The state of Facebook is not improving for us as Marketers. In late 2012, when I had much fewer FB fans (I recently hit 1,000 on my page), my average views per post were somewhere in the range of 400-600. These days, my average post views are somewhere around 150-200, and 400 is a good day.

This is the new reality for Facebook marketers: it’s pay to play. However, if you do want to try to increase the organic reach of your posts, the key is to create posts that drive engagement. Engagement on Facebook means either a Like, a Comment or a Share.

Here are four great ways to create engagement on your Facebook page:

1. Images rule: I know there’s been tons of blog posts out there these days that say FB’s algorithm is giving more weight to short, text-only status updates, but on my FB page, images still totally rule.

2. Ask questions: this is my number one tip to new marketers! Ask questions on your page! People love to voice their opinion.

3. Mine your data: according to my insights, my highest trafficked time of the day is late evening. This makes sense, because much of my demographic are mothers with young kids. They come online at 9 pm after they’ve put the kids to bed, so it’s a good idea for me to schedule posts for that time of the day.

4. Pay to boost your posts: truthfully, promoted posts do work!

Infographic courtesy of Simpartners.com