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Use polls. People love to give their opinion. As long as your main question isn’t too bland or generic, and you haven’t given your audience members too many choices, you stand a higher-than-average chance of gaining some interaction.

Give your page personality. You want people to feel like your post is coming from a friend – not some official announcement machine. And that your voice is real. This animal rescue page does it by starting off with a heartfelt question, adding a personal note to a heart-rending but all-too-common rescue posters-with-statistics.

Pay attention to your followers. Here’s one celebrity that pays as much attention to his feedback as his fans pay to him. Here, he features a fan photo, reaps 2,827 comments on this one post and, incidentally, has now topped 3 million followers.

Give your followers a delicious, unexpected deal sometimes. Here, mystery author Lisa Scottoline lets readers know that an earlier novel is on sale for .99 cents at Amazon (and makes some sales).

Don’t shy away from controversial posts. You should never, ever post strictly to cash in on shock value – but featuring a controversial question or link can really increase engagement. One rule of thumb, however: Don’t post solely to vent your feelings – post because you think it’s something everyone should care about (or at least, your fans).

Acknowledge your commenters whenever possible. People like to feel important. (And notice that even though this is a company Page, the respondent answers as a person – “Nicole”.)

Don’t automate posts. You can preschedule in emergencies – such as, you’re going to be away for four days – but just remember that even the best pre-scheduled post can result in a drop in engagement if (a) it feels out of context (b) it feels impersonal or “canned” and (c) you’re not there to answer or acknowledge.

Wake your readers up! Spectacular or unusual photos are a great way to do this.

And now that your eyeballs are vibrating and your mind is awake, off you go and increase your Facebook Page’s interactivity quotient!

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Smartphones and Tablets Remove Barriers to Mobile Marketing

Less than a decade ago, the promise of mobile marketing was mostly hype. Small screens, underpowered phones and lack of a mobile ecommerce infrastructure (and no corresponding consumer behavior) meant that people simply weren’t ready to be marketed to through their phones. We used our phones for talking and texting, and that was about it.

But the smartphones of today and the growing numbers of tablets are significantly more powerful, and let users do almost anything they’d do on their home computers.

Mobile Technology is Replacing the Television and the Radio

Rather than listen to the radio, more and more users are logging into Pandora or Spotify for music. Case in point; most new automobiles these days come with iPod and iPhone connectivity options. And rather than watch movies and shows on television, more users are visiting network websites, Netflix and Hulu to watch programs on their own schedules. As these behaviors become more entrenched, marketers will need to come up with new and effective ways to get their messages in front of potential customers.

The Most Valuable Demographics are Mobile the Most

For many businesses, the most valuable demographic of potential customer is one who is young and educated and has disposable income. This demographic aligns almost perfectly with those who spend the most time on their iPads and smartphones. As a result, companies that want to get their messages in front of these individuals now have a straightforward way to do so. But don’t be discouraged if your target market is older individuals - this demographic is currently experiencing some of the fastest growth rates in mobile device usage.

Mobile Marketing can be Very Cost Effective

Marketing to potential customers through mobile devices still requires creativity, planning and skillful execution, but in many cases this can all be done for less money than it would take to do through traditional media outlets. Being able to target potential customers more precisely, and to present your message only to those who you believe are the most likely to follow through and buy your products and services, means that your marketing dollars are spent more effectively.