A lot has changed since Facebook and Instagram opened their doors to business profiles, including the level of engagement your posts receive. Back in the day posting on Facebook was one of the best ways to organically reach your audience, but today, paid advertisements seem like the only way of getting your content in front of your customers’ eyes.
Why?
Because Facebook’s main objective is to share content with users that fit their interests. And according to, well, Facebook, they do this by implementing algorithms that show users content based on how much time they spend on a post or engage with it.
That said, if you’ve noticed your posts aren’t receiving as much engagement or don’t seem to be popping up much in the newsfeed, you’re onto something. This reason alone is exactly why I’m going to share four ways to help you beat those nasty algorithms.
Starting with…
1. Live Video
Now I know that Live Video isn’t groundbreaking news like it was a few years ago, but a lot of businesses still aren’t using this feature to their advantage.
Think about this: when you go “live,” Facebook notifies your followers inviting them to engage with you. Talk about getting your users attention! Long gone are the days of posting a special and either boosting the post or hoping your fans react. By going “live” you have the chance to engage with your followers in real time and have a cool way of showing them what’s going on at your business. Plus, the more people who engage with you while you’re live, the more likely your post will pop up in their friends’ newsfeed and feeds of other followers.
2. Stories
While stories are still fairly new on Facebook and haven’t been released for businesses yet, it’s a great feature you should be taking advantage of on Instagram. If you were unaware, Facebook owns Instagram, so their post algorithms are similar. And if you post on Instagram without having a solid content marketing strategy in place, you’re basically sending out your photos to a cyber landfill.
But hey, that’s where Instagram stories come into play. Instagram stories are the first thing users see when pulling up the app because it’s on the top of the screen. By posting updates, specials or information about your business on Instagram stories, you can expect for your content to be seen.
3. Hashtags
Hashtags, while useful, are typically the most abused feature on social media in my opinion. I get it, you want more people to see your content, but spamming them in your caption isn’t the answer. Seriously, don’t spam your content by flooding it with hashtags that are meaningless to your post, put them in the comments.
That’s right, if you have a small following on Instagram and want more engagement on your posts, use up to 30 relevant hashtags in the comments below. Now if your following is larger, try to not exceed 5 in your caption. By doing this, you’re reaching people who are interested in your content without burying the message you’re trying to get across.
4. Advertising
Last but not least, advertising. Yes, this option isn’t free, but social media is quickly becoming a pay to play industry. If you’re not at least budgeting $100 a month for social ads, don’t get upset if your content isn’t doing well.
Historically, businesses would boost posts in hopes to reach their audience. And this isn’t a bad way to go, but with the endless options of Facebook and Instagram ads, there are plenty of ways to reach your target audience without breaking the bank.
Facebook will continue to evolve and who knows what new features are coming down the pipeline, however, if you act fast and think what these new features can do for your business, you’ll be ahead of the curve and on your way to beating those algorithms.
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