Getting the best results with social media takes time and effort. It also takes a lot of trial and error, as sometimes things work well with certain audiences, yet not so great with others. And sometimes, even with your best efforts, you don’t see the results you had hoped for. It can seem like a lot of work, but is it worth it? You bet it is. In fact, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced recently that Facebook currently has one billion active monthly users. Now, your social media reach obviously won’t see anything near these numbers (don’t we wish!). But this should be a wake-up call about just how many people there are out there that you COULD reach. If you aren’t actively engaging on Facebook, you should be, and pronto!

Now just having a presence on Facebook is not all it takes. You need to work it, and work it the right way. Here are our recommendations:

Engagement – It’s all about engagement and getting people to respond to you. Yes, you can post tip after tip, but real success happens when you start communicating and talking with your audience. Remember, the more you talk with your fans the more activity you’ll get on your page; which means the more exposure you’ll get. It’s that simple.

How many of you post a tip or comment on Facebook, then just leave and come back hours later? Next time, try sticking around for a bit; comment on other postings, and truly share with others. When you comment on someone else’s post, you’ll get on their radar and they are more likely to post on your page, plus your comment is now in the newsfeed of their friends. That’s how you get real communication going and that’s when the magic happens.

Devote a day of the week to connect with a unique idea – Recently we added a new feature on our Facebook page called Ask BizEase, where every Wednesday we encourage you to ask any question you want about business. If we don’t know the answer, we’ll do our best to find someone who does. So if you have a shopping cart question, or a question about WordPress or Wishlist Member, whatever … ask your question and we’ll answer it. Not only is this a great way to get people engaged and talking, but it’s a great way to showcase our talents and services, all while helping people at the same time. Try something like this on your own page to see if you can get people talking and engaged. You’ll see what we mean.

Get Personal – Let your fans see you are a real person behind your brand. Let them see the real you. Think about who you want to connect with. Don’t you want to engage with others who make you feel good and share many of the same values? That’s how it works on Facebook, too. People want to connect with those they know, like and trust.

Use Visuals – People are visual and often connect more with images, so add some fun images from time to time or consider adding some pictures with motivating captions. We love to get inspired. You can also have some fun by posting a photo and then asking for a caption or thought about it. That can really get the conversations going. Sometimes adding visuals are a little easier to do on your personal page, but it really can be beneficial on your business page as well.

Have fun – Yes, you can be serious, but also realize that most people come to Facebook to chill a bit. If you’re always business as usual, you lose out on the magic that happens when we have fun together. So make sure you take time to have a little fun and enjoyment while you’re at it.

The Facebook numbers speak for themselves, and success happens when you are in front of the right people and actively engaging them. Hopefully these tips will provide an incentive to do just that.