If you rely on Facebook to interact with your readers and fans whether it’s to publicize events, tease readers about blog posts, or share information with you friends, prospects and clients, here are some great tips to help you get the best results!

Photos

People love eye candy, and the posts that had a photo attached did the best in reference to “Likes” and “Shares” percentage over plain text, video, and a link.

Photos trigger emotions in a way that words do not. Plus, it’s simple to view a photo, and photos have no language. People have to actually take time to read text and if it happens to be in Russian—and you don’t know Russian—the meaning is lost on you.

Analyzing post types, Dan found that for likes, comments and shares, photos perform best. But there are some differences among the rest of the types for the 3 measurements.

Post Length

Post that are very short or very long have the highest “Like” percentage. Longer posts have a higher “Share” percentage. Usually, longer posts include a call to action, literally asking people to repost or share with their followers.

Self Reference

In contrast to other social media platforms, posts with a high number of self referential words (like “I” and “me”) tended to get more likes.

Post Sentiment

The more emotion you show in your status update the better. Posts that are neither positive nor negative get fewer “Likes.” However, really negative posts get the most Comments.

Think about it—if you post that your grandma died, people are going to reach out and offer sympathy. Sharing bad news with the world on your Facebook page is like a cry for help—and unless your friends and family and followers are jerks, they’ll usually step up.

Post Timing

The later on in the day that you post, the better.

Content posted later in the day get more likes and shares. Likes peak around 8 pm while shares peak earlier, around 6 pm.

Where do your clients live in relation to where you live? If you live in Los Angeles and the majority of your Facebook followers are located in New York City, there’s no point to posting your best stuff on your Facebook page after 9:00 pm PST — no one is paying attention. You’re best off posting between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm in the time zone where most of your prospects are located.

Day of the Week

Have you noticed a pattern on your blog or Facebook page that corresponds to the day of the week? This study shows that posts published on Saturdays and Sundays receive a higher “Like” percentage than those posted during the business week.

It’s important to pay attention to your Facebook insights so you know when you get the most bang for your buck when it comes to social media. Why work when no one is paying attention? You want to get the most engagement as possible, so listen to your followers.

(NOTE: In creating the data for this post, author and researcher Dan Zarella collected a database of more than 1.3 million posts published on the top 10,000 most-liked Facebook pages. He then analyzed those posts to identify the characteristics corelated most closely with higher (or lower) performance measured in likes, comments and shares. He then calculated a perentage of total page likes that liked, commented on, or shared each specific post.)

If you enjoyed this post, you may also want to check out these others:

How to Add A Twitter Tab to Your Facebook Page
Three Facebook “Like Button” Tricks You May Not Know
40 Excellent Facebook Business Pages
Facebook Timelines of Popular Hollywood Celebrities

This article is published by Will Sherwood | The Sherwood Group |Website Design | Graphic Design | Marketing Communications: The Sherwood Group has over 30 years of experience working with all sorts of companies, small and large. Our clients range from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 firms, in nearly every business sector, from across the street to around the world (and yes, even Europe, China, and South America). Our goal is to create advertising, graphic design, website design, and marketing communication that still looks fresh and relevant 10-15 years later. Our mission is to stir your imagination and leave your competition shaken and wondering, Now what do we do?” We are located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.