Alright, it gets to the point where a girl has to bust some business beliefs floating around the interwebs. This week, there are a couple of BS posts I want to bust. The first is about blogging and the second about Facebook posts.
There are an optimal number of words for a blog post
I call utter BS on this one and I have some good reasons.
No two blogs are the same. ‘Well, derr Kara that’s obvious!’ Just hang tight.
Consider your favourite subject and how much you would read on that, now consider stuff that you kinda find interesting, like celebrity gossip… So there’s a reason why tabloid posts are short, there’s not much substance to them. However, if it’s a topic which holds your passion you will read and read and read.
So I call BS to the ultimate 300, 400, 600 word blog and say – it depends.
What I will say is, make sure your blog posts have plenty of white space; so short paragraphs or quotes, or left justifying your text. These things create white space, areas where the eye can rest.
Make sure you hook the reader in the first two paragraphs. We scroll down a website, so you will need to engage a reader early to get them to continue to scroll.
Make use of the ‘page down’ key when writing your blog. For each press there should be something on the screen which is visually different; be it a picture, quote, a title, or a video. Each of these creates visual interest and encourages scrolling.
There are an optimal number of posts for a Facebook page
Ever seen that? You should make sure you are posting at least ‘X’ times a day. What a crock! Sure the more often you post the more likely you are to ‘catch’ your audience, but if you look at your Insights you will be able to see when they are on and target those times. Let’s face it, with all the hats business owners wear; we need to work smarter, not harder!
Not all Facebook fans are created equal. What works for a page followed by tweens and teens, won’t necessarily work for a group of middle-aged women, nor will it work for a group of male retirees. Their internet behaviours differ.
Not to mention that people get annoyed if they see you ‘clogging up’ their newsfeed.
Over the years I have been managing Facebook pages, there is something I have come to understand about the number of posts a page needs. The more people you have following your Facebook page, the more posts you need. (Tweet this) The magic number of how many will depend on your business, the demographic of your fans, and their Facebook behaviours. You can find your specific details in the Insights on your page.
If you would like to know more about how to run a blog on your website, or how to optimise your Facebook page, then contact Write to Right. We have a number of workshops and workbooks on the subject, we can work one-on-one to develop your skills and strategy, or we can manage it all for you. We believe in empowering your business
I read this as if it was written just for me, after posting a help call in our Facebook page. Thank you.
You’re more than welcome, Susan.