I blogged about the social media strategies Near Me used to increase engagement by 300% last month and now I’m going to share the top ways you can optimize your Facebook page to engage readers. Facebook has seen natural engagement go down substantially lately. Brands need to come up with innovative new ways to increase engagement so you can start seeing the results your boss is looking for! Here are some key items  to help jump-start your Facebook marketing:

1. Facebook Audience Optimization: Facebook takes hundreds of things into account in their algorithm to determine whether someone will like and engage with a post from your Facebook page. Using Facebook Audience Optimization will help Facebook’s algorithm determine the right audience for your posts.
2. Be interesting and informative: We blogged about how content is king earlier this month. A post that says “entrepreneurs are doing good” is not going to get the same viewership and interactions as one with a dynamic picture of entrepreneurs climbing over a summit with the headline “entrepreneurs are taking over the world.” Similarly, it’s best practices to never post to sell a product. You can describe the features of a product or service without obviously selling it. Every post you make should be thought out carefully as how it will build your brand and increase interactions.
3. If you have not done so already, create your call to action button: We linked our “contact us” button to contact Near Me sales on our website.
4. Make your company page searchable on Facebook search: Facebook Professional Services is a directory inside Facebook for local businesses. They started this new service to help customers find local businesses with the best Facebook reviews and ratings.
   1. To ensure that customers find your local business in search or a category listing page, be sure that you’ve selected the appropriate category and subcategories for your local business. To start, search for the keywords or categories that customers would use to find you and see what Facebook suggests.
   2. Then you just go to your local business Facebook page and enter the keywords you picked in “page info” on the “about tab”:

5. Facebook Ads:  The following ads are available on Facebook depending on your company            objectives:

1. Clicks to Website: Send people to your website.
2. Website Conversions: Increase conversions on your website. You'll need a conversion pixel for your website before you can create this ad.
3. Page Post Engagement: Boost your posts.
4. Page Likes: Promote your Page and get Page likes to connect with more of the people who matter to you.
5. App Installs: Get installs of your app.
6. App Engagement: Increase engagement in your app.
7. Offer Claims: Create offers for people to redeem in your store.
8. Local Awareness: Reach people near your business.
9. Event Responses: Raise attendance at your event.
10. Video Views: Create ads that get more people to view a video.

If you are new to Facebook advertising I recommend starting with the Page Likes objective – you’ll build your audience and encourage your target market to like your page. More likes make you look popular, which encourages more people to like you in a domino effect. You can read up on Facebook Advertising best practices and click here when you are ready to start.

 6. Timing is crucial: Last but not least, the timing of posts is crucial because Facebook promotes      your post to more of your “likes” if and only if it gets likes and comments quickly. This sometimes requires trial and error to see when your followers react best. I’ve had a lot of success with posting right before work, before lunch and right after work on weekdays and mid-morning on weekends, but your posting times should be thoroughly tested to see what posting times work best for your company. It’s best to have a content calendar, mix up business posts with fun and company pictures and it’s best to avoid posting anything business-related in the hours before a holiday begins.

The overall objective of Facebook is to stimulate engagement and produce valuable and exciting content. It’s smart to tailor your language for your audience, be personal and personable, and use fresh and simple wording. By using the optimization tips above you will improve your Facebook Business Page visibility and user experience, both of which are crucial for your marketplace success. Good luck and please let us know if you have any thoughts or questions anytime.