Now that your Facebook clinic page is up and running, how many times a day should you post? Some experts have been advising to post anywhere from 2 to 5 times every day. Other social media gurus say once a week is enough.
You want to share good information with your fans. At the same time, you don't want to be one of those annoying people that clutter everyone's newsfeed with a new post every five minutes. So what's the answer?
Since every audience is unique, you can only find the best Facebook posting frequency by testing it for your clinic. To get an idea how your posts have been doing so far, access Facebook Insights and click "Reach."
By averaging your reach data over time, you can get an idea on how many people are seeing your updates. Now you can increase or decrease the frequency of posts and compare it to the historical average to see if these changes make a difference.
Another strategy is to post at a significantly higher pace for one week, then slower for one week and compare the results. You can use the Facebook Insights "Benchmark" feature to compare reach, comments, shares and likes between the two periods.
Analytics can also help you determine what content your audience will respond to. Facebook Insights can tell you which historical posts were the most viral. You'll have to export the information and choose Post Level Data.
Open up the exported file in a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheet. You'll quickly be able to see which posts that have created the most interest and excitement.
Take a look a close look at those topics and come up with different angles on the same subject. By taking this approach, you are customizing your content creation to topics your fans have already responded well to--there's no better research.
What if you asked Facebook themselves what the best posting frequency is? In an interview with Mashable, Elisabeth Diana, Facebook's Communication Manager, recommended that businesses start out with one to two posts per week to gauge how many people like, share and comment each post.
The key is "engagement." The more engagement you generate, the higher your EdgeRank, the better the chances your posts will appear in your fans newsfeeds. EdgeRank is the algorithm Facebook uses to measure engagement and evaluate if your posts will be seen by your clinic fans.
After you know what resonates with your fans, you can increase the frequency, but you don't want to post any more than one time per day. Facebook studied several high profile brands with strong engagement, and found they are usually posting only one time each day on average.
This should come as a relief for those of you madly posting five times a day. Instead, take a step back and create a really high quality post. Engagement will go up, and your fan count and web traffic will follow.
Once you've set a regular posting schedule and are putting up fun, interesting, informative content, don't stop there. Interact with your fans when they comment on posts. Give them advice, ask them questions, and point them to resources on your site that allow them to drill deeper into their topic.
Find out what they want to talk about. Ask them if they have any questions about your products and services. What do they want to know that they are not getting answers to? Don't overdo this, but throw these questions out there every few months. You'll be surprised what they come up with—things you may have never thought to ask.
This information is gold because now you can create more great content on your site that you know will resonate with your fan base. Your Facebook page is a real-time focus group that gives you constant feedback on your business. Our physiotherapy clinic marketing services will help you save time and money on content creation.