Did you ever watch the Road Runner cartoon as a kid?
Man, I loved that show.
I loved watching Wile E. Coyote come up with his "fail-proof" plans for catching the Road Runner.
Here's one of my favorites:
Did the Coyote's plans ever work?
Not really.
Did the Coyote get frustrated?
Totally.
And I bet a lot of you feel a similar frustration when trying to "catch" engagement on your Facebook posts.
Coyote-like, you devise the perfect plan -- deploying a super-enticing Facebook post, published at just the right time.
But then you post it -- and nothing.
Facebook crickets.
And yeah, it kinda hurts.
And like the Coyote, you head back to the drawing board -- to try to figure out a new failsafe way to get your fans engaging.
Well... figure no further, my friends. Help has arrived.
3 Essential Ingredients of an Enticing Facebook Post
Yes, there is a recipe for creating enticing Facebook posts.
As an example, let's look at one of the most success posts of all time -- cooked up by the Oreo Fan Page.
I think when we examine this post, we'll figure out what makes a Facebook post enticing.
1. Be Relevant
Do you remember when the power went out during the Super Bowl -- and the whole stadium went dark?
It was at the SuperDome in New Orleans -- right in the middle of the game. The outage lasted a whopping 34 minutes & created quite an interesting situation for the NFL, the teams & the players.
The first brand on Facebook to take advantage of the situation -- only to be copied by everyone else -- was Oreo.
Within a matter of minutes they posted this image to their Facebook page & Twitter account:
Pure Genius!!
Why?
Because they made their post relevant to the current situation -- and that's the takeaway here.
Sure, you & I aren't a big brand like Oreo -- and yeah, the power's probably not going to go out at the SuperBowl again for a long time.
At least for another year. :)
But you should always try to be relevant to what's current & hot -- both in the news feed on Facebook and in the world at large.
Doing so will surely increase your posts' engagement.
2. Keep It Simple
Oreo could have really "coyote'd" this post up -- for example, by posting something long, complicated & overflowing with text.
Instead they went with a simple image of a spot-lighted Oreo cookie & the words "YOU CAN STILL DUNK IN THE DARK".
The pic was simple -- and together with the text update "Power out? No problem", the post nailed it.
There was no need for a call-to-action, a link, or for Oreo to beg for clicks.
Just pure simplicity.
I've said before & I'll say it again -- "Less is almost always More on Facebook" -- and on social media in general.
During the power outage, I saw tons of other brand posts trying to leverage the situation -- with longer & more contrived posts.
But Oreo was the only one that stood out.
Why? Because their image was simple. Simple & powerful.
As a small business you may not have Photoshop -- or any expert image-editing skills. That's fine -- I don't either!
Just use something like PicMonkey or Pixlr or even PowerPoint -- yes PowerPoint is a great way to add text to images -- and most of you have it on your computer already.
Or don't use an image at all. Text-only status updates can do just as well.
Just remember to keep it simple!
*** Bonus Tip -- Notice how Oreo didn't include the word "SuperBowl" in their text update. This was intentional so their post wouldn't get lumped in with the "200 other conversations about SuperBowl".
3. Timing Is Everything
The power at the SuperBowl went out at 7:37pm. Oreo had this image posted by 7:47pm.
And yes, the timing was absolutely crucial for the success of the post.
Had Oreo waited too long, they would not have seemed as witty & quick-on-their-feet. And the post wouldn't have been such a hit.
But because they got the image created & pushed out within 10 minutes of the power going out, the post went viral.
Notice the number of Likes, Shares & Comments:
Lisa Mann, who led the Oreo's social media efforts during the SuperBowl, had this to say about the timing:
Because we picked such a big stage, we decided to have a social media command center, so we could respond real time to buzz. Of course we couldn’t have anticipated the blackout, but in that command center we had brand people, agency people.
Because everyone was together, they had everyone in place to jump on a real-time marketing opportunity, which was, how would Oreo see the blackout? And Oreo saw the blackout as an opportunity to dunk in the dark.
You may not have the need for a "social media command center" like Oreo -- but you can still be smart & intentional with the timing of your posts.
A Facebook page should NEVER post "just because". Instead, you should be very aware of the times of day that get the most engagement -- and post during those times.
Once you know these times, you can easily plan your posts at the correct times -- regardless of timezones -- to increase your chances of getting the most engagement.
The Road Runner CAN Be Caught
Let's face it... not all of your Facebook posts are going to go viral
And not all of them are going to entice your fans to Like, Comment on or Share them.
But that's ok. Just keep trying!
As long as you keep your posts (1) RELEVANT, (2) SIMPLE and (3) WELL-TIMED, you will eventually catch the Road Runner:
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