As of the second quarter of 2020, Facebook reported having over 2.7 billion users, according to Statista. These numbers increase every year making facebook a large platform for the food industry.
Users nowadays look up on social media for restaurant reviews and ratings. Amongst large competition, your challenge will be to stand out in the eyes of the customer. If you conduct facebook marketing but are not receiving ample impressions, there might be some tips and tricks you must not include in your posts. Don’t you worry, we have set out 10 Facebook marketing tips for all the food bloggers out there!
1. Keep up with trends:
In order to create interesting and relevant content, be aware of trends people are following and what they are searching for. Some of the trending topics in 2020 are pea milk, dark chocolates, fast-food breakfast, online ordering etc. the more your content is updated and trending, the more exposure it gets. Add good quality photos along with your content.
2. Hashtags:
Hashtags make social media posts categorised under different ‘communities’. Whenever someone searches for ‘vegan food’, all social media posts that have used the hashtag ‘vegan food’ appear on the screen. Hashtags make your posts more reachable. Avoid using general hashtags like ‘food’ as millions of people excluding food bloggers might be using them. Try to use general hashtags like ‘fish recipes’ or ‘keto diet plan’ for specific searches.
3. Be consistent:
Readers want new content every day. Do not abandon your page in the middle. Prepare a content plan stating the topics you will write about and the deadline. Plan your content about a week in advance to avoid lack of time as it ultimately compromises the quality. With regular updates, you will retain the existing followers as well as constantly engage with new ones.
4. Videos:
One thing on Facebook that definitely stands out are moving images a.k.a videos. A 15 or a 30-second long video is also enough to grasp the user’s attention. The attention span of users nowadays are decreasing gradually hence, videos can be a creative way to deliver your message as well as spread it around. An interview with another food blogger or chef, Q&A session, quick recipe share etc can be some topics you can curate a video on. To make an engaging video, you can either use an app or software that provides features like fonts, themes, filters etc. Make sure you have basic video editing skills.
5. Facebook live feature:
The Facebook live feature offers a great platform to interact with your followers. An exciting way to launch a cookbook, talk about a trending topic, share a recipe or just a talk session! You will be able to see how many people are viewing your live and they will have the access to comment and like your live video.
6. Post timings:
Facebook has an insight feature to inform you about the engagements on your social media posts. It tells you the number of impressions acquired on the days of the week and at what time, the post is mostly seen. Analyse the statistics and schedule the time and days you will be uploading new content. This will give your posts the maximum exposure.
7. Recycle old posts:
Re-upload old content from your feed. As a food blogger, you will be pressured to update your account with new posts daily. During this process, most of your content can go un-noticed and forgotten. Bring those posts up again to engage more audience. In this way, the pressure to create content every day will also decrease giving you more time for enhancing your creativity and quality.
8. Call to action feature:
You will want to direct your readers if they wish to interact with you. A call to action feature does exactly that. Pinup custom tabs like ‘message us’ or ‘email us’ on your profile so the reader knows where to bring their enquiries. Call to action features also makes your feed look more organised and professional.
9. Include Facebook sharing on your website:
Include the ‘like’ or ‘share’ tab feature of Facebook to your website and link it with your Facebook account. Anyone who visits your website will be enticed to view your Facebook profile and hence, check out other stuff as well. This keeps the user traffic balanced.
10. Build a two-way connection:
Social media gives an opportunity to food bloggers to interact and build relationships directly. Respond to user queries, comments or complaints. Do not leave messages or comments ignored and unacknowledged. This will leave an impression that you are simply uninterested and unprofessional. Build a two- way discourse to retain your followers and add value to your page. You can even post customer reviews, ratings and comments as a sign of acknowledgement.
The takeaway:
Facebook is a great platform with interesting and engaging features for bloggers. Use these features as an opportunity to increase your presence but make sure you are not overdoing it. No one likes their feed to be spammed with promotional content. Instead, provide value to your reader. We hope these tips have helped you!
Author bio:
Anushka Bhargava
Anushka is a passionate writer and a poet pursuing a degree in media and communications. She regularly contributes a Food Guest Post on F and B Recipes.
