How to get more page views on Facebook
When A.F. Stewart commented on “Stop doing this on Facebook!,” she mentioned that she was conducting an experiment with her Facebook fan page. I invited her to write a guest blog post about it for us here. Today’s guest blogger was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, and still calls it home. Stewart is an indie author with several published novellas and story collections in the dark fantasy or horror genres, with a few side trips into poetry and non-fiction. She has a great interest in history and mythology, often working those themes into her books and stories.
How to get more page views on Facebook
By A.F. Stewart
A few months ago, I participated in an event on Facebook, organized by an author friend of mine. It was a marketing brainstorming session, authors getting together, bouncing ideas off each other, asking questions, sharing tips on book promotion. One of the questions asked was about the number of views received by an average post on a Facebook page.
Now to be honest, my Facebook pages were neglected things at this point. From time to time, I posted status updates, bits of news, and my Twitter feed, but mostly they sat there like a lump. So when I checked the stats to answer the question they weren’t good. Most of what I posted were links, tweets, or shares and it averaged to about five to 10 views per post, with few or no shares or likes. Not great stats.
Experiment yields insights
So I ran an experiment, to see what types of posts would get better views, or if my Facebook fans just weren’t paying attention to my page. I started posting non-link posts: writing tips, book updates, some humorous musings, and leading up to my book launch, story trivia.
Now here’s the interesting part. For those non-links posts I saw my stats jump to about 50 to 70 views per post, and one post where I laughed about a typo I made hit 93 views. Also, the likes, comments, and shares for these posts rose as well. Even the posts that were just links saw a slight rise in views after I began interacting more on my Facebook page.
Funny posts worked well
Of course, some types of posts did better stat-wise than others. Goofy or funny posts were popular, the book trivia was liked, and both pirates and Joss Whedon’s Firefly hit high notes. Plus, my page’s weekly total reach climbed considerably, with numbers ranging from 27 to 141 views in July to a more consistent 300 to 400 range in October.
Of course, my experiment may not be very scientific, but I think it is illuminating. It illustrates that people, and potential readers, respond better to a more personal touch, as opposed to getting links and shares thrown at them. The key to a better Facebook page is put the “social” back into social networking.
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Thank you for sharing, I will try it with my FB page.
Good luck, Myrlande!
Sandy
Best of luck, I think you’ll see a difference.
When you posted without links did you post an image?
Most of the time, no. I added an image to a few posts, but I found the images didn’t boost my views to any great extent. They didn’t hurt them, either.
On my personal/profile page, I get more interaction with images than with anything else. From what I’ve read, that’s pretty typical for most profile page owners.
Sandy
I get a better response to images on my profile as well. Probably because I’m posting and sharing more geeky stuff on my profile.
I agree that funny posts do better! I believe that non-link posts do better based on Facebook’s algorithm. I believe they frown on most outside links as links take people away from Facebook.
Humour does seem to be universal.
And Facebook’s algorithm does have its own set of rules; one of the many things to figure out when marketing.
Quick tip: When posting a link on your fan page, make the appropriate statement as the status update and publish it. Then post the link as a comment. That 2-step approach will help you avoid FB’s dislike of links and more people will see that post with the link.
Sandy
Thanks for reporting the results of your experiment. It seems logical yet not intuitive in the virtual world where website stats and Google rankings seem to rule. You’ve put the face back in Facebook.
Sometimes I think we can forget with all the dizzy information regarding stats and buzz and rankings, that there are people on the other end of the internet that respond to a more personal touch.
This is exactly why I tell authors with personal/profile pages NOT to use their book cover as their profile pic. People want to interact with people, not with book covers. Thanks for pointing that out, Donna.
Sandy
I have found from my brief stint as a blogger… who sends my work to my FB page, that when my writing is more than a paragraph I don’t have as many hits. Which makes total sense because people scanning their FB page don’t have time to read a novel. Oddly enough, my baby poem had the most hits. I think it was more the subject matter that won over their hearts. My next step? I’m going to beg people to read my writing and tell me where I can improve. (This should be interesting!)
You should get some response from that, writers love to give other writers feedback.
Vikki, people aren’t always kind. Are you prepared for that?
Sandy
What a great experiment! I have only 84 likes and that felt like pulling teeth! So I’ll attempt this myself and see what happens x
I’m so glad it was helpful, PJ. And I’m so glad that AF was willing to share her experiences here.
Sandy
Thank you for sharing! I know I’m late to the party, but I only just found this blog/article today as I was researching something else. But it has reminded me of two burning questions I have regarding FB. Maybe you can shed some light on the subject.
1) Where do you find the stats on reviews? I can see shares and likes, but the only other info I’ve seen is my own activity.
2) I have had a personal FB page for several years and have 600+ friends, most of them through direct personal contact. In building a platform as a writer, I’ve read that a professional FB page is a must. The question is whether to create a Page attached to my personal account, or whether it is better to open a completely new account using a different email address. I tried the latter in the past for a different type of “branding” but found that I seldom checked it because the FB app on my iPad is set for my personal one.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Cindy
Hi Cindy,
1. I’m not sure what you mean by “reviews” on Facebook, but to see your stats on a FB Page, you select “Insights” while you’re on your Page.
2. I see 2 values in a Page — the audience info you get from “Insights” and the ability to promote posts. Also, FB terms of service prevent you from using your profile for marketing purposes — you run the risk of getting booted from the site. In reality, very few people will ever see what you post on a Page, though, unless you’re posting content that generates a lot of engagement. That can be done, of course, but it takes more thought than the average user puts into it. Answering your question…I don’t know why you’d want to use a different profile account for your Page. What’s your thinking there?
You might find this info. in a more recent post helpful: https://buildbookbuzz.com/facebook-profile-page-or-group/
Sandy
Hi Sandra,
Thanks so much for your timely reply and info. So sorry that I am so horribly late in thanking you, but I “lost” this thread and didn’t realize you had replied. I only just now stumbled upon it!
I am slowly getting my FB Page and my blog site going. I know I need to post more often on both, but…
Thanks again for the information and link.
Cindy
And just a P.S. here re. “blog site.” You want a website with a blog — not a website at one URL and a blog at a totally different URL. The blog should be integrated into the website. Maybe that’s your plan!
Sandy