How To Grow Your Facebook Fanpage Reach

Growing your Facebook fan page reach sounds simple.  Just invite all your friends and family to like your page.  They like your Facebook fan page,  see your posts and buy your doTERRA oils or other direct sales products.  Super easy,  right? Right….?  Well,  actually not.  Growing the reach of your Facebook fan page audience is a little more complicated than a few page likes. But don’t worry!  Here are some tips that help me keep my own essential oils fan page for doTERRA actively reaching my Facebook audience.

Does this sound anything like your Facebook page?

You put out this awesome post,  and share to Facebook because you know your fans would love it.  Then… because of the Facebook algorithm,  no one sees it.  No one clicks.  No one liked or commented on your really awesome Facebook post.  You feel frustrated,  maybe a little bit sad and rejected.  What went wrong? Why didn’t anyone like my post?

Does this sound familiar?  This was me,  too.  I really struggled with my own doTERRA Facebook page reach for awhile.  However,  I feel that any algorithm can be “beat”,  so I did a lot of research and fine tuning.  In only about a month,  I turned my page reach into a much better number.  After several months of doing this,  my doTERRA Facebook page regularly reaches a higher number than the number of likes I have on my page.

Here’s exactly how I do it.  It’s really simple when you know the right formula to use!

Why is Facebook fan page reach so complicated?

Facebook has what is called an algorithm.  The Facebook algorithm decides which posts end up in an individual newsfeed.  It also determines the order the posts show up in.  Key point?  The Facebook algorithm gives priority to the content you most like and comment and engage with.  Which means over time,  if you are not putting out the right mix of content, and your fans aren’t actively engaging on your page,  your overall page reach decreases.  It will continue to go down unless you change your strategy.  That’s what had happened to me.  Until I knew better,  I only shared posts from the doTERRA International fan page which is really great compliant content.  The only problem was,  those same posts are what EVERYONE else was sharing,  too!  So no one liked or clicked on my posts because they ALREADY saw it first over on the company page!  Pretty boring, huh?  Now I know how to do better,  and I’m going to share that information with you,  too.

Know Your Facebook Audience

First of all,  you need to know your audience.  Who are you posting for?  Other than essential oils, or whatever your direct sales product may be,  what does your ideal client like to look at?  What kind of things might she enjoy reading,  or what might he or she want to make for dinner tonight?  This is important because you are going to begin posting those types of things to your direct sales Facebook fan page.

Don’t forget your original 50 fans!!!

In addition,  it’s really important to consider your original fan base.  Remember,  your first 50 fans were probably your closest friends and family.  Be personal and relatable on your fan page.  Share pictures of yourself,  your life,  your family and what you are doing.  Give them a reason to like your posts.  Your original fan base liked your page more because of your relationship with them than anything at all to do with your direct sales product.  Continue to enhance that existing relationship through your page.  Show them the real you,  instead of a product ad,  and watch those “Likes” pile up.

Post Shareable Content

Is your content highly shareable?  What does this mean,  actually?  Shareable content means this is something your fan will click the “share” button for.  When they click share,  this pushes your page content not only into their feed.  It also pushes into the feed of their Facebook friends!  Yay!  This is a fantastic way to improve reach and gain additional fans.

For my mommy example of an ideal client,  that would mean a few recipes, kid’s crafts,  maybe some home decorating,  and of course, sprinkle in tips about how you personally use doTERRA essential oils!  It is a good idea to balance this type of content.  Keep it interesting!  I often ask myself,  “Would I want to read this myself?” as a gauge for shareable content.

Focus On Entertainment And Connections

Facebook is about entertainment and connections.  Are your posts and shared content entertaining?  Do they share a purposeful value?  Will the post help your fans get to know you better?  What types of posts do you most enjoy reading yourself while on Facebook?  Would these types of posts be something you could think about adding into your own Facebook page content?  Maybe!

Don’t Autoshare All Posts From Other Social Media Platforms

Yes,  I know!  Autosharing your posts from Instagram or Twitter to your Facebook feed sounds like a great idea at first.  One post for the day,  push it out to all your social media platforms.  BAM… done with social media for that day.  Except for this really big reason.

If I already liked your post on Instagram,  I’m going to scroll right on by over on Facebook.  Once you get a scroll by or three or ten,  guess what that does to your Facebook page engagement?  It goes way down.  What happens when it goes way down?  Facebook shows your posts less and less until you are minced meat at the bottom of the newsfeed where no one scrolls.

This is exactly what happened to me when I tried pushing all my Instagram posts over to Facebook.  My reach went way down because I wasn’t getting enough engagement.  Once I stopped auto posting from Instagram to my Facebook page, engagement on BOTH platforms increased!

Pinterest Is A Great Purposeful Content Finder

Here’s my secret sauce.  Pinterest is your BFF all day long all over social media,  and your Facebook page isn’t any different!  Here’s why.

Pinterest is the best content finder on earth.  If something performs well on Pinterest,  I guarantee it will also do well on Facebook.  Why?  Same exact audience.  Online,  for the same exact reasons.  Pinterest just comes with this really cool tracking system,  where I can see statistics!  Hmm… this recipe has over 1k shares,  bet it’ll do great on my Facebook page as a purposeful post!  And they do… every time.

Yes,  I really love Pinterest by the way.  For extra credit,  go check out my own Pinterest page!  You will see exactly what I mean about having a mix of purposeful content to share.

Find Bloggers In Your Complimentary Niche

Find bloggers who are in your niche but aren’t directly competitive.  This may take some strategic research,  but it’s well worth it to have quality purposeful and shareable content to put on your Facebook page.  Once you find them,  bookmark them or follow their Facebook fan page.  For my example.  this means I follow bloggers who don’t blog about doTERRA essential oils.  Instead,  they blog about healthy recipes,  kids crafts,  or home decorating.  Tip:  I follow these same bloggers over on Pinterest,  too!

Don’t Share Only Your Own Content

Some might disagree with me here.  In theory,  you are driving traffic away from yourself by sharing someone else’s blog content.  Which seems like not the logical thing to do.  Here’s the thing, though.  The whole Facebook algorithm is all about ENGAGEMENT.  Every single click counts in the Facebook algorithm.  If someone clicks through on a blog post (which I have carefully screened using strategic research),  guess what?

Two things just happened.  First,  I pleased my audience by providing her purposeful value.  She may even share that post to her friends,  who may then come check out my Facebook fan page,  too!  Second,  I pleased the Facebook algorithm by pleasing my audience.  What happens tomorrow? I show up in her newsfeed AGAIN!  As this continues to happen,  I show up higher in her news feed ranking,  too.  Woo-hoo!  Facebook win for my essential oil fan page reach!  Doing this keeps my fan page higher in the algorithm,  so when I do have something of my own to share,  everyone sees it.

Be Consistent And Post Daily

Get into a regular posting schedule and stick with it.  1-3 times a day is best,  depending on the number of fans who like your page.  Start at once a day and see where that goes.  Once you have a feel for the right times of day to post,  and how often to post,  you’re set!  I know that this can be time-consuming,  it got to be a lot for me too.  That’s why I would recommend you check out CinchShare.  I schedule all my Facebook posts through CinchShare now.  Being consistent really improves your reach in the algorithm,  since Facebook is all about “right now” content.  I really struggled with this before CinchShare.  I love how much it helped me so much that I became an affiliate for CinchShare and have a special deal if you click here for my CinchShare affiliate link.  It’s so convenient that you will wonder how you survived “before CinchShare”!

Stick With it And Don’t Give Up

Remember this is a long game.  Your Facebook reach will NOT increase overnight.  However,  by following the above steps,  you will see improvement with time.  Give it AT LEAST 30 days,  and a trial period of 60 days is even better.  I know you are going to be awesome!

Come Like My Own doTERRA Fan Page

In conclusion,  I have a special invitation for you to come like my own Facebook fan page,  Essential Oils With Betsy.  You will see what I’ve done to improve my Facebook fan page reach,  in action!  Plus,  you will probably pick up some really great tips about doTERRA essential oils and how to keep healthy.  See you over on Facebook!