Using Games on Your Facebook to Increase Engagement

Are you finding it difficult to engage your Facebook followers on your company’s page? Are you finding it even harder to get fans to share your posts and bring in new followers? Using games is a great way to fix both problems.

By starting social games in your posts, you accomplish a variety of different things: you push your followers to comment, share and like; you give your profile a flare of intimacy, engaging your fans on a personal level; and you increase the chances of your posts being visible on people’s timelines, as Facebook incorporates a variety of different algorithms into their site to ensure that users’ timelines show them what they are interested in. By getting likes and comments, social games develop a high level of interaction, making it so that Facebook places them high up on people’s timelines.

Here are a few different types of games you can try using to generate more interaction between your page and your followers:

1. Guessing Games

A great game to play with your followers is the guessing game. The way it works is you ask a question that requires fans to guess an answer, pushing your fans to comment with theirs. Ceramcor engaged Facebook users by posting a picture of a healthy recipe where fans could guess which pan the dish was cooked in. The first fan that guessed correctly won the pan. By offering a prize you will generate even more activity on the post, as no one will pass up an opportunity to win a free prize, when all it costs them is a few seconds to type up an answer. Making a deadline also helps ensure that your fans all comment within a certain amount of time, making it easier for you to manage the competition. Also, make sure to reveal what happens during a tie-breaker; whether it’s that the first person to get the answer right wins or something else entirely – for instance, a split prize.

2. “A or B?”

Another good game that helps build a sense of community on your page is a game of questions. The way it works is you ask if someone would prefer one thing over another. The next person to comment replies with his or her answer, and then proceeds to ask a new, “would you rather A or B” question for the next person. The chain can go on and on for quite a while, as friends of those who comment begin to see their friend’s activity on their timelines, leading them to join in on the fun.

3. Tell Me About Yourself

A good function of social games is getting your fans to open up, making it as if your company was just another friend. This helps you build a great relationship with current and future followers. Examples of such a game is: “What would your autobiography be titled?” or, “What song currently on the radio best describes your life at work?” Adding an “and why” to the question can’t hurt either.  Something like this allows you to learn quite a bit about your fans while also encouraging them to be active on your page. These statuses also get people to think creatively, and everyone loves the chance to do that every now and then.

4. Continue the Story

Invite your followers to tell a story, or rather, invite them to collaborate on the same one. In a status, begin a story. It can start however you like, whether it’s, “Once upon a time there was a princess who got food poisoning from eating-” or, “When I was on my way to work, I saw on the subway a giant-”. Then invite followers to continue the story, creating a story chain that continues to get wilder. A smart move is to also insert your company or product into the story, thereby keeping the focus on the services you provide.

Whether you choose to use one or all of these games, or a different one altogether, make sure not to miss out on this fantastic way to engage your followers and generate activity on your page.

Savannah Marie is a social media junkie, online marketing wizard and consultant for SEOcompanyGo. Catch up with her on Twitter and Google+