Engagement, on any social network, is an action someone takes on your page/posts i.e. a comment, like, share, tag etc. Facebook views engagements as a way of identifying which posts are of interest to Facebook users and therefore how likely they are to put your post in the newsfeed. It’s all about extending your organic reach so your target audience sees your posts, without the need to spend on paid ads.

It isn’t just about the algorithms of Facebook that should drive you to increase your engagement; an engaged audience become brand fans and are more likely to recommend your services to others.

Here’s 5 tips to improve Facebook engagement for your salon or business page:

1. Create original content

The best way to attract people to your posts is to create content that hasn’t been seen before. This content should add value to your target audience and make them want to interact with it.

Example:

You own a nail salon, one type of original content you may want to create would be showcasing examples of your work. If you posted a picture of some nail art you recently created this will inspire others and you will see likes and comments relating to this.

The other benefit of posting photos/videos of your work is that your social media profile becomes a gallery of your services, it shows customers what they can expect from you and they will feel confident in your services.

2. Post shareable content

Post content that people want to share. If we take the example above where you share some awesome nail art you’ve done, people will be inclined to share this and you may see prospective new customers engaging with that content and booking your services.

The benefit of your content being shared is that your post goes in front of people you wouldn’t previously have reached on your own. If you think about it your post reach is that of your followers, as soon as your followers share your post it’s then visible to their followers too. The reach of your post will naturally increase and your services will be promoted…for free may we add.

Technical Tip: Always use videos or photos to accompany your posts as it results in greater EdgeRank (more news feed visibility).

3. Time of post

It may sound an obvious one but the best way to get your posts seen, and therefore engaged with, is to post at the time your audience is online. Luckily for us, we can find data-driven times within Facebook Insights.

Head to the Insights section of your Facebook page, go to ‘posts’ and the top section will show you when your followers are most active.

From this example we can see the best time for us to post is 1pm and the worst times to post are between 3pm – 9pm based on when our followers are most active.

Technical Tip: You can use Facebook’s in-built scheduling facility to ensure your posts are going out at the most popular times.

4. Post user-generated content

The clue's in the name on this one, this is content that your customers have created for example, your customer came in for a spray tan and afterwards shared their glammed-up going-out pictures with you.

This is gold dust, not only does it show a real-life testimonial of your services but it also aspirational. Others that see that post want to achieve the same glow and thus engage with and book your services.

How does user-generated content increase your engagement levels? Facebook gives brownie points to posts that directly engage with followers – it generates more comments and increases the chances of this post being shared with their own immediate network.

5. Build a community

The whole purpose of social networks is to build a community where discussion and engagement is rife. You want to create your own micro-community where your customers, and prospective customers, can speak about your services, products and expertise.

Use this community to get to know your customer base, respond to comments and ask questions. This understanding of your target audience will help you produce salon marketing content that is relevant to them and help create meaningful, more valued content that will generate increased engagement.

These five business tips will help you increase your Facebook engagement, when trying them out keep an eye on your post performance and analyse what worked well and what didn’t. The results will be an increase in social media engagement i.e greater post reach, a more interactive customer base and of course greater brand awareness for your service offerings.

Like this blog? Check out other related blogs here:

• WHAT DO PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS WANT TO SEE ON YOUR BEAUTY SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE?
• GROW YOUR INSTAGRAM FOLLOWING IN 5 STEPS
• 10 TOP TIPS FOR BUILDING YOUR SALON ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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