As a content creator there are so many tools and platforms we can use to connect with our audiences and build online communities. Because Facebook has so many users I would like to take a look at many of the tools they provide so that you can begin to develop a Facebook engagement strategy no matter where you are in your journey.
Whether you are a podcaster, live streamer, artist or video marketer it's a good idea to consider starting a Facebook Page or reviving the one you abandoned ages ago because it wasn't gaining traction.
Tools to Nurture Audience Growth
Without a doubt, Facebook has the most sophisticated suite of audience engagement tools that we can use for free so let's start with an overview of what is available now and later we'll look more closely at a few of these. Are you ready?
- Watch Parties
- Events
- News Feed
- Stories
- Messenger
- Pages vs. groups
- Video premieres and Facebook Watch
- Facebook live
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Baked-in Engagement Features
The reason Facebook is so good at getting people to engage with your content is because they want to keep people on their platform so that they can serve more ads to them. They are no different than other platforms; YouTube does the same thing and those of us who are bloggers do this too! They want us to make Facebook part of our daily life so that it becomes a habit to check it over and over again several times a day.
Recommended: 10 Tactics Guaranteed to Increase Engagement on Facebook
As a content creator, you can take advantage of all the free tools we have at our disposal. If you notice, my list doesn't mention one word about using Facebook ads. The reason for that is I don't want you spend money on ads until you know how the platform works. Take things one step at a time until you start to see some traction. This way you can learn about your audience as you find out what resonates with them and what keeps them coming back to your page to see what you're up to.
Facebook Watch Parties is a good place to start because there is no risk involved. If you don't have a lot of your own content on Facebook yet you can head over to Facebook Watch to find popular videos that you can include in a Facebook Watch Party.
Since the names of these two things are so similar, let me clarify. Facebook Watch is a place where you can find popular videos to watch by yourself. Facebook Watch Parties can be shared on your Page (or in groups or on your profile) so that you and your friends or fans can watch them together at the same time. Hope that clears things up but just in case, check out this video to see how easy it is to set up your Facebook Watch Party.
Don't Sleep on Facebook Page Stories
I sure do hope that you are using stories to connect with your audience! I'm talking about those fun video or image clips that go away after 24 hours. If you know any of the history of Facebook stories you will remember that Facebook tried to buy Snapchat but when the couldn't, they built their own version of stories and added them to Instagram, Messenger and even WhatsApp. Now Facebook is focused on building stories on their flagship product and recently reached 500 Million daily users! Facebook Stories are strategically placed at the top of the mobile app and you'll encounter them again as you scroll down the news feed a bit, very similar to the way they appear on Instagram Stories. I encourage you to dive in now while some of your “competitors” (I mean that word in the nicest way) are still asleep!
Facebook Page Stories are very similar to Instagram Stories and one of my favorite features is the SWIPE UP link. Just watch the video so you can learn all about how to add links to your story clips!
Engagement Bait Free Live Streams
As you really begin to grow your audience you might fall into a pattern of asking for engagement and what Facebook calls “engagement bait”. I know that some of you are worried about this and in the past you have asked your audience to “tag 2 friends” in the comments or other phrases that Facebook shuns. But I want you to forget about those past videos (because most people don't go through your Facebook video archives like they do on YouTube) and move forward with using things like Facebook polls, and video premiers to avoid getting your content pushed down in the News feed. I put together a playlist of videos on YouTube that will help you with organic growth on Facebook.
Stay tuned for more useful tips and If you have questions, or want to leave feedback, you have two options:
- Use my handy SpeakPipe page to record your question in a voicemail.
- Send me an email here
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