Below are 4 tips for using Facebook to effectively engage your fans.

Scheduling – Create a regular schedule of when you will update. Whether it is once a week or twice, try to stay consistent with when you update, you can even let members know that they should look at Facebook on certain days for the latest happenings. Statistically, it is best to post on Facebook during peak traffic time (1 pm to 4 pm). When you post during these times, you will get a higher click-through rate.

Length – Keep your updates short. In today’s world, people have short attention spans. Try to keep your characters to fewer than 100 and use a photo whenever you can. Combining a short, targeted message with an eye-catching picture will generate a higher engagement percentage.

Call to Action – To better engage your members, invite them to contribute to the conversation with action words such as “post,” what do you think about…,” “Tell us…,” “comment,” etc. Request that people get in on the action. Ask people for their opinion and ask questions. It is best to do this toward the end of the post as it will increase the response rate. Be direct; ask for “likes.”

Keep the long URL – Research suggests that including the full URL increased engagement rates 3X; tiny URLs had lower engagement rates.