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- Be succinct. Posts between 100 and 250 characters (less than 3 lines of text) see about 60% more likes, comments and shares than posts greater than 250 characters.*
- Post regularly. Post at least five times a week to stay top of mind for your fans. Consistency is also a key. For example, you may want to post regular announcements on the same day every week so fans know what to expect and can look forward to hearing from you.
- Post at the optimal time. Only you know what’s right for your audience, and you can use your Page Insights to figure out what’s working (for instance, try posting at different times of the day and see when you get the most engagement). User engagement with Facebook Pages is highest from 9 to 10 p.m. overall, and the 18-24 demographic is the most engaged during this time.*
- Be specific and relevant.
- Know which audience you’re talking to. When posting to your page, your message will reach fans who are likely to be familiar with your department, service area or organization, so insider content can make them feel “in the know.” To reach new audiences, you can create an ad from your Page post and keep the content more general while still using your brand voice.
- Be seasonable and timely. Fans are more likely to engage with topics that are already top of mind, such as current events, holidays or news. For example, Facebook found that posts mentioning Independence Day on July 4th generated about 90% more engagement than all posts published on that day.*
- Be relevant. Post content that shows you know your audience. For example, reference community or campus events, or link to articles that your audience will care about from your website or other credible publications.
- Post photos and videos. Posts including a photo album, a picture or a video generate about 180%, 120%, and 100% more engagement than the average post, respectively.*
- Use bold visuals. Grab your audience’s attention by using simple images with a clear focal point. Images with highly saturated colors also help the creative stand out against the site’s white background.
- Feature images that capture the essence of Lafayette and/or your department, service area or organization. Your profile image will be your logo (preferably created by the Communications Division graphics team), but people should also recognize your Lafayette department or organization in the images you feature.
- Craft compelling content using the content guidelines above.
- Speak from your specific the voice of your Lafayette department, service area or organization. Include key words that are unique to your organizational identity.
- Position your department, service area or organization as a problem solver when relevant or appropriate. Reinforce this in the image if possible. An internal Facebook study showed that this was a characteristic of top performing ads.
- Give fans exclusive access to content, products, events, and offers. Fans are 2x more valuable than non-fans, so you should reward them for their loyalty.* Take fans behind the scenes of events to make them feel special. Announce new initiatives in your area to fans on Facebook before anywhere else when appropriate. Post exclusive photos from events.
- Get your audience involved.
- Encourage interaction. Get input and feedback from fans about your department, service area or organization. Create a question post or write a text post with a “fill-in-the-blank”. Fill-in-the-blank posts generate about 90% more engagement than the average text post.
- Include your call to action early. Let your fans know how to engage with your content. Should they like the post? Share with friends? Comment? Answer a question? Be sure to include your call to action within the first 90 characters, to ensure people know how to engage.
- Share posts from fans. Recognize your fans’ contributions by responding to high quality, relevant user-generated content that shows your fans know your department, service area or organization and are passionate about it.
* All engagement data and statistics are based on internal Facebook studies and represent average results.
Twitter (adapted from Twitter Best Practice Basics)
- Share photos and news about your business. Even better, give a glimpse of developing projects and events. Users come to Twitter to get and share the latest, so give it to them!
- Listen. Regularly monitor the comments about your Lafayette department, service area or organization.
- Ask questions of your followers to glean valuable insights and show that you are listening.
- Respond to compliments and feedback in real time whenever possible.
- Reward. Tweet updates about specific events or meetings.
- Demonstrate wider leadership and know-how. Reference articles and links about the bigger picture as it relates to your Lafayette department, service area or organization when relevant.
- Champion your stakeholders. Retweet and reply publicly to great tweets posted by your followers.
- Establish the right voice. Twitter users tend to prefer a direct, genuine, and of course, a likable tone, but think about your voice as you Tweet. How do you want your department, service area, organization (or yourself in many cases) to appear to the Twitter community?