Social MasterChef: The four ingredient Facebook cook - Campbell Squared
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12 Sep Social MasterChef: The four ingredient Facebook cook

Posted at 12:24h in Communications, Digital, Strategy by

Our Digital & Media Consultant, Corrie Taylor, compares apple tarts with algorithms to find a recipe fit for Facebook success.

After weeks of fan-girling over MasterChef Australia, I have come to the conclusion that cooking is a lot like social media. Stay with me…

If my favourite TV programme has taught me anything, it’s that professional cooking is a delicate blend of science and creativity. Stray from the correct measurements and you’re screwed. Follow the recipe to a tee but avoid all creative license: boring. Ignore all the above… disaster.

The same can really be said for your business’ social media strategy.

It’s fine to throw caution to the wind when you’re sharing everything you ate that day on your personal profile, but if you want to get cut-through on your professional page – you have to do better.

Creating restaurant-quality Facebook content is hard! With millions of businesses and individuals vying for your online community’s attention, an almost extinct organic reach, and increasingly busy office schedules, social media success can all of a sudden feel like something out of a MasterChef pressure test. #hellokrokembush

But if you’re no connoisseur, this four-ingredient recipe for good Facebook content is a great place to start. Just remember, like cooking, nobody’s an expert right away. You need to test, taste and repeat. Focus on the science, then slowly add the creative flair.

Four ingredient Facebook content

Serves: Potentially millions

Ingredients

  • Know your audience
  • Publish content that is algorithm friendly
  • Run ads
  • Track your results

Time: Allow for up to six months of fermentation to perfect the recipe

Instructions

1. You will never be able to create content that suits everyone’s palate. The first thing you should always do when planning Facebook content is to know who your audience is. They may already be following your page, or you may need to find them using specific targeting. Ask yourself:

  • Who is my target audience?
  • Why am I interested in these people?
  • What problems do they face that I can help them with? And/or
  • How can I entertain them?

This will help you create content that is relevant for the people you want to talk to. You can also use Facebook Insights to learn more about your existing community, including when they are online and what other pages they follow.

2. The Facebook newsfeed is the ultimate gatekeeper, and the Facebook algorithm is the guard. Staying up to date with what the algorithm wants is the easiest way to increase your organic reach.

Earlier in 2018 Mark Zuckerberg announced a change in the Facebook algorithm to favour what he deemed ‘meaningful content’. Gone are the days when pages can get good engagement from blatant self-promotion. To be seen by your followers, your content must be either useful OR entertaining.

Mix up the types of posts you publish. Play around with long-form posts, short emotive statements, videos, slideshows, events, images, and links. But again, know the algorithm. Right now, live video or video are the most favoured content, so favour these when you can. Follow them with anything that will keep your audience on the platform for longer. Minimise the use of links that take people away from Facebook.

3. Publishing good content on your page regularly is important, but if you want to make a bigger impact you need to run ads. Use your useful/engaging content to create ad campaigns – and be clear about your end goal. Make sure your ads are highly targeted, with a relevant message for the end user and you’ll get more bang for buck.

The best way to grow reach in Facebook using ads is by leveraging the audiences you already have. Focus on targeting the pre-existing relationships you have: your email lists, people visiting your website, etc.

4. With your page content and ads, always be clear about your objectives and goals. It’s hard to know if you’re successful if you don’t know what success looks like. Where possible, track your results so you can see what’s working. Use the Facebook Pixel to track traffic going from your page/ads to your website, or Google Analytics to see if your brand awareness ads are creating more organic searches.

Facebook Insights is useful for tracking your page content at a basic level. Monitoring what posts are doing well, and understanding why, helps you adjust your content moving forward to better suit your audience.

Bon Appetit!

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