Optimizing Engagement on Facebook

When it comes to engaging fans on Facebook, it can feel like there's a lot we don't know. On a personal level, Facebook is fantastic when you're just keeping up with friends and acquaintances, but it can also be a game-changer in spreading the word about your product or brand. Knowing when and with what frequency to push status updates and posts to your fan page can dictate the effectiveness of your interaction with your followers.

There is definitely a sweet spot for the frequency of your posts. Posting too many updates in a short period of time becomes annoying to your audience but too few may cost you an opportunity to reach them. The trick here is to determine the average lifetime of your posts, meaning about how long the majority of your fans engage with a specific update. There are calculations out there that assist in determining this information, but for those of us who don't necessarily have the time to sit down and deal with numbers, here's a relatively simple rule of thumb: when the number of comments and likes plateaus after the initial spike in activity, your post has probably fallen out of most of your fans' news feeds. At that point, you can go ahead and put something else out there (keep in mind that likes are generally more accurate of the two fan activities in real time, but because they aren't time stamped, it is crucial to pay close attention to them). Although there are exceptions, as a rough guideline it's probably safe to say that two posts per day should be your maximum number for a fan page.

It is also important to note that your particular demographic of fans may be more engaging during specific times of the day and week. For example, if you're a rock band who caters to a younger audience, you may notice higher levels of interaction late at night during the week and closer to noon on the weekends. It's essential to know who your audience is. Once you have that information, be sure to time your posts accordingly.

As always, the best advice when it comes to managing your page is to experiment and pay close attention to your fans. Try to figure out what your audience is telling you via their levels and times of interaction; it will help you engage them much more effectively.