Using Facebook to Market Your Business in 2019
Facebook marketing in 2019 isn’t dead. On the contrary, it’s far from it.
Now removed from the dim outlook that businesses faced at the beginning of 2018, Facebook has and will remain an essential tool for brands’ marketing strategies moving forward.
Our social media marketing partner, Buffer, recently released their State of Social Media 2019 Report and found that 93.7 percent of businesses use and are currently active on Facebook — the most among any other social media network.
And although they continue to see a dramatic rise in the usage and effectiveness of Stories content, traditional posts in the Facebook News Feed offer a powerful outlet for brands looking to generate engagement and traffic. In total, they dwindled down more than 777 million posts to 500 of the most popular, according to total engagements. The top 500 Facebook posts represent more than one billion engagements across Facebook.
Key takeaways from 777 million Facebook posts
BuzzSumo has access to some of the world’s most robust Facebook data, which powers lots of incredible research studies like this one where they analyzed content from 20,000 influential Facebook Business Pages.
They’re also the company behind one of my personal favorites, The 2019 Ultimate Guide to Facebook Engagement, an annual report that analyzes everything you need to know about the tactical side of Facebook marketing. Needless to say, their product offers some eye-opening insights into the world of Facebook marketing.
Key takeaway #1: Video performs better than all other types of Facebook posts
When it comes to taking your Facebook strategy to the next level, there is no better way to do so than through the use of video content. On average, video posts on Facebook get at least 59 percent more engagement than other post types. In fact, when looking at what types of content made up the top 500 Facebook posts of 2018, more than 81 percent were videos! Images only accounted for 18 percent of the top posts, while Links made up a mere 0.2 percent.
Key takeaway #2: Inspirational, funny, or practical content generates the most engagement
In order to hone in on the exact types of content brands and marketers should be creating more of in 2019, we attempted to categorize the types of content from the data set. In conjunction with the most common reactions on Facebook and a subjective analysis of the top 500 Facebook posts, three common themes started to emerge. The most successful content could be categorized as inspirational, funny, or practical.
Key takeaway #3: Create content for Facebook that is both human and story-forward
Did you know that 84 percent of marketers believe that building trust will be the primary focus for their marketing efforts in the future? That’s because consumers are looking for brands with a purpose – brands that are mission-driven and stand for something important.
Shallow marketing campaigns aren’t going to cut it in 2019. What will cut it are authentic, human-forward stories that allow your brand to connect with customers on a personal level. Smaller brands, in particular, have an opportunity to double or even triple engagement with this personal approach.
