New Strategies For Optimizing Your Facebook Posts
Guest post by Valeria Bornstein of Fame House
A new research project by social media analytics and software company Buddy Media analyzing brand interactions for Facebook’s Timeline for Pages reveals that the interactions between fans and brands have changed over the months. Previous research done on Facebook posts is no longer relevant in an age where Timeline is used for all Pages. This new research data makes it possible (and necessary) for musicians and brands to employ new strategies for optimal posting times, content and calls-to-action.
Optimal Posting Times
The new research indicates that the interaction rate for weekend posts are actually 14.5% higher than weekday posts. This is contrary to many brand practices, as brands tend to post items only on weekdays. In addition, Mondays and Tuesdays are good days to post, but Wednesdays tend to see 7.4% fewer interactions. The study also found that entertainment industry pages receive more interactions on the weekends. On average, entertainment pages receive 17% more interactions on Saturdays.
Entertainment Pages rule Facebook interactions on weekdays as well; interactions for entertainment pages are 20% higher than interactions for other pages on weekdays. As for the optimal time of day to post, the research shows that posts during the “non-busy” hours of 8PM to 7AM receive 14% more interactions than items posted during the “busy hours” between 8 AM and 7 PM. This runs contrary to previous data that suggested optimal posting times were during the day. It's important to note that brands that post 1-2 times a day, but not more that 7 times per week, receive the most interactions. Posting excessively bombards fans with too many messages, and Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm often penalizes brands that over-post with lower EdgeRank ratings.
Content
Posts with 80 characters or fewer were found to receive 23% higher interactions than posts with more than 80 characters. Photos are still the most successful types of posts, as posts that contain photos receive 39% higher interactions. Links and videos drive the fewest interactions. In terms of sharing links, the study found that long URLs perform better than shortened URLs. URLs that indicate the link’s final destination yield the most likes, comments, and shares.
In addition to these more general content analyses, two specific content strategies stand out in maximizing post interactions. Posts that ask fans to “caption” a photo receive five times higher comment rates and increase interactions by over 100%. Furthermore, posts that ask fans to “fill in the blank” get four times higher comment rates. Driving comment and interaction rates will improve your brand’s EdgeRank score, which will ensure that more fans of your brand will see your posts.
Calls-To-Action
The most effective calls-to-action are the simplest ones that require the least amount of effort for fans. Simple “caption this”, “yes or no”, and posts that simply ask for a like or a share get the most interactions. More involved calls-to-action, such as those that ask a fan to submit something, buy something, or click on a link tend to underperform.
Asking fans to perform the desired interaction is surprisingly effective. For example, when asked to “Like” a post, fans are three times more likely to actually click “Like”. Asking fans to comment produces a 3.3 times higher comment rate. Most remarkably, asking fans to share a post yields a 7x higher share rate. When running a promotion, using keywords like “giveaway” and “win” get better interaction results than using sales words like “free” “offer” or “exclusive”. Posts that include the words “clearance”, “% off”, or “$ off” get the worst results.
The research presented can only give marketers a soft guideline for optimizing their Facebook marketing efforts. Every fan base is different, and analyzing your Facebook Insights will help you determine what strategies are working for your audience. A dedicated marketing team can tailor the best social media strategy to fit the needs of an artist’s individual fan base.
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Valeria Bornstein is a Marketing Assistant at Fame House - aiding in various facets of digital strategy, marketing and management.
this does not fix their “edgerank” that much. The band page I manage has around 8200 likes…we just posted about a high profile show which is getting A TON of engagement. Total views: 1,053…..out of 8 THOUSAND!
Whatever the edgerank I also noticed for a while my best results come from sunday evening posts…
Now hopefully FB just shoot a bullet on the foot…
Whatever social media you use good returns on sundays… Music is an entertainment stuff, nothing to do with corporate hours…
ps : EdgeRank is a huge concern, of course… Hopefully FB is the next MySpace…
Edgerank is riding roughshod though Facebook. Who is seeing what is a bit of a mystery. It seems that unless you spend all day commenting on peoples (sometimes), inane status updates your posts will struggle to get seen. Interesting times ahead for Facebook. Will it be able to monetise itself now it’s a listed company? Maybe not.
I’d say use it while you can but don’t rely on it.
All this research is fine and great, but… the overwhelming majority of musicians can’t even make one post a day, let alone worry about when is the right time to post, the best length of a post, etc.
Start with something simple… just post once a day, at whatever time you can.
Very useful info, given that the Edgerank algo from Facebook limits you fan reach, you have to improve your content.
All of these are great points but none of the strategies are new.
I agree with Michael, you online strategy has to be tailored to your fans, not based on data that is a study of multiple pages.
You/we know our own fans the best and are in a great position to deliver great posts based on what they are interested in.
Great post! I’m sure you worked really hard on this article and it shows. I agree with a lot of your material. I enjoyed this and I will be back for more.