How One Author Increased Her Facebook Page’s Organic Engagement 164% in 1 Week

By Ava Pennington
Guest Contributor

Ever feel like Sisyphos? In Greek mythology, the gods punished Sisyphos for his greed and deceit by assigning an impossible task.

He had to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down when it reached near the top. And he had to do it for eternity.

Gaining traction for social media business pages often feels like a Sisyphean ordeal. Just when we think we’ve reached our goal—whether deciphering Facebook algorithms or reaching a new level of followers—the standards change. The proverbial boulder rolls back down the hill and we have to start again.

For example, first we needed engaging posts.

Then we were told the posts needed images.

Now the experts tell us static images are not enough. Videos are the way to engage our followers.

Social videos can do more than entertain.

They can educate, tell a story, promote an event, highlight a testimonial, or provide a summary of your product or service.

Still, many of us (myself included) lack the time, money, or technical know-how to create engaging videos week after week. But I recently discovered Lumen5, a free app for desktop and mobile (there’s also a paid version with additional features) that enables me to create video stories with ease from my blog posts.

The first week I tried Lumen5, my Facebook engagement statistics achieved a significant increase. Weekly reach jumped 288%, people engaged increased 164%, and even my Page “likes” increased.

People I did not know shared the post and then became followers. And that trend continued with subsequent video posts.

Using Lumen5 is easy, even for a non-techie like me:

Step 1:

I uploaded my blog link (or you can copy and paste your content from Word).

Step 2:

Select a format by clicking on one of the three options. I chose landscape…

Step 3:

…And click on a theme.

Step 4:

Then I scrolled through the content clicked on the significant sentences I wanted included in the video. Each time you click on a new sentence, it’s automatically paired with a new suggested visual slide.

Step 5:

I went back and swapped out some of the photos for ones that were a better match. Click on Media and choose a different suggested image or use the search feature for more suggestions. Or upload your own photo.

Step 6:

You can also edit the text, reposition the text on the image, and highlight particular words for emphasis:

Step 7:

Choose music to accompany your video. I chose a calm selection to fit my content.

Step 8:

Preview your video.

Step 9:

You can always go back to edit it further before you select Finish.

Here’s the final result, posted on my Facebook Page:

Join Blogging Bistro’s Lumen5 Social Video Challenge

Note from Laura: I’ve been meaning to test Lumen5 for quite some time, and while I’ve read rave reviews about it and looked at both the desktop and mobile versions, I haven’t had a chance to try it yet.

Anyone want to join me for a Lumen5 challenge starting right after Labor Day (Sept 4, 2018)? Let’s learn and experiment together!

If you’re interested, leave a comment or email me laura@bloggingbistro.com. I’ll create a pop-up (short-term) Facebook group where we can work on Lumen5 videos with support from other first-timers, and we can offer feedback and share each other’s videos.

You in? Post a comment and I’ll notify you when the Facebook group is up and running.

Freebie

Get our printable Video Brainstorming Bonanza workbook.

And be sure to check out the accompanying article, 20 Ways to Use Videos in Your Social Media Marketing
(Without Being a Professional Videographer)

I want the Video Brainstorming Bonanza workbook!

About our guest contributor

Ava Pennington is an author, Bible study teacher, and speaker. She teaches a Bible Study Fellowship class and is the author of Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional.

Visit Ava at AvaWrites.com

Contributer : Blogging Bistro