Facebook. It’s changed tremendously and today is something that is much more than just a way to check in on friends and family, argue politics, or look at cute cat memes. For businesses, it’s become one of the single best ways to go about marketing and connecting with leads that are viable and will quickly become conversions.
It still surprises some businesses to learn that Facebook can be a highly effective funnel that sends organic traffic to your website, but it’s true. And since it is organic traffic, the value is much higher – you’ll get people visiting your website who are doing so because they are actually interested in what you provide, not those who end up there just through external links or ads that aren’t really targeted to them.
With all of this in mind, increasing your Facebook effectiveness is important. Here are a few of the best ways to drive more traffic to your site by using the social media giant.
Avoid Posts That Don’t Use The Facebook Algorithm
Before you start focusing on what to put up on your page, you’ll want to make sure that you’re avoiding certain things as well. Facebook marketing is tricky, and things that used to work won’t anymore.
The platform continually changes its algorithm, and the wrong kind of posts won’t work at all – and may even reduce the number of people who end up seeing your posts and as a result, the number of people who end up clicking through. Here are some of the main examples:
- Clickbait – 5 years ago, Facebook modified the algorithm to cut down on clickbait. These are posts that are considered sensational and that withhold information or mislead the reader to make them click through.Once upon a time, these posts got plenty of clicks which in turn drove them higher into the newsfeed. But the content quality was incredibly poor, and Facebook fought back. They have even officially announced that links considered clickbait will end up causing all links from a page to drop in the newsfeed.
- Engagement Bait – Engagement bait is considered the posts that tell people to react, like, or comment on the post itself. The goal here is to stop methods that automatically inflate engagement and drive pages upwards. Using things like ‘vote, comment, or tag’ in your posts will automatically lower your reach.
- Images and Videos with Links – Facebook now prefers that you post your link as an actual link post. In the past, marketers would share a link in the caption of the video or photo that they upload. But by changing this, Facebook focuses on adding context and letting users determine what is worth clicking through.
Avoid these three types of posts and focus instead on creating compelling content that sends users to your page, not gimmicky Facebook posts that only end up driving you down in the newsfeed.
Analyze Traffic To Spot Links That Generate High Click Throughs
Now, what kind of links would you be sharing on Facebook, exactly? It’s a good question. The key here is to consider what kind of content you have on your site that will appeal to people on Facebook and what kind of content can increase your overall traffic. Again, there are several options here to consider.
- Use Facebook Insights – Facebook insights will let you see just what kind of posts are really working. But, you’ll have to start by uploading content and links. Try to upload three times a week for a month. Include links that point directly to your website as well as some third party articles that target your market. Then, use Insights to look at the data and see just what is working and what isn’t.
- Run Google Analytics – The other good option is to utilize Google analytics. It will let you see exactly where site traffic is coming from including your Facebook posts.
Research Facebook Channels To Find Popular Topics That Inform Clickable Content Creation
Want to increase the traffic you’re getting? You’ll need to figure out just what kind of topics are popular and what will help inform your clickable content creation appropriately. There are several options that can help you do just that.
Start by looking in Facebook groups by searching keywords that relate to your business or customers. Then, you can look at groups to see topics that are discussed regularly. This in turn lets you see what gets the most engagement and will let you create lists accordingly.
You can even use crowdsourcing by asking your audience directly what topics they would like to see you discuss. Asking them for their input is an easy way to identify steps that will get you bigger and better results.
Develop Multiple Types Of Content That Will Drive Click Through Traffic
Another option is to create different types of content that drive click through traffic in a big way. Featuring people in your content is a great way to do just that. The people you spotlight will then share your post with their own audiences, which in turn will help boost your reach and your traffic. Or, offer compelling content in a new way or even promise incentives that will drive more interest in a page. Here are some of the person-based and reward based content options to consider:
- Roundups that feature insights from several different people all discussing the same topic
- Interviews with experts within the industry
- Lists that gather important sources based on topics
- Freebies and lead incentives that send people to your page
The Bottom Line
Facebook wants its users to stay on Facebook for as long as they possibly can. This means that it’s up to you to share the content that is interesting to your audience and that delivers on the value you’re promising. Doing so will increase your Facebook traffic in a huge way and provide you with click throughs that become conversions. It’s important to make sure you’re doing all you can to harness the power of social media and maximize your site’s potential.
