How to get more likes and comments on your Facebook posts.

Ever had that feeling of putting something out there and having one or two likes and then crickets, and then spiralling into an existential crisis about your worth as a human being?

Ideally, one would solve this by disconnecting one’s sense of worth as a human being from the Facebook algorithm entirely… But that is a topic for a different (and better, and ultimately probably more useful) blog. This post is about how to create engagement… But not just engagement.  I’m guessing what you’re actually looking for is a thriving community of friends that have wonderful conversations on your wall.

The first step is to be a profile, or a group.  If you are running a Facebook page that is getting no engagement, the primary reason is because it is a page.  Facebook pushes those down in the algorithm, because capitalism.  Pages are for brands, and Facebook intends for them to pay to get views.  So, you either need to a) dismantle capitalism or b) not write from a page.  Your call.

The next step is to think about the value to your reader.  Think about every post in terms of what it offers the person who reads it.  Does it make them laugh?  Does it help them feel they are not alone (sharing genuinely about your struggles without asking the to do emotional labour)?  Does it introduce an idea?  Does it stand for a cause they care about?  Does it press their anger buttons and inspire them to leap into a fight in the comment section?

Side note:  That last one is wildly effective, but in the long run it will not lead to a wall filled with people having genuine and engaged conversation about important things.  It will lead to a wall filled with the sort of people who are drawn to a fight.  Resiiiiiist that temptation.

It’s important to think about your posts in terms of “is this valuable to people” but also in terms of “to what kind of person is this post valuable?”.  Because it’s in the thinking about the “who” that you start to create an amazing community.

So… What if you don’t have an idea that is funny or insightful?  Easy peasy.  You post a thing that draws funny and insightful thoughts from your commenters.  People on Facebook are looking for something awesome, sure…. But what people are most looking for is an opportunity to bring their own awesomeness to fruition.

Also: In terms of algorithm, comments matter more than likes. This is why (true story), when I’m publishing a post in UUHS that needs immediate traction, I put an apostrophe in the wrong spot.  This guarantees instant engagement.  It also tortures Kathy, who has been trying to teach the UUHS community that correcting one anothers’ grammar is problematic for a variety of reasons.   She has made great progress in this.  Which is nice because it makes UUHS more inclusive, and also nice because how when I put in a grammar error there is not just a correction, there is a whole thread of someone correcting the corrector and then an internet debate about whether it’s okay to correct grammar.  This is not good for humans, but it feeds the algorithm (side note:  If I learn to embroider I am going to put “This is not good for humans but it feeds the algorithm” on a throw pillow).

So, what kinds of things does one post?  My favourite formula for a longer post is funny story, neat idea, question.  Like:  Funny story from a funeral, idea that humour and grief go together, followed by request for funny grief stories.  Or, cute thing kid said, my thoughts on that, and a question for people about their own experience or tips as parents (EVERYONE LOVES TO GIVE PARENTING ADVICE).

But a question its own will also work just fine… Especially an interesting that gets people talking about themselves, like“if you came with a warning label, what would it be?” Or “what’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?”  These have the huge algorithm advantage of being short. I will not lecture you about being brief, because you would laugh me out of this thousand word blog entry.  (Note:  Which proves the point… This blog has the structure and readership of a personal journal—which I’m okay with.  If every project you do is for the algorithm, you will live a life of abject misery).

Oh, and photos.  Photos are hugely helpful.  Even if unrelated (you can just type “photo for the algorithm”.  Also, if you are looking for great royalty free photos for projects, check out unsplash.com).

Resource recommendation:  If you are in the UU universe, CB Beal on Facebook does the best job I’ve ever seen, hands down, of what I just described.  Half of what I’ve written here I learned through my own experiments and half of what I learned was from watching CB.