With Facebook leading the way with online branding for a business, it would be safe to say that some people out there may need a little guidance on what fans would want to see so you can keep them engaged and prevent them from hiding you in your newsfeed.

Here are a few tips:

1. Keep your post short. If your business is posting about a new product or upcoming event, keep it short and to the point. 80 characters or less (less than Twitter), provides a 66% higher fan engagement. Posts with less than 40 characters receive 86% higher fan engagement.

2. Interesting content needn’t be complicated. My theory is that if you have something to say, but don’t know exactly how to put it into words, sometimes a picture can save you a 1,000 word posting. Videos and links to go into more detail are even better.

3. Who are you aiming for? When I write on my fan page, I typically engage people in technology ranging from the latest products to most recent acquisitions and helpful links.

4. If you post a question, post it with the hopes that people will respond with a diligent response. If so, respond back. Keep the conversation going – Ask another question if you want. Can you be controversial? As long as you aren’t offending your fan base, why not? It provides a great, open dialogue. Correlating your business industry with the latest news often engages people because they will have an opinion. Just keep the conversation from going in the wrong direction. I’ve seen people who post things on their wall, and a flurry of responses come back with NO response from the person who posted the original comment. They went AWOL. Moderate your posts.

5. Keep variety in your posts. Do you want to talk about the same industry related topic over and over again? Are you always posting work that you’ve done with only receiving a like or two? Why not provide some helpful tips or links related to your business that can be used by anyone who sees it? Providing variety in your posts increases engagement.

6. Choose the right time to post. Posting once every day is great. There are numerous statistics out there about what time is best to post on Facebook. Some say posting between 8 pm and 7 am is best since these are after work hours. Some say weekend posts have higher engagement rates. However, I have found that posting between 2 – 4 pm are the best times to post something.

7. Tell fans what to do. Two words: “Click Like”. Use these two words and then finish the sentence such as, “if you agree”, or “if you don’t agree,” etc.