2018 saw a decline in Facebook engagement (and therefore post reach) for all sorts of businesses, and marketers are working extra hard to find out the secrets to successful Facebook content.
Recently, Buzzsumo looked at 777 million Facebook posts from 2018 to find the most engaging pages, brands and videos. What did their research show? How can you create posts that generate engagement? Here are the key findings from Buzzsumo’s research:
Video Posts Get the Best Engagement
When it comes to average engagement rate, video dominates. According to Buzzsumo’s research, videos get at least 59% more engagement than other post types and outperform photo posts by 73%.
Why is video killing? Because it is considered to be more ‘meaningful’. At the beginning of 2018, Facebook announced that they wanted to focus on more ‘meaningful interactions’. Although the exact meaning of this is unclear, it seems to refer to interactions that occur person-to-person (like someone sharing a funny video with a friend), as opposed to brand-to-person or person-to-page.
According to Mari Smith, Facebook Marketing Expert, the ideal content ratio for Facebook is 70% video posts, 20% image posts and 10% link posts. Overall, Mari recommends that businesses publish fewer posts, and focus on the ROI of each individual post.
9-11 pm EST Is Prime Posting Time
In general, posts published between 9 and 11 pm (EST) tend to perform the best. Although this is a generalisation (these times won’t necessarily be the best for your brand), it’s a great starting point. To find the right posting times for your business, make sure that you consider the daily routines of your target market.
Sunday Is the Best Day to Post
This is another generalisation, but Sunday seems to be the best day to post if engagement is your goal. Lots of businesses take weekends off and therefore limit their posts to the working week. According to Buzzsumo’s data, this is like a mistake. Why not try to take some of your scheduled Thursday or Friday posts and move them to Sunday?
Brief Content Is Key
Although long-form content is important for SEO, it can actually hinder your Facebook posts. According to research, if you want the best Facebook engagement, you should keep your posts to 50 characters or under. Facebook consumption is very passive, and attention spans are becoming increasingly short. Therefore, your posts need to grab attention quickly if you want to be noticed.
Read More at Buzzsumo
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