Sharing smarter documents: How filesharing services fall short

The Digital Publisher’s Guide to Social Media

Thanks to social media, delivering content to thousands of people at once is as easy as hitting the “Post” button. But it isn’t always easy to achieve the results you have in mind. That’s why we’re bringing you a new series all about making these channels work for your digital publishing needs. First up: how to promote content with Facebook.

Getting the most out of Facebook

For many businesses, the last decade held plenty of ups and downs from Facebook. As the social network grew to more than 2 billion users, promoting content with Facebook became a valuable source of exposure. But changes to the News Feed, privacy scandals and plenty of controversy have made developing an audience more challenging. Should digital publishers still plan to promote content with Facebook in 2020?

The short answer is yes. Although reaching your audience may be more difficult now than in the past, Facebook is the world’s largest social media network. It remains an important way for internet users to discover your publications and engage with your business. In other words, don’t let the challenges distract you from the advantages of this channel. Read on to learn how your business can take advantage of visibility, traffic and community on Facebook.

Update your Page

If it’s been a while since you updated your business’s Facebook Page—or if you’re just getting started—set aside some time to review it. The About tab lets you add lots of information that people may be searching for about your business, like contact details and opening hours. Use the “About” text box to include key words, upload your logo as a profile picture and choose an on-brand cover image for your Page.

Because Facebook Pages act like an online directory, users can arrive on your Page directly from search results. A post of yours might never have even made it into their News Feeds! Depending on your SEO, your Page might be the #1 result when people search for you. In short, it’s important to review your Page information regularly no matter how often you post.

Post thoughtfully

Speaking of posting, it’s officially time to re-consider the old rule that “more is better.” While social media best practices used to recommend multiple posts per day, the number of users likely to see them has shrunk. In 2019, the average reach for Pages with more than 10,000 followers was just 2.59%. That means a Page with 100,000 followers could expect any one of their posts to reach 2,590 people.

As a result, it may now be most efficient to post less often and more thoughtfully. For example, take the high-quality, long-format content of your digital publications on Calaméo. If fewer Facebook users will see posts about your publications, you’ll want to make them count.

First, research your Page’s existing audience to determine whether it matches your publication’s target audience. Are you sharing your content with followers who are already fans? Or do you need to introduce your publication to new readers? Knowing this will help you decide what kinds of posts to plan around your publication.

💡 TIP: Don’t forget about different types of posts! In addition to sharing a link, you can use a photo, video or poll to promote content with Facebook.

Next, examine the reach you can expect for your posts and when your followers are most likely to be scrolling their feeds. With these details in mind, you can optimize when and how often to post about your digital publications for best results.

Be realistic about Likes

Once you’ve hit “Post,” it’s time to begin tracking the response to your content. However, don’t worry too much about the number of Likes that your posts receive. While Likes used to be seen as a key measure of success, they are now usually considered a vanity metric. Follow any comments or shares you receive for a better idea of your audience’s reaction.

Because when digital publishers promote content with Facebook, they need to know how many users checked out their magazine. (Or catalog, white paper, brochure or report!) To find out, monitor how many clicks your posts receive. Combine this information with other viewership statistics, such as reading time per hour, to analyze the overall results of traffic from your Facebook posts. Then, use it to adapt your game plan in the future.

That just about covers the basics of how to promote content with Facebook, and why it should be a part of any digital publisher’s social media strategy.

Of course, depending on your resources and the size of your social media team, you may want to make use of some of the other possibilities that Facebook offers. For instance, Pages with highly engaged followers can consider starting a Facebook Group where their community can connect. And businesses struggling with the reach of their Pages’ posts may find that investing in Facebook Ads is worthwhile.

Above all, keep in mind that reviewing your approach to sharing your digital publications can reveal simple solutions for optimizing your results. Whether you have 300 followers or 300,000, a strong posting strategy will help you better benefit from the visibility, traffic and community on Facebook for your publications.

Ready to start?

Now that you’ve got all the details about how to promote content with Facebook, it’s time to turn your online documents into great digital publications. Sign up for your free Calaméo account today and explore what digital publishing can do for you!

Digital design is always evolving and in recent years user experience has been a major focus. Also known as UX, user experience involves improving how people interact with digital products and services. And it’s become a key investment for modern businesses. That’s because a great user experience can encourage visitors to spend more time on your website, help them view your brand positively and even increase sales.

Luckily for our publishers, Calaméo offers an exceptionally user-friendly HTML5 reader that allows their documents to shine on every device. But there are a few simple steps you can take to create an even better experience for your online audience! Learn about four essential UX principles and how to apply them to your digital publications.

Use consistent visuals

A top rule for ensuring great user experience is committing to one, coherent graphic design. Whichever fonts, colors and layouts you have chosen for your documents, they should match the visual identity of your business. Otherwise, too many different graphic elements risk overwhelming your online audience and can negatively impact UX.

So how do you create a seamless visual transition between your brand and your digital publications? To start, you can customize the appearance of the viewer. For example:

• Choose a background for the viewer to harmonize with your website.
• Upload your own image to reflect your branding.
• Build a custom theme and fine-tune the viewer right down to the font.

Reduce friction

For UX designers, “friction” is anything that gets between users and their goals. For digital publishers, this often means not ensuring optimal readability for their online documents. When publishing on Calaméo, take a moment to select the best options for your publication in its properties. Easy ways to reduce friction include:

• Enabling right-to-left reading if appropriate.
• Selecting pageflip, slide or scroll navigation.

Rely on established UX elements

Thanks to decades of digital culture, certain features of user experience are already understood and expected by just about everybody. For instance, Internet users expect that clicking a logo in the top left-hand corner of a web page or window will return them to the home page.

The publication above from County of Brant shows a great example of this strong UX element. With Calaméo, it’s simple to place your logo directly in the viewer and add a link. Take advantage of it in your digital publications to increase traffic to your site!

Encourage action

Do you wish you could:

• Let your readers follow your business’s social media accounts in just one click?
• Modify a button in the viewer to include a call to action, such as “Download now”?
• Create a smart contact button in the viewer to help generate leads?

Then you need to explore Calaméo’s custom themes feature. Because of its unique flexibility, you can adapt the user experience of your digital publications to best serve your business’s goals. Check out this example from Office de Tourisme de Bordeaux Métropole:

We’ve put together an illustrated tutorial to show you how to get started customizing your theme. But to discover the full range of possibilities, take a look around our Developer resources.

From one-click options to made-to-measure themes, Calaméo gives you powerful tools to create the best possible user experience for your digital publications.

Our PLATINUM plan includes all the must-have features to boost your digital publications’ UX. Request your free, two-week demo and try them out today!