Long Live the Facebook Post

Did you know that Facebook posts have a lifetime?

According to Facebook exposure ranking tool EdgeRank Checker, the life of a Facebook post begins when it is posted live on the social network, and it ends when the growth in engagement is less than 10 percent between hourly snapshots.

So how long do posts usually live? A new study from EdgeRank Checker reveals that the average Business Page post lifetime is about 3 hours and 7 minutes, and the median post lifetime is 2 hours and 56 minutes. Meaning that most businesses and brands are experiencing post lifetimes around 3 hours long. It is important to know when a post dies so that businesses can plan how far apart content should be posted.

The study notes that when a post is receiving steady engagement from fans, it is more likely to stay on top of the feed as a Highlighted Story, which makes the content more visible, and can lead to a longer lifetime. However, the study also reveals that having multiple living posts could lead to cannibalization, and actually end up reducing fan engagement.

Keep your content alive on Facebook as long as possible. Here are a few tips for pumping some life into your posts:

Attract Attention. This can be done through unique posts, using actionable words or attaching pictures and videos to your posts. By including eye-catching content, your audience will want to engage with your brand.

Create Contests. By posting a trivia question or a riddle and promoting a free gift giveaway to a lucky fan, fans will have an incentive to interact with your post, and may even share your contest post with their friends and followers.

Be Consistent. Make sure that you are posting multiple times a day, every day, so that your fans can expect great content from you on a regular basis. However, quality content is key - so don't post just to post, otherwise your fans may think that you are a spammer.