Having a strong presence on social media can be crucial for a successful social media strategy. By having a large follower base, websites have a bigger chance of getting higher engagement and it can be easier to build a strong and big audience for paid campaigns.
However, it is important to remember that having a larger follower base on Facebook and Instagram doesn’t necessarily guarantee high engagement. Hence, audience research should be conducted to create more relevant and engaging content that could encourage followers to drop a like, comment or even share. By posting content frequently, social media growth is more likely to follow.
This article goes through 4 different ways to increase Facebook followers and drive engagement.
1. Page like campaigns
An easy way to steadily increase Facebook followers is by setting up Page Like Ads. With Page Likes Ads, Facebook will distribute ads to people who are more likely to engage with the content and/or find a liking to the brand. This also provides a higher chance of increasing the ‘likes’ on the associated Facebook page.
All that is needed to set up for a Page Like Ad is a relevant picture, a headline, and an ad copy that encourages people to like the Facebook page. It should also be made clear what benefits followers get by liking your page. Here’s an example:
“Get first dibs on exclusive promos and special events! Like our page now.”
With Page Like Ads specific locations / geographic areas can be targeted local to the business’s location. This is beneficial as it will grow the local audience in the specific location targeted. However, keep in mind that Page Like Ads are currently only available for Facebook.
2. Increase the number of organic posts
By increasing the amount of content posted per week on a brand’s social page, it is building not only building a top-of-the-mind awareness for followers but also building awareness that the brand is active. This gives an opportunity to increase follower bases as people tend to follow brands who they feel they can reach out to immediately if there’s a question or an issue.
A study shows that follower growth rate can be doubled by starting to post 1-6 times a week instead of less than two posts per week. If a brand is already posting 1-6 times a week then it can further double their follower growth rate by starting to post once a day or more.
3. Partner with an influencer/related page
Another great way to extend reach and grow followers is to collaborate with others, either through partnerships or sponsorships. By collaborating with another page, brand or influencer your, the brand will gain additional exposure to their audiences. This effectively creates a cross-marketing opportunity to reach new audiences as the brand’s presence on their social channels might drive their viewers to check out the brand’s page and increase their Facebook page followers!
This is also mutually beneficial and therefore a great way for both partners to reach a wider audience.
4. Create attention-grabbing content
It is one thing to get people to like a page, but it is also important to retain their attention. In other words, to make sure that they stay a fan of the brand. Again, this all boils down to constantly learning about the type of content that audiences find relatable. As long as there’s a connection between the brand and its viewers, it is likely increase likes and follows for their Facebook page.
5. Other ideas
To increase your organic reach, here are some creative ideas and best practices to take into consideration:-
- Post at the brand’s best time – notice we say the brand’s best time? That’s because the best time varies for different brands / businesses. The above graph can provide guidance on when to publish. However, we would advise to keep on testing until a perfect time slot is determined.
- If posting a video, consider adding a CTA button at the end to encourage people to like, follow, or share content.
- Brands can also strategise to create Facebook or Instagram content to develop a more personal connection with their followers. This strategy has proven to be one of the best formats for viral videos on Facebook.
- Host giveaways and competitions
- To increase followers, consider adding a pop-up box on the website to encourage people to follow the brand’s social page. This can be created with tools such as Optinmonster.
- A brand’s community engagement is vital. In this very digital world, appreciation should be showed, and the audience should be interacted with time to time to add a human dimension to the brand. This will also encourage more people to stay connected with the brand and that inevitably means an increase in organic traffic in the long run.
