Every time a celebrity clicks their fingers, someone pressures their social media admin to publish a dull Facebook post. Over the past decade, it has become a problem of epidemic proportions. Together, we can work to stop this.

These posts usually involve one or more of the following:

• A photo of a cheque presentation or exchange of handshakes
• A big CSR pat on the back for a charity-of-choice company
• An in-joke that only people in the charity will understand and/or care about (I once received a photo of a “new fundraising member”….it was a plant.)

The Real Facts

Foliage aside, Social Media Today claims that average engagement on Facebook page posts has fallen by around 20% during 2017. And why wouldn’t this make sense? Facebook is not a digital noticeboard: it is a SOCIAL network where friends, family, and entertainment top the engagement charts.

Know Yourself, Know Your Audience

Whether your charity is lucky to have a marketing professional at hand, or whether you’re part of a small team doing it on your own, it’s important to consider the right platform for publishing content. Ask:

• If you saw this on your news feed would you like, share or comment, or simply scroll past? If it turns you off then it will turn them off too.
• What do you want out of the post? If it is just a box-ticking exercise then it probably won’t achieve anything. Could you submit a news release or choose a different platform such as LinkedIn or Twitter?
• If Facebook is the be all and end all, is there a better way that you can present the content and make it stand out above the noise? (Social Media Today claims that video is the only type of content that has not seen a fall in engagement this year!)

Don’t be afraid to use some data to back up your actions. If you’re in touch with your Facebook Insights and the stats show that most of your followers engage with certain content, then do more of it. Of course, it’s always good to try something new, but keep one eye on the numbers to maximise your success.

Patience is the key

Education can be a slow process, but encouraging your team to think of your Facebook followers as an audience that needs entertaining will hopefully make them think twice about pressuring you to post the wrong content.

Good luck!