How to get real engagement on your Facebook page

They think if they put up a page, their fans will flock to it and post content and discuss it with their peers without much effort from the community manager (if there is one).

Hooey. This just doesn’t happen unless you already have a vibrant community and expand it to Facebook.

What do you do?

1. Quit broadcasting.

If you tell me everything I need to know on your Facebook page and it reads like your email newsletter, then all I’m going to do is scan it, extract information, and move on.

2. Quit marketing.

If I feel like you stream ads to me and call it interaction, I’ll tune you out. I may scan your headline in my news feed but unless there’s a hook, I’m not going to read further. I want to be talked to, not at.

3. Find out who I am.

Did you ever look to see who someone was after she fanned your Facebook page? I guess fewer than 5 percent of page owners and 50 percent of community managers would answer yes. What a missed opportunity to learn more about the people in your market, what they like, and what value they can add to your Facebook community.