Stayin’ Alive: Content Marketing That Grooves With Facebook

When you hear the term “Facebook,” what do you think? If you consider it to be nothing but a time-waster, you are missing a golden opportunity to market products and services to a large pool of potential customers. Not all of Facebook’s 2.2 billion monthly active users will want what you are selling, but enough can make it worth your while to tap into this platform’s huge reach. Content marketing companies see the advantages, as social media can drive traffic and give businesses exposure they might not have had otherwise. Adding Facebook to your overall marketing strategy is a good move that helps your business not only stay alive but also grow and thrive.

Facebook: Your Company’s Best Friend

Launched in 2004, Facebook is here to stay and is worth getting to know. This platform has its peculiarities, with some types of digital content marketing working better than others to garner traffic and drive social shares. Many digital materials posted in social media are image-heavy, but the best way to dance with the data and analyze what types of content are most successful is by focusing on word-heavy articles.

Particular types of writing can demonstrably boost visibility and get companies swinging. Interested? The first thing to think about is what moves you want your company or clients to make and where you want your business or clients to go.

Which Types of Content Work Best?

Before writing any marketing content, you need to focus on your goals. Do you want a sudden burst of Facebook traffic? Are you trying to build steady traffic each month? Get clear about what you want your content marketing to do. Articles that give readers some value are top performers. They cut through more immediately sexy but forgettable content and deliver results that have more of a positive impact on your digital traffic in the long run. 

The foundation of every metric you can calculate, pursue, and analyze is Facebook reach. In the most basic meaning, this term refers to the number of individual people who see your digital content marketing material. When devising a content plan, you must consider this essential factor in order to succeed. Facebook reach matters. Take traffic referral for Parse.ly, for example. Parse.ly, a digital data company that performs complex analytics, determined that, in a particular time period, Facebook alone created more than 40 percent of measurable, detectable traffic within its network.

Now that you have an idea of the important role Facebook can play in marketing strategy, consider the types of articles that really boogie on this platform.

Infographics

Visually appealing pieces that feature minimal words are among the most important types of articles posted for marketing purposes. They pack a punch. Infographics, along with list pieces, produce the most social shares. If you want a rapid increase in Facebook traffic, try posting infographics. These visual representations are designed to present information, both facts and figures, in a visually appealing way that is understandable and easy to skim quickly. Check out this example from NeONBRAND:

The striking visuals of infographics can help people remember and connect facts, as the images augment the ability of humans to see and recognize patterns and trends.

Lists

List-focused articles on Facebook are perennially popular because they break up solid blocks of content and are easy and quick to skim. They may be in the form of a recipe or a top five or 10 or 30 listing:

• Top 5 Classic Cars
• Top 30 Vacation Spots in Vermont
• Top 10 Nightspots in Seattle

Paragraphs can be numbered or have clear headings for each entry. Bullet lists within short entries with headings make content even easier to read and comprehend. List pieces, along with infographics, generate the most short-term social shares when first posted to Facebook.

How-To Articles

These types of posts do not produce the immediate excitement that lists and infographics do, but over time, they generate significant regular traffic on Facebook every month. They offer people value, and they can be about any number of tangential topics related to a business’ products or services. For example, a company that makes privacy screens could post how-to articles on a variety of related subjects:

• Fending off insects and outdoor control of pests
• Creating an outdoor retreat
• Landscaping tips
• Swimming pool area design ideas

The key to being successful with this important type of article is to brainstorm and get creative about presenting helpful information.

“Why” Pieces

Like how-to posts, these types of Facebook articles offer readers strong value for the investment of their time. They focus on a specific topic and present clear information. Think about these examples:

• 10 Reasons Why Eating a Vegan Diet Benefits You
• 10 Signs He (or She) Is Cheating
• 15 Reasons Why Disaster Preparation Is a Must

As you can see, article types can overlap, giving you lots of wiggle room in your digital content marketing plan.

“What” Articles

Another type of Facebook post that performs a service and offers readers value for their time is the “What” article. These lend themselves well to bullet lists and numbered lists for easy-to-read and graphically interesting content:

• What To Do When Your Pipes Burst
• What Is the First Thing You Should Do After a Natural Disaster
• What To Do If Your Soufflé Falls
• What Strategies Can Control Employee Conflict

Just about any industry or type of company can use these posts to boost Facebook traffic, because there are almost limitless opportunities for tangential subjects revolving around the core product or service. Whether you are writing for a plumber or an insurance underwriter, “What” posts can generate steady monthly traffic that promotes long-term success.

Writing the Right Marketing Content

All of these article types, though effective at driving Facebook traffic, are word-heavy. Today’s corporate world, in the wake of the nearly spontaneous internet, moves fast. The truth is that most SEO agencies as well as enterprise companies often find it difficult to write the amount of quality marketing content needed to boost traffic on a regular basis. Studies vary, as do industry audiences, but generally experts agree that posting one to five times per day on Facebook works best. Extensive time for research and writing are required for each piece, and the choice is to hire more people, taking on the expense and trouble of training them, or choose an experienced, reliable company to write the materials for you.

Content marketing companies do all of the time-consuming work necessary to produce quality content. The best sort of content creation service hires talented writers who are skilled researchers and trains them on your project. You will not have to put out the time and money to hire and instruct new employees. Instead, you can concentrate on growing your company and providing the best possible customer service, which, in the end, is good business.