Despite data privacy scandals, nearly 1.5 billion people log in to Facebook daily, just over half of whom check several times a day. Such high usage (by consumers of all ages) leaves plenty of opportunity for marketers to reach their target audiences with organic Facebook posts.
The question is, what tactics work best for generating meaningful engagement?
A recent study from quintly takes a closer look at the performance of Facebook profiles and the posts associated with them. The study analyzed 94,000 profiles and over 105 million posts by focusing on several different topics, including fan distribution, post type, length, timing and reactions used. It featured pages of all sizes, ranging from 0-1,000 followers to 10m+.
In terms of design, users have several options when it comes to constructing the content for their posts. Facebook’s recent algorithm changes place emphasis on post content that will generate “meaningful interactions between people.”
It also takes into account the inventory of all posts available to display, signals that alert Facebook of what the post is about, predictions on how users will react and scores these factors.
The study found that the most common post type included a link (55%), followed by image (29%), video (14%) and status update (2%). But which of these variations generated the most interactions (likes, comments and shares)?
According to the results:
- Videos generated 65% more interactions than images;
- Images accounted for 105% more interactions than status updates;
- Status updates had 50% less interactions than images;
- Links attracted 72% less interactions than videos.
These findings weren’t terribly shocking, as video consumption has increased over the last few years, especially with the introduction of live videos. One study from Facebook found that live videos generate 600% more interactions than regular videos.
Looking at the timing of the posts, only 23% of all posts were published on the weekend. Which makes sense, given the 2-day time period. However, the study revealed that weekend posts generate 13% more interactions than those made during the work week.
