Facebook organic engagement fell by over 20% in 2017 according to research by Buzzsumo, after analysing over 880 million posts. Facebook themselves admitted back in 2014 that organic reach is declining with over 1,500 posts competing for a user at any given time but only 300 posts actually shown.
Research by Agorapulse shows that organic reach for financial brands specifically is particularly low, sitting at less than 16% last year. While we realistically can’t wholly beat the system, financial brands can still make small improvements to boost their Facebook posts’ chances of being seen by the right eyes.
Organic reach for financial brands specifically is particularly low, sitting at less than 16% last year.
1. Set aside budget for key Facebook posts
Our first tip is actually not organic reach but it is a must. It’s sad to say, but the one true way of guaranteeing reach for key posts is to put budget behind them. Save this for key messages that can have a big impact, or posts that are already gaining traction and would benefit from an additional boost. Facebook advertising is like any other platform, it requires optimisation and correct targeting to make it effective. Ensure you take advantage of the full suite of Facebook’s targeting tools such as Custom Audiences, Dynamic Ads or Boosted Posts to make the most of your advertising budget.
2. Choose quality over quantity
Buffer conducted a great piece of research into a quality over quantity approach as to how often they were posting on Facebook. The company found that they actually tripled their reach and engagement by posting less frequently, with only one or two posts per day at a maximum. Combined with a strategy of focusing on brand awareness and engagement rather than traffic generation, Buffer saw their audience grow in size and trust. This meant that when they did post a key piece of content; their audience was more likely to connect with it.
3. Broaden your content sharing horizons
It’s a natural instinct to want to keep your potential audience within your own ecosystem; sharing only your content and driving them to your owned assets. Content curation can, however, be a valuable tool in expanding your reach and engagement. Share and promote great content, no matter what its source, if it will ring true with your audience. Your brand will benefit in the longer term.
4. Use your analytics to better understand and engage with your audience
Make full use of Facebook’s Audience Insights to ensure you optimise your organic engagement as much as possible. Learn what day and time is the best time to post, know what specific demographics you are targeting with which posts. One size does not fit all. The more you learn about your audience, the more you can improve potential engagement.
5. Make the move to video
Facebook has made no secret of its video-first strategy, with Mark Zuckerberg calling video a megatrend. Native video naturally has greater pull than embeds with stats suggesting only approx 4% of videos on the platform are in an external format. Keep videos short, according to Tubular Insights the best place for a call to action is around the 30-second mark while the best length for engagement is just under 1:30. Also, ensure you add captions to your videos; 85% of videos on Facebook are watched without sound.
The best place for a call to action in video is around the 30-second mark while the best length for engagement is just under 1:30.
6. Bonus tip: Customise and customise some more
Facebook offers many tools to ensure the content you create and share can be customised to your audience. From custom or e-commerce tabs to polls and quizzes, the options are much greater than a basic link share. Make the most of the platform’s flexibility to customise to your audience.
