I monitor engagement on Facebook, that slippery golden nugget that businesses are always trying to catch.
Videos are still performing better than images in terms of views, but on some pages, images of real people or places have attracted more likes and comments than videos.
Arriving on the Facebook scene as a well-known business means you are more likely to get engagement from the start, but starting as a new business on Facebook takes months and sometimes years to build up engagement.
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Posts currently getting engagement on Facebook
People are viewing reels more than images at the moment, and that trend has remained this way for a while. Anything that gives viewers a deeper insight into the business’ people, activities, premises and culture performs better because people love transparency (plus we’re nosy).
A slightly surprising pattern seen on some Facebook pages, particularly for not-so-well-known businesses, is that images of the person running the business or any relevant person attract more engagement than videos.
The posts that are getting less engagement are reposts or repeated posts. People don’t seem to engage with what they’ve seen already.
Tip for your page: Mixing up the style of posts works really well. Mix up images, reels, text, and the content itself, and you’ll find people start to become more interested.
Why do some pages perform better than others?
A well-established business that has lots of happy customers normally enters the world of social media and attracts engagement within a couple of posts, or on the very first one. These businesses still need to put the work in to keep people’s attention and get their messages across as powerfully as possible. But they’ve got a head start.
Businesses that are brand new, or have a very small customer base, usually arrive on social media and receive a scattering of engagement from family and friends. After the first couple of posts, they often get no response at all.
There are a few reasons for this.
Firstly, a lot of people are silently engaging. They may read or watch a post, and may enjoy it, but scroll past without responding. They either aren’t convinced they want to actively support the brand, they don’t see how it will benefit them, they don’t want whatever the business is selling, or they just have a habit of scrolling without liking.
Secondly, Facebook’s algorithm often supports the first post a page puts out on a brand new Facebook page to get you going, but after that, it’s a steep climb to regular engagement. A business may have the best video ever, but it simply isn’t being seen by as many people.
Thirdly, the first few posts that small businesses put out are often unclear, unattractive or messy. It’s not clear what they’re selling, how good they are, and what people should do next. Facebook often recommends posts to people who aren’t following you, so if the offer is not crystal clear in the first two seconds, people will scroll past.
Lastly, pages that post regularly, three to four times a week, often get more engagement. It’s difficult for small businesses to sustain that level of social media presence, which is actually a full-time job in itself. Posting once or twice a month will mean less engagement on Facebook.
Tip for your page: if you’re a small business struggling to get eyes on your posts, create a monthly plan for your page in one sitting and plan to make high-quality posts once a week. Start inviting people to follow your page, and engage with other people’s content to attract their attention.
Why do a lot of posts get no engagement?
Posts often seem to be ignored, but there are, in fact, other factors at play when a post gets low or no engagement on Facebook.
People only engage with an advert or brand after around eleven times of seeing them. So, people may read every post but not have enough commitment or interest to engage. That means it’s worth it to keep posting, because it’s building up people’s interest slowly but surely.
If a business is new or has a small client base, it’s hard to get decent engagement on posts for the first few months. It is simply because people don’t know them yet, and it takes time for people to get used to their content, tone of presence and brand.
The business may have quite a small target audience, or may have followers that aren’t interested or don’t need what you’re selling.
Businesses often post poor marketing. If you are struggling yourself, get some help here.
Tip for your page: Post consistently, but don’t post poor-quality content. Create a monthly plan in one sitting and schedule posts.
Should my business keep posting on Facebook?
It depends where your target audience is scrolling. Millennials and Gen Z are the biggest users of Facebook so post if you need to get their attention.
Don’t lose heart if you’re not getting much attention. Try to grow your page by inviting people to follow you, interact with others, and make a monthly plan.
Hand it over to a professional here.