Benefits of Non-Promoted Facebook Posts
You may be wondering what it takes to have a successful social media presence. With so many platforms available to promote your practice, Facebook is the hive for all things social media marketing thanks to its ability to reach targeted audiences. A successful marketing strategy on Facebook can attract website traffic, reach people outside your loyal patient circle, and give current followers the chance to keep up with practice news, blogs, and specials. To be successful, practices need to publish a good balance of engaging posts—both promoted (paid) and non-promoted (organic).
What Are Promoted Posts?
Promoted Facebook posts are paid content (e.g. ads) designed to attract a targeted demographic interested in services your practice offers. In other words, they are intended to reach people who might benefit from your message, including users who already follow your practice’s page as well as those who don’t. Promotion allows your posts to be seen by more people on Facebook. Even though it may look like a regular organic post, it will be labeled as “sponsored” when people see it in their Facebook News Feed.
What Are Non-Promoted Posts?
Non-promoted posts include organic (non-paid) social content shared by your practice. According to Forbes, non-promoted posts use a neutral, no-sell strategy that makes helpful, useful information the star of their marketing content, rather than the product or service itself. These types of posts can feature industry-related articles, videos, quotes, patient results, or practice news, and they are great for sharing, generating conversation, and educating your audience on different treatments your practice offers. Since you are sharing content with people who already “like” your page, users may be more inclined to react to a post that is geared toward their interests.
Check out our educational infographic that outlines great ways to create organic social content patients love.
Why Bother with Non-Promoted Posts?
Facebook determines which kind of content is presented to users—as well as how frequently it’s displayed—using an algorithm. The algorithm favors pages that post high-quality, relevant content over those that are excessively promotional. The latter type of page will unfortunately have a more limited organic and paid reach. Achieving a balance between engaging promoted and non-promoted content is key for ensuring your page’s posts and brand get optimal Facebook exposure.
Other benefits of organic posts include their ability to boost brand awareness, build a relationship with your existing audience, and generate positive comments, “likes,” and “reactions” (which are now weighted so they affect post ranking slightly more than “likes”). Lastly, non-promoted posts can be a great tool for better understanding your audience—through trial and error, you can decide which types of posts generate the most response/interaction.
How to Make Your Non-Promoted Posts Engaging
Facebook engagement is the act of someone “liking,” sharing, or commenting on a social post, thus affecting the visibility of your content. These actions are essential for a social media strategy because they encourage interaction with current and potential patients. While both “likes” and comments are valuable, “sharing” can enhance the post’s reach, which increases the number of Facebook users that see your content.
To help make non-promoted posts engaging, try asking conversation-starting questions like “How do you get your smile camera-ready for the holidays?” or “What, if anything, would you like to improve about yourself in the New Year?” to influence comments. Posts created to announce practice specials or news are also excellent for gaining “likes,” shares, or tags. When this type of engagement occurs, your post can reach a variety of other audiences, potentially attracting new followers and prospective patients. Finally, it’s best to include a call to action such as: “Tag someone who makes you smile!” or “Share with a friend.” Doing so is more likely to result in your audience engaging with your content, effectively boosting your post reach.
Include Videos in Non-Promoted Posts
Organic posts that include video content are more likely to gain exposure and increase engagement since they capture the attention of viewers for longer. Here are a few video ideas that can help you better connect with your audience:
- Question-and-answer interviews with team members or patients
- Behind-the-scenes videos that highlight the advanced techniques and technologies you use
- Patient success stories can help potential patients envision what they can expect
- Special announcements, such as details about a new service you are offering or a new state-of-the-art gadget you are using for treatments
Choosing the content of the video is highly important, but another factor to keep in mind is the format dimensions of the video. “Square-shaped” videos tend to outperform landscape videos in views and engagement since the square format dimensions are considered more mobile-friendly. According to Buffer, square videos have 30-35% more views and 80-100% more engagement compared to landscape videos. By creating square-shaped videos on topics that resonate with your audience, your practice can further improve your Facebook marketing strategy.
Need Help? Want to Learn More? Let’s Chat.
If you are interested in learning more about how to implement a successful social media marketing strategy, our experienced Social Team at Rosemont Media is available to help advise you. Contact us to start your social media marketing efforts today!
Editor’s note: The original version of this post was published on November 28, 2017.