How to Increase Facebook Reach for Your Posts

The average organic reach for a Facebook post is 5.2% of a page’s total likes.

But if you’re not actively using the platform and you’re struggling to get engagement on what you do post, that rate is even lower.

As a business owner, you probably know that Facebook hasn’t made it easy to gain traction on their platform. Posts from business pages often don’t see the exposure that the creators hope for. For some, it makes them feel as though Facebook isn’t a worthwhile platform to invest their time into.

However, if you want to get serious about generating more engagement and conversions, there are a few things you can do to increase Facebook reach.

What Exactly is Facebook Reach?

To put it simply, “reach” refers to how many people saw a post you shared. While many might mistake this for impressions, it’s actually not the same. Impressions are the amount of times a post was seen and it counts multiple views from the same user.

“Post reach” tells you how many users saw a specific post you published on your Page. And when that reach is organic, it means that you didn’t put any advertising dollars behind the post. Organic reach is the traction the post received totally on its own.

Every so often, changes are made to the algorithm that can make it more difficult to increase Facebook reach. That’s why it’s smart to stay updated on what Facebook is choosing to prioritize in the News Feed of its users.

For instance, Facebook shared that they wanted to do a better job at showing people the content they’re interested in and less of what they’re not. Facebook revealed that many people want to see more inspirational content and less posts about politics. They’re even working to limit posts you see from friends, Groups, and Pages when they’re about topics that aren’t of interest to you.

How to Increase Facebook Reach for Your Posts

Now that you have a better understanding of what organic reach is, let’s talk about how we can get more eyes on the content you worked so hard to create.

1. Experiment With Different Types of Content

Let’s be honest. We all fall into a content rut from time to time where we get into the habit of creating the same old content. While it’s smart to share those tried and true content types, it would also be in your best interest to switch it up and try new things.

When you test out different kinds of content, you’ll have the opportunity to test and see what’s actually resonating with your audience. Then, you can create more of what appeals to them based on what generates the most engagement.

For example:

• You can experiment with different types of imagery to see what grabs attention and gets people to stop scrolling. Do they respond to stock images or do they prefer something more custom?
• Videos (whether they’re pre-recorded or live) are always a great way to stand out from all the text-only posts on Facebook.
• Plus, they’re helpful for building the Know, Like, and Trust Factor.

2. Discover Your Best Posting Times

According to Sprout Social, the best timeframe to post on Facebook is between 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The worst day to post? Saturday. While their research should absolutely be taken into consideration when creating a posting schedule, running some tests of your own never hurts.

The reason for that is because your audience is different from everyone else’s. Domino’s and Starbucks may find that their audience is using Facebook at different times than your audience is. So, it wouldn’t increase Facebook reach to mimic their schedule. That’s why you want to test a few posting times and see what gets the best results for you.

Is your audience online more in the morning, afternoon, or at night? If you find that they’re most active on Facebook during their lunch break from work, schedule the posts you really want them to see during this time. It also helps to have posts going out at different times of the day to reach your audience members that are based in various time zones.

3. Post More Frequently

If you’re complaining that you can’t increase Facebook reach on your Page, ask yourself if you’re really posting enough. For those whose Facebook strategy amounts to something like three posts per week, seeing results is going to be more challenging. You can’t expect your account to blow up if you’re hardly giving people content to consume.

Luckily, you don’t have to schedule 10 posts per day for your Facebook Page. In fact, it’s recommended to post once per day and no more than twice. One post is perfect for staying top of mind with your audience and keeps your account active in Facebook’s eyes.

4. Focus on Engaging With Others

Facebook wants to see that you’re sharing engaging content that your audience is loving. A smart strategy when posting content is to encourage people to leave a comment. You can ask a question or invite them to share their thoughts with you. When they respond, take the time to write a reply. Your audience will be happy because it shows you’re paying attention to them and Facebook’s algorithm will like it as well.

Another strategy is to engage with people on posts from other creators via your Facebook Page. You don’t always have to interact from your personal account. Choosing to reply from your Page will get your business more attention. Even participating in Groups could help increase Facebook reach if more people begin to check out your business Page.

5. Don’t be Afraid to Repurpose Content

We’ve all had that moment where we’ve written a really great Facebook post, only to publish it to crickets. It’s frustrating, but that doesn’t mean it’s doomed to go unseen. You can always share it again.

Facebook won’t penalize you for using a third-party scheduling tool that repurposes old posts. However, it’s still worth tweaking the copy or imagery to see if it helps drive better results a second time around. You could even try posting at a more optimal time as well.

If You’re Still Not Seeing Results…

You don’t need to give up if you’re struggling to increase Facebook reach organically. If you’re willing to invest some money into Facebook ads, you can gain a lot more exposure and engagement on the content you share. After all, it gives you an opportunity to get in front of the 2.14 billion people in the platform’s advertising audience.

Run ads on posts where you’re sharing an email opt-in or a product that you’re currently launching. It can be a huge help in driving conversions.