business is similar to communicating authentically on your personal account. However, there are some strategic differences when it comes to posting as a business.
Facebook offers features on a business account that aren’t available on a personal page, so it’s worth your while to familiarize yourself with easy tactics to drive engagement with your target audience. Plus, many posts appear differently on a business page. Check out these best practices to make your posts stand out and put your best (digital) foot forward.
1. Post genuine content.
As mom always told you, “be yourself.” Your followers will appreciate it (and like and comment) when you give a peek behind the curtain of your business. When you think about what you see on your personal Facebook feed, your eyes likely prioritize a digital photo upload from friends — photos of real people with smiles, or a quick shot of a part of someone’s day — over a photo that feels staged.
Think about this when posting to your page. Does your photo look like a text-focused digital billboard, or is it a real photo of your team, your customers, or your workplace? Don’t overthink any editing, and be as transparent as possible.
2. Prioritize videos and photos.
One of the best ways to make sure your posts stand out is with dynamic content, like video and photo. When possible, prioritize video clips. Video posts on Facebook get at least 59 percent more engagement on average than other post types, according to social media research Keep ’em short and sweet: 15 to 30 seconds will do the trick, since the average watch time of a video on Facebook is around 18 seconds.
3. Less (copy) is more.
Keep it simple. Posts only show about three lines of text before it gets cut off, so let the photo or video stand on its own, and provide just a sentence or two for context.
4. Attach eye-catching imagery.
Sometimes the auto-generated imagery with a link looks less than ideal. This can have a negative impact on click rate if your audience isn’t sure what the link is for. (A quick note: If you post on Facebook using Square Marketing, you select an image regardless of what image is populated from the link).
To avoid confusion, when you paste a link in the post body, look for a “+” button (pictured below) to upload a better photo. This will encourage your audience to click the link when it populates. Facebook recommends a 600 x 314 size image, but a photo that’s landscape oriented with similar dimensions should do just fine.
5. Encourage responses from your community.
Try not to create posts that talk “at” your followers. This is the perfect place to create an opportunity to hear from them, and your text should initiate that conversation. Try something like “Who’s checking out ___ today?” or “Let us know what you think in the comments!” Need some help getting started? See more of our CTA ideas here.
You could also engage your audience using Facebook’s Poll feature. You can create a poll when you draft a post. Take it as an opportunity to ask your community questions about product offerings, store hours, sales — whatever is on your mind.
