Organic Reach is Tougher Than Ever – Here’s How Chambers Can Boost Facebook Performance

We’ve been reviewing a lot of chamber of commerce Facebook accounts lately and we’re seeing some trends that we thought might be helpful to share.

Facebook Engagement Is Down

If your chamber is experiencing low engagement on Facebook, you’re not alone. Organic reach and engagement on this platform are getting harder to come by. The current algorithm is prioritizing content that Facebook deems “meaningful, relevant, and informative” for your audience. 

What that means is that it has never been more important to understand what your audience wants from you on this platform, and deliver it, because posts that don’t get engagement will likely see a decrease in their reach. In other words, the less engaging your content is, the less likely your audience is to see your posts. 

What You Can Do 

Establish a Baseline

First, it is important to know what “good” engagement is. According to Social Insider, average engagement on Facebook is .015%. That may seem quite low, but it is a good benchmark to work from. If you are consistently getting .015% engagement or higher, you are doing ok. 

It’s easy to calculate your benchmark, just take your number of followers and multiply it by .0015. That will leave you with the number of reactions, comments, shares you need on each post (on average) to achieve that .015% engagement rate. 

So, if you have 1000 followers, 15 engagements per post will put you at the average.

Assess Your Content

Once you have established your baseline, assess your content. We recommend taking a little time and looking back on the past 90 days. What worked, what didn’t? 

Keep a tally of the posts that reached or exceeded that baseline number, and the posts with the lowest engagement. 

What was the content of the high-performing posts? Were there common themes? What kind of content performed poorly? What did those posts have in common? Consider topic, format, time of day, day of week when looking for common themes.

Move forward over the next 90 days by posting more of what performed well, and posting less or none of what performed poorly. Reassess after 90 days and keep tweaking.

Prioritize Quality & Consistency 

Are you posting 5+ more times per week? More than 1x per day? If so, believe it or not, you may be posting too often, particularly if you are posting low quality content. We consider low quality content to be anything that is not getting engagement and does not help you tell your chamber’s story. 

Avoid frequent posting of generic content that doesn’t align with your chamber’s mission and opt instead for quality content, posted less often. To determine if your content passes the quality test, ask these questions:

• Is it relevant to my audience?
• Does it tie back to the Chamber?

The answer must be “yes” to both to qualify as quality content.

For example:

Consistency is important too. So, even if you are just posting once/week, keep that cadence, work up to more as you are able. Just remember that quality and consistency are the dynamic duo, peas and carrots, pb & j. They are better together, deliver on both and you will see your engagement grow.

KEY MESSAGE > Posting quality content 1/week is better than posting low quality content 5/week.

Schedule Posts for Optimal Engagement

Timing is crucial on Facebook. By scheduling posts when your audience is most active, you increase the likelihood of engagement. The Meta Business Suite is free and allows you to plan and automate posts to maximize reach. 

Leverage Native Features: Stories and Reels

Facebook’s algorithm favors content that utilizes its native features, including Stories and Reels. These formats are designed to capture user attention and drive engagement. By incorporating Stories and Reels into your content strategy, you can enhance visibility and connect with your members and prospects in dynamic ways. If that seems too hard, keep in mind that image albums still perform quite well on Facebook.

What’s Working for Other Chambers

Chamber People Doing Chamber Things

This is no surprise because it is a social media truth–people love people. 

Simple, authentic images of your members working in their business, enjoying their day in the spotlight at a ribbon cutting or connecting with other members at a networking event work. These images not only garner likes, they also communicate visually that the chamber is a warm, welcoming community and there is value in being part of it.

While you are sharing photos, don’t underestimate the value of featuring your amazing team either at work or out in the community. They are part of your story too.

What’s Not Working for Other Chambers

Easy, But Generic Content

Where we are seeing a lack of engagement is with generic content and content that lacks a connection the chamber’s value proposition–things like small business tips, random questions that are intended to spark comments (but aren’t), and shout-outs for National Donut Day, and the like.

They are easy to find and create, but they are failing to resonate and not garnering engagement. As a result, these posts are pushing the chambers that post them farther down on Facebook’s hierarchy of relevancy.

The reason these posts aren’t working is because they are generic and lack of relevancy to the audience. It’s fluff, and if it’s not working for you, stop posting it.

Use the two questions mentioned above to help you break away from the fluff and create better content for your audience. Is it relevant to my audience? Does it tie back to the Chamber? Remember, the answer must be “yes” to both to qualify as quality content.

As Facebook’s organic reach continues to decline, it’s essential for chambers of commerce to adapt their strategies to stay visible and engaged with their audience. While optimizing Facebook content can help, it’s also worth considering whether other platforms—like Instagram and LinkedIn—might offer better long-term engagement opportunities with your audience. 

Keeping an open mind about where your audience is most active and responsive will help ensure your chamber’s marketing efforts remain effective, no matter how social media trends evolve.

Need a little help creating content that ties back to your chamber’s value proposition. We’ve got you.

Check out our It’s Your Membership, Own It™ Series – 12 animated videos that communicate the value of chamber membership, customized with your chamber logo.