How to Increase Engagement on Facebook in 10 Steps

What Does Facebook Engagement Mean?

Facebook engagement refers to they way users interact with content through likes, shares, comments, and clicks. It measures how actively users respond to posts, which can influence a page’s visibility and reach on the platform, reflecting audience interest and involvement.

In February 2024, Facebook celebrated its 20th birthday. For all this time, it has been considered the world’s most popular social media platform. No competitors have managed to surpass it, and it doesn’t appear that anyone will in the coming years — in 2024, the average amount of time a person spends on Facebook is 30.9 minutes, which is more than on Twitter, Instagram, or even TikTok.

The social network has over three billion monthly active users, with over 100 million Facebook users just in the USA. 

You can check your engagement metrics in your Business Suite through Facebook Insights or through the Facebook analytics tool that you prefer.

This screenshot shows the “Page Overview” section from Facebook Insights, a tool used to track key metrics like post reach, engagement, and follower growth over the last 28 days. Understanding these metrics is crucial for refining your social media strategy and improving engagement rates.

Why measure the engagement rate? First of all, marketing is not about beautiful pictures and collabs with influencers. Well, not only about this. The larger goal of marketing is getting your audience to interact with your brand, building a community, etc.

The engagement rate gives you an understanding of how your Facebook marketing strategy works and how your further actions can improve it.

This is the Facebook engagement rate formula: Facebook Engagement Rate = [(Total Likes + Comments + Shares)/Total Reach] x 100.

Essentially, the engagement rate can reveal more than just numbers—it’s a wake-up call. If your engagement rate hits 0, it’s definitely time to shake things up in your strategy.

What Is a Good Facebook Engagement Rate?

The median engagement rate across all industries is 0.063%, but this number can fluctuate depending on your specific audience and business sector. Determining what qualifies as a “good” engagement rate on Facebook can be challenging since it varies across industries and the type of content you share. 

It’s essential to compare your engagement rate to industry benchmarks and continually work on improving it. If your rate is below the median, it might be time to revisit your content strategy, optimize your posts, and engage more effectively with your audience. Even small improvements can lead to better visibility and more meaningful interactions. 

Here’s a look at some engagement rate benchmarks across various industries to give you a sense of where you stand:

Source

However, as statistics show, even 0.03% is a good indicator if you are working in the travel industry, for example.

What Does Facebook Recommend For Boosting Engagement?

When in Rome, post as Romans do? Or how was the saying? Facebook provides five very general steps to desired growth in engagement on an entirely separate page. Let’s start with those.

1. Plan What and When to Post

Think about what you are posting and clearly understand your audience — you can use the Audience insights feature from Facebook itself for this. 

Here, you can evaluate the demographics of subscribers and spy a little on their hobbies and interests. You can also look at the separate “potential subscribers” tab, which can help with the growth of the number of subscribers.

2. Use Immersive and Interactive Content

Facebook shows the need for a strategic posting schedule that leans into immersive, interactive content. And don’t forget about stories — they deserve their own content strategy to truly engage your audience.

Here are some examples to inspire your next interactive post:

• Ask your audience to choose between two options (e.g., “This or That”) or create fun quizzes related to your niche.
• Engage with your audience in real time by answering their questions on the spot.
• Motivate followers to engage by offering prizes in exchange for likes, comments, or shares.
• Encourage your audience to share their own content, such as photos or videos related to your brand, for a chance to be featured.
• Use Instagram-style stories with questions, polls, and quizzes that make it easy for users to respond quickly.
• Post a photo and ask your followers to come up with the best caption. Offer a small prize to the winner.
• Show you value your audience’s opinions by asking them for feedback on products, services, or upcoming changes.
• Let your audience complete a sentence, such as “The best thing about Fridays is __________.”
• Share exclusive looks at your business or team and ask for feedback or reactions.

Here’s an example of interactive Facebook post:

Overall, there is no one-size-fits-all recipe here because some might prefer short videos, while others’ subscribers value long reads. You need to experiment and measure the Facebook engagement rate of different formats.

3. Build and Nurture a Community

You are not the only one who has to shout at every corner about your wonderful business. Motivate your audience to do the same; make them talk about you.

Here are a few ways you can build a community on Facebook:

• A dedicated group allows your audience to share their thoughts, ask questions, and connect with others interested in your brand. This can foster a deeper sense of belonging and increase engagement.
• Organize webinars or live events through Facebook, where your community can gather and engage in real time.
• Ask your community to share their own stories, photos, or reviews about your products or services. This not only promotes engagement but also builds trust among your audience.
• Start a fun challenge where participants can share their experiences, photos, or progress on a common goal that aligns with your brand.

4. Test and Refine Your Approach

Next, Facebook suggests finding out what works for you through A/B testing. Experiment with different content, analyze audience reactions, and refine your approach. Don’t repeat what didn’t work — focus on what your audience responds to and keep testing new ideas.

5. Boost Your Best Content

The last advice out of five, given by Facebook, is to take the content you think will perform well and boost or promote it. So more people will see your cool content. Keep reading for more details on this one.

That’s all that Facebook and Meta have to tell us about the engagement rate. However, thanks to the marketing community, there is already an understanding in the world of what might work besides these five tips.

How to Increase Engagement on Facebook: 10 Steps

Besides Facebook’s recommendations, there’s still so much more you can do to increase your engagement rate.

Here are 10 steps that should help you create a Facebook engagement strategy:

1. Optimize your Facebook page
2. Understand your audience
3. Actively create engaging content
4. Collaborate with influencers and consider UCG content
5. Post consistently and timely
6. Add relevant call-to-action buttons to your posts
7. Dive into trends of your industry
8. Engage with your audience
9. Use ads to garner higher engagement
10. Analyze and improve your Facebook posts

1. Optimize Your Facebook Page

Begin by giving your Facebook business page a makeover. Fill it out so that potential subscribers can can instantly grasp what your brand is about, how it can benefit them, and whether it’s worth their follow.

To make your page easier to find and informative for visitors, try these steps:

• Keep your page information always updated
• Use relevant keywords in your About section
• Create high-quality content (more on this below)
• Design eye-catching, branded cover photos and profile pictures
• Insert call-to-action buttons where possible
• Use UTM parameters to track the traffic you get from your bio links and CTAs
• Try varying the length, the call to action, or the keywords in the “About” section
• Look at what successful competitors are doing. Notice any common elements in their “About” sections or visual branding that you might adapt

Here’s how Tony’s Chocolonely has optimized its Facebook page:

You need to constantly analyze the state of your profile and, of course, make data-driven improvements. 

2. Understand Your Audience

How many of Facebook’s three billion monthly active users are your target audience? To create useful content, work on a clear profile of your target audience. Facebook Insights, which we touched on earlier, can help you determine whether your followers are predominantly homemakers on the American coasts or businessmen in bustling cities.

In general, as soon as you’ve created a fairly clear audience profile, you can determine how many of these people are out there on Facebook. For example, analytics by age and gender of users show the following:

Source

Once you’ve pinpointed your audience, say, males over 30, and confirmed their active presence on Facebook, it’s time to work with the content you share.

Need a little help? Download our free Buyer Persona Template to get a clearer picture of who you’re targeting. It’ll guide you through gathering key insights, so you can create content that fits your audience’s needs.

Buyer Persona Template

Grab the free template, fill it out, and swiftly craft your buyer persona.

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3. Actively Create Engaging Content

Your content should captivate your audience—whether it’s exciting, useful, or entertaining. Aim to create posts that not only draw attention but also encourage your audience to interact. 

The goal is to make people look forward to your updates, share your posts with their friends, re-watch your videos, and ultimately, make a purchase directly from your Facebook Shop.

Here’s an example of engaging post shared by Rare Beauty:

This post is engaging because it taps into emotions by addressing common struggles like stress, anxiety, and grief, which makes it relatable. It’s timely, referencing the back-to-school season, and offers a clear call to action with the word search challenge. By connecting their brand with a cause—supporting mental health through the Rare Impact Fund—they show genuine care, which builds trust.

Spice up your content with trends or seasonal stories by tapping into current trends or seasonal themes, inject some humor with fun brand stories, or bring a personal touch by showcasing your team members. Remember, audience engagement thrives on content that resonates and intrigues.

Why does this work? Content that is timely, relevant, and emotionally resonant captures attention more effectively. For example, high-quality, visually appealing photo posts tend to have the highest engagement rates on Facebook, averaging around 0.10%.

Videos follow closely with an engagement rate of 0.08%. These types of content are engaging because they are easy to consume, visually attractive, and often evoke an emotional response, whether it’s inspiration, joy, or curiosity.

On the other hand, link posts generally have lower engagement rates, averaging only 0.03%. This lower engagement can be attributed to their more transactional nature, which may not inspire as much interaction as more visually engaging content.

Additionally, platforms like Meta and X (formerly Twitter) have moved toward making link posts less prominent, encouraging content that keeps users on the platform longer. Meta’s shift away from promoting publisher content further reduces the reach of link posts, which drives brands to explore other formats and methods of engagement.