Introduction
Facebook Reach and Engagement, what exactly are they and how are they different?
Facebook came into existence as a social networking site back in 2004 and we all know that. Though it started as just a platform for people to make friends and share their thoughts, the audience base it garnered took the platform to another level.
Businesses and Marketers released the true potential of Facebook Advertising with the platform being the 2nd most downloaded app and the third most visited website.
No kidding, Facebook has an advertising audience of 2,14 billion. Such is the power of Facebook.
But all this information is widely known already. However, there are a few technicalities in Facebook Advertising that may take some time to wrap around your head.
So in this blog, we will be learning about Facebook Reach and Facebook Engagement to run a successful business on Facebook.
In this blog, we will be covering:-
- What Is Facebook Reach?
- What is Facebook Engagement?
- Difference Between Facebook Reach and Engagement
- Tips to Increase Facebook Reach
- Tips to Increase Facebook Engagement
To find out what’s different between Reach and Engagement, we must make an attempt to have a proper understanding of what they are in the first place. We will move to the differences soon after.
What Is Facebook Reach?
Coming to think of it, all businesses are the same. The basic goal is to increase their customer base. There are many ways of doing it, Facebook Reach is one such gimmick on offer.
Let’s assume your company has come up with a solid business marketing strategy on Facebook and your goal is to drive some popularity to your post.
Using the Reach option under Facebook Ad Campaign Objectives your objective can be easily achieved.
How? Simple, The Reach option makes sure to attract the maximum number of views on your post. Ideally, Facebook would push hard to get your post to every one of your followers or potential followers.
There are two ways of using this feature:-
Organic Reach
Organic Reach is basically your post’s ability to reach your followers without having to pay for it. However, your organic reach on Facebook doesn’t stop with just your followers. It grows to attract new followers as your posts gain more engagement.
Having said this, I must also mention – there is no guarantee that Facebook offers when it comes to the visibility of your posts among your followers. Ultimately, it all depends on how engaging your post is.
Pretty confused? Let me break it down.
If your post is engaging enough (if your followers like and comment on your posts), it will be taken to the news feeds of your existing followers and new people because Facebook’s algorithm knows people will be interested in it.
Any post that garners more likes and comments is categorized as ‘Viral Content’ by Facebook’s algorithm.
From this, you must understand the importance of coming up with catchy content for your Facebook posts to gain maximum reach.
Paid Reach
If you opt for paid reach on Facebook, you will have all the perks that you will get from organic reach. The only difference is that Facebook will look into your wallets before it does so.
So the only difference is the payment aspect of it. You could opt for this strategy if you’re unsure about your content. Once you get to know what your followers expect, you could try to attain your goals through Organic Reach.
This must’ve given you a good understanding of reach. However, you might often feel that it is very similar to the Engagement objective.
There’s a huge difference, let’s get to it.
What is Engagement?
While Reach calculates only the views on your post, Engagement on Facebook on the other hand tracks the interactions (likes, comments, shares, and views) your posts receive.
Though Reach and Engagement are completely different, they work best together to bring out the best from your social media strategy on Facebook.
How do they work together? You get to compare the ratio and understand if you are getting optimal Engagement on your posts.
Let me break it down to you with an example. If your Reach is 200 views and interactions come up to 50, your post is doing really well. In simple words, Engagement is relative to Reach.
This is an easy way to say if your post is successful, A post’s Engagement is considered good when it’s 1% or more than that of the reach. This ratio in fact is recommended by Google.
However, I wouldn’t recommend settling for 1%. You obviously want your business on Facebook to soaring heights. So figure out what works out for you and what does not. Using this strategy, bring up the ratio to 3-5%. This ratio would be ideal for a successful business.
A Tip
Here’s another suggestion from my side, focus on gaining Engagement rather than followers for your page. It might be tempting to have a lot of followers, but trust me, Facebook’s algorithm sees things differently.
If you have a lot of followers and barely any Engagement, Facebook will not display your post across the platform as it might consider it irrelevant. The key is to start off with a decent amount of followers and improve your content as you analyze the response from these followers. This will attract new followers because Facebook may consider your post relevant due to its high engagement.
You can improve your post’s performance by understanding your audience, read our blog on Facebook Audience to learn more.
The Difference between Facebook Reach and Engagement
You might have already figured out the difference, but just to make it easier for you, here’s the difference.
Facebook Reach deals only with the views your posts get and Facebook Engagement tracks the interactions on your post.
However, they both work together to bring out the best from your Facebook Ad Strategy.
So far, we’ve learned the basics of Facebook Reach and Engagement, before we conclude, let me give you a few useful tips for Facebook Advertising.
Tips to Increase Facebook Reach
There’s always room bot betterment with a marketing strategy on Facebook, here are a few tips to make sure you’re on the right path:-
Build a Community
Facebook’s key purpose is to boost interactions and connect people from around the world. Establishing your Facebook page as a hub for discussions and engaging interactions can drive more people to your page. This way, you will be educating people about your brand and people, in turn, will feel included because of the community. It works both ways, a classic win-win situation.
I also have to tell you that there are many pages following the same strategy, to stand out, come up with something that’s unique and gets a lot of traction and buzz. If there’s one thing you can trust, it’s hype.
Make a roadmap
Your brand most likely has a presence on other social media platforms apart from Facebook. You might even have a website of your own. You can add links to your Facebook page on these platforms which will drive your customers to your page. Most platforms come with the feature of adding links, so you don’t have to break a leg.
However, make sure you don’t bombard your social media handles with these links. While this feature may prove to be helpful, overdoing it can seem to annoy your fellow users.
Testimony is key
Influencer Marketing on Facebook is booming. This here is another old-school trick. Having a celebrity or a social media influencer on Facebook endorse your brand will increase your organic reach by miles. Users trust these influencers and trust me, they have a huge follower base.
Tying up with a celebrity will be a two gain, the influencer gains monetary benefits and your brand gets vast exposure.
Many brands in the past have used celebrities to attract customers, this tip for you will work for sure.
Be on Time
Timing on Facebook is key. People belonging to different demographics will have different active hours. If your target is teenagers, figure out the time period where most of your target group is online. Posting at these said times will garner maximum engagement,
If you pick a time where most of them or offline, your post will be lost in the crowd. Analyze your ground properly and go all out.
These tips should do you good, now let’s try to master Facebook Engagement.
Tips to Increase Facebook Engagement
Follow these tips to increase your Facebook Engagement by a huge margin:-
Educate your Audience
You must always make sure that your potential customers should have something to take away from your post. They should be informed of something new and it must be easy for them to recall.
One thing you must understand is that no one likes a sales pitch. Your post must leave the audience thinking.
Keep it Simple
Typically, a user looks at a post for about two minutes (maximum). You must make sure that your post can be read within this stipulated period of time,
A long post will annoy the reader and they might not end up taking the action you desire.
Attach catchy images
Your Audience likes it if there is a fresh picture on their screen. It might brighten up their day and change their mood in general. This will enable them to leave a like or a comment for sure.
What’s better than eye candy right?
Consistency is key
Facebook’s algorithm will boat your posts if you regularly update or share content with your followers. Having an active account will definitely help you big time.
Conclusion
Well, that brings us to the end. I hope you nail your Facebook Marketing Strategy.
Read more on Digital Marketing if you want to know more.
Have a good day!