So apparently, Buddy Media has these great (and free!) white papers and webinars about optimizing your Facebook page. They’re short and (mostly) easy to understand. Best of all, they tell you about things you can do that don’t cost a penny: what to measure, what and when to post, how to get your posts on the newsfeed. It’s all based on research they’ve done with their clients—big-dog companies like Johnson & Johnson, Sony, Southwest Airlines, Ford, and the NHL.  Here are the most useful tips for what to post on your wall in order to maximize engagement (measured in likes and comments).

What to Post

-  Keep it short. Posts 80 characters or less in length have 27% higher engagement rates.

-  Post trivia questions and contests, especially if they’re on a recurring schedule. People love to show off their knowledge. Key words for contests: Event, Winner, Offer, New, Win.

-  Ask for what you want! Do you want fans to ‘like’ a post? Ask them to like it. Want them to ‘share’ it? Ask them to click share.  Fans follow instructions well—the simpler, the better. Key words: Like, Take, Submit, Post, Comment, Tell Us

-  Asking questions:

• Posts that END with a question (rather than having it at the beginning or middle) have a 15% higher engagement rate.
• Use these key words in questions: Where, When, Would, and Should. Avoid asking “why” questions, which have low engagement rates and may be seen as intrusive.
• Ask for opinions on new products, concerts, exhibits, etc.
• Encourage your fans to share personal stories that relate to your organization or discipline.

-  Photos, videos, and links show up more in News Feeds, so use them in your posts. Post photos of employees, videos of upcoming artists (think behind-the-scenes sneak peeks), even photos from your archives, and encourage fans to post their pictures to your wall.

-  Relate your posts to current events, and ask your fans what they think about breaking news or other topics. Also, you may like to know that posts that reference upcoming events (including your own) get ranked higher on the News Feed- so run timely campaigns to promote your events! Just make sure you don’t post too often (once every few hours for the same event is probably too often).

-  Interact with fans on your post threads to keep the conversation going (longer threads are more likely to show up in News Feeds). Also interact with fans individually if they mention your organization.

-  Use the full length link. Engagement rates were 3 times higher for posts that used a full-length URL.  (On Facebook, using the full-length URL isn’t a hassle. On Twitter, however, you’ll need to shorten those links using bit.ly)

When to Post

-  For the entertainment industry, the days when our fans are most engaged (i.e., most likely to like and comment on posts) are Sunday, Friday, and Saturday, in that order. So don’t neglect these days! -  Post early in the morning, at the end of the work day, and late at night- when your audience is checking their Facebook- not when you are at your desk! Brands that posted outside of business hours had engagement rates approximately 20% higher than average. Try TweetDeck to schedule your posts for free.

You may also want to check out “The Five Most Important Metrics You Should Be Tracking On Facebook” - a tab view, “engagements” (i.e. likes and comments), clicks, submits (i.e. fans sharing your posts), and news feed impressions. Some of these are only available through a paid service like Buddy Media or Convio, but go in to your page's “Insights” and poke around to see what data you already have for free. 

And if you’re having trouble finding a “Facebook Voice,” check out our article What is an Arts Organization’s “Online Voice”? and the associated webinar recording.