These Facebook best practices are part of a series we have on social media best practices. Included in this series are Instagram Best Practices, TikTok Best Practices, Snapchat Best Practices, and LinkedIn Best Practices.

Platform Overview

Facebook remains the largest social media platform in the world and continues to be the bedrock of most brands’ social media strategies. As of 2025, Facebook has 3.07 billion monthly active users globally and 2.11 billion daily active users. In the United States, Facebook has approximately 190–197 million users, representing roughly 68% of all U.S. adults. It is the third most-visited website in the world behind Google and YouTube.

In 2025, 98.5% of all Facebook users access the platform via mobile, and 81.8% use only a phone—making mobile-first design an absolute requirement. The average U.S. user spends about 19 hours per month on Facebook, and the platform captures 56% of all social media visits in the United States. Facebook Marketplace alone reaches over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, with approximately 30% of U.S. Facebook users engaging with it each month.

For brands, the opportunity is enormous. Over 200 million businesses are active on Facebook, and 93% of social media marketers use the platform for advertising. Meta generated $200.97 billion in total revenue in 2025, with approximately 97.5% coming from advertising. Facebook ads average a 5.3x return on ad spend (ROAS), and 25% of U.S. adults cite Facebook as influential in their purchase decisions—ahead of both TikTok and Instagram.

How U.S. Users Use Facebook

Facebook’s usage patterns in the U.S. have shifted significantly since 2023. While messaging and photo sharing remain popular, the platform’s role as a marketplace, community hub, and video destination has expanded:

• 72% of active users use Facebook for Marketplace and interest-based Groups
• 89% of younger users watch Reels daily
• 68% of users are active in community-based Groups and use Events for planning
• 55% of users follow and research brands and products on Facebook
• Up to 50% of a user’s Feed now comes from accounts they don’t follow (recommended content)

Platform Audience

Facebook’s U.S. audience is the broadest of any social platform, spanning every generation. While the platform has a reputation for skewing older, millennials remain the dominant user group, and Gen Z engagement persists through Reels and Groups.

Key insight: The 25–44 age group makes up approximately 44% of Facebook’s U.S. user base, making millennials the platform’s core audience. The U.S. audience skews slightly female at 53.8%. Facebook also has the broadest age reach of any social platform—roughly 20% of U.S. users are 55 or older, making it the best platform for reaching older demographics that are largely absent from Instagram and TikTok. Usage is strong across racial and ethnic groups: 73% of Black Americans, 70% of White Americans, 69% of Hispanic Americans, and 65% of Asian Americans use Facebook.

Posting and Cadence

Facebook’s algorithm rewards consistency and early engagement. The platform prioritizes recency, meaning newer posts are more likely to appear in users’ feeds. Posting during peak activity hours gives your content the initial engagement burst that signals relevance to the algorithm.

Recommended Cadence

• Feed posts: 1–2 per day (3–5 per week minimum). The median across industries is about 4–5 posts per week.
• Stories: 3–5 per day, spaced throughout morning, midday, and evening for extended visibility
• Reels: 3–4 per week for maximum discovery
• Facebook Live: 1–2 times per week for community-building brands

Optimal Posting Times (U.S.)

Based on large-scale studies from Buffer (1M+ posts), Sprout Social (2.7B engagements), and others in 2025–2026:

• Best days: Tuesday and Wednesday are the clear top performers. Thursday also performs well. Weekends see 15% lower engagement on average.
• Early morning: 5–9 AM. Buffer’s data shows Monday and Tuesday at 5 AM as single best slots. Content posted early percolates in the feed and is waiting when users log on.
• Late morning to early afternoon: 10 AM–1 PM. Sprout Social’s data shows strong performance on Tuesdays through Thursdays in this window as users browse during lunch.
• Evening: 5–8 PM. A strong secondary window as users unwind after work. Especially effective for Reels and video content.
• Worst times: Sundays consistently show the lowest engagement. Saturday midday also underperforms.

Important: Your specific audience’s behavior matters more than generic benchmarks. Use Meta Business Suite’s “Active times” feature to see when your followers are online, and test posting times over 4–6 weeks to find your optimal windows.

Content Formats and Performance

Facebook’s content ecosystem has evolved dramatically. As of mid-2025, all videos uploaded to Facebook are automatically classified as Reels—signaling the platform’s full commitment to short-form video. But other formats remain important for different objectives.

Reels

Reels are now Facebook’s fastest-growing and most algorithmically prioritized format. Users watch 140 billion Reels daily across Facebook and Instagram combined, and Reels account for approximately 50% of total time spent on both platforms. Facebook Reels generate 22% more engagement than traditional video posts. Unlike feed posts, Reels are pushed beyond your followers, making them the primary discovery mechanism for new audiences.

Best practices: Keep Reels 15–30 seconds for best completion rates (45% higher than longer videos). Hook viewers in the first 3 seconds. Same-day content receives 50% more algorithmic distribution than older content (October 2025 update). Use vertical format (9:16). Add captions—most users watch without sound. Avoid watermarks from other platforms—original content is rewarded, reposts are penalized.

Photo Posts

Despite the rise of video, photo posts still perform strongly on Facebook. Buffer’s analysis found that posts with photos get 34.7% more engagement than text-based posts and 43.8% more engagement than video posts in the feed. This may seem counterintuitive given Reels’ dominance, but photo posts benefit from quick consumption and easy interaction—users can react, comment, and share without committing to watching a video.

Best practices: Use high-resolution images. 4:5 portrait format maximizes mobile feed real estate. Photo carousels (multiple images in one post) drive even higher engagement through swipe interaction. Keep accompanying captions concise—posts with 40–80 characters see the highest engagement, with a 66% increase compared to longer posts.

Stories

Facebook Stories have over 500 million daily active users and appear prominently at the top of every feed. Because the Facebook algorithm can make organic reach challenging, Stories provide an alternative path to visibility. They don’t rely on algorithmic ranking in the same way—they appear in the tray for followers who engage with your page.

Best practices: Post 3–5 Stories daily, spaced throughout the day. Use interactive stickers (polls, quizzes, countdowns, questions) to boost engagement signals. Stories can last up to 60 seconds. Include links and call-to-action buttons (“Shop Now,” “Book Now,” “Get Directions”). Raw, authentic content often outperforms polished production.

Facebook Live

Live video remains one of Facebook’s most powerful organic reach tools. Live streams generate roughly 3x more engagement and 10x more comments than pre-recorded videos. Viewers watch live content about 3x longer on average. Facebook allows live streams up to 8 hours, and the algorithm prioritizes longer live content (3+ minutes). Live video is ideal for product launches, Q&A sessions, behind-the-scenes access, tutorials, and events.

Link Posts

Link posts remain important for driving traffic but face algorithmic headwinds. Facebook strongly favors content that keeps users on-platform—98% of posts that U.S. users view contain no external link. Link-only posts consistently receive the lowest organic reach of any format. If driving traffic is necessary, consider embedding the link in the first comment or pairing it with a compelling image or video to offset the algorithmic penalty.

Content Format Performance Summary

Image and Video Specifications

• Feed posts (images): 1:1 (square), 1.91:1 (landscape), 4:5 (portrait — recommended for mobile); 1200×630px for link previews
• Reels and Stories: 9:16 vertical (1080×1920px)
• Cover photo: 820×312px (displays 640×312px on mobile)
• Profile picture: 170×170px
• Reels length: up to 90 seconds (15–30 seconds optimal for completion rates)
• Video: vertical (9:16) preferred; up to 240 minutes for uploaded video
• Stories: up to 60 seconds per story frame

Hashtag and SEO Strategy

Hashtags on Facebook play a minor role compared to other platforms. We recommend using 2–3 relevant hashtags per post—keep them in the caption and use all lowercase. Branded or campaign-specific hashtags can help aggregate content and track campaign performance. However, Facebook’s search and discovery are increasingly driven by AI-powered content recommendations rather than hashtag indexing. Writing clear, descriptive captions with relevant keywords is now more important than hashtag strategy for discoverability.

Understanding the 2026 Algorithm

Facebook’s algorithm in 2026 is more AI-driven than ever. The platform uses a four-step ranking process for every piece of content: Inventory (all available content), Signals (engagement, relationships, recency, content type), Predictions (likelihood of engagement), and Relevancy Scoring. Here are the key principles brands need to understand:

• Up to 50% recommended content: A user’s feed now includes a significant share of content from accounts they don’t follow. This is a major shift—it means organic discovery is possible even without a large follower base, especially through Reels.
• All video is now Reels: As of mid-2025, every video uploaded to Facebook is automatically classified as a Reel. Short-form video is the primary algorithm the platform uses for distribution.
• Saves and shares outweigh likes: Saves and DM shares are the most powerful engagement signals—more valuable than reactions or comments. Content that makes people want to bookmark or send to a friend gets significantly more distribution.
• User True Interest Survey (UTIS): Launched in January 2026, this new model surveys users in-feed asking how well content matches their interests. This means the algorithm is getting better at distinguishing between content people scroll past mindlessly and content they genuinely value—driving a 5.4% increase in high-quality content ratings.
• Original content rewarded: Reposted or watermarked content from other platforms gets suppressed. Facebook actively prioritizes original creation.
• Engagement bait penalized: Tactics like “Like this if…” or “Share to win” are actively downranked. Facebook regularly updates its algorithm to demote clickbait and sensationalized content.
• Favorites feature: Users can add up to 30 friends and pages to their Favorites list, which appear more prominently in their feed. Encouraging your audience to add your page to Favorites gives you a significant visibility advantage.

Facebook Advertising

Facebook remains the most widely used platform for paid social media, with 93% of social media marketers advertising on the platform and over 10 million active advertisers monthly. Meta’s AI-driven Advantage+ campaigns, automated bidding, and machine-learning targeting have made the platform more efficient than ever.

Key U.S. Ad Benchmarks (2025)

• Video and Reels ads: Video ads account for 37.5% of total ad spend on the platform. Retargeting with video ads increases CTR by 32.5% versus image-only formats. Reels ads feel most effective when they mirror organic content—authentic, short, and entertaining rather than polished.
• Advantage+ campaigns: Meta’s AI-powered Advantage+ Shopping campaigns report 22% better performance than manual targeting. The system automatically optimizes creative, audience, and placement based on machine learning.
• Lead Ads: Facebook’s in-app lead forms reduce the average cost per lead for small businesses to $8.20. Lead Ads are especially strong in fitness (14.3% CVR), education (13.6%), employment (11.7%), healthcare (11.0%), and real estate (10.7%).
• Mobile-first: Mobile-first campaigns deliver 62% higher engagement compared to desktop-targeted ads. Given that 98.5% of users access via mobile, this is non-negotiable.
• Targeting evolution: While Facebook removed many detailed targeting options in 2022, its AI-driven audience modeling has more than compensated. Facebook’s Conversions API (CAPI) improved retargeting accuracy by 14.6% in 2025, especially important in a post-cookie environment.

Growth Opportunities

Facebook Groups

Groups remain one of Facebook’s most powerful organic reach tools. Over 1.8 billion people participate in Groups monthly, and content from Groups that users engage with is displayed higher in the feed. Typical group engagement rates start at 80%, with some exceeding 200%. For brands, Groups offer opportunities for community building, market research, and direct audience communication. Features include community chats, Reels sharing within Groups, event sharing (including cross-posting to Instagram), and a top-contributors badge system to reward active members.

Facebook Marketplace

Marketplace now reaches over 1 billion monthly active users globally, with approximately 30% of U.S. Facebook users engaging with it each month. The 2025 redesign added eBay and Poshmark integration, AI-powered suggestions, collaborative buying features, and a collections feature. Annual transaction volumes exceed $20 billion. For businesses, Marketplace provides a direct commerce channel with high purchase intent—56% of Marketplace users report making a purchase within the past 90 days.

Facebook Reels for Business

With all video now classified as Reels, businesses have a massive organic discovery opportunity. Reels show up in users’ feeds even if they don’t follow the account—unlike traditional feed posts. The algorithm pushes Reels to non-followers first to test performance before showing them to your existing audience. For brands, this means Reels can reach entirely new audiences without paid promotion. Ads can be embedded within Reels, and eligible creators can monetize through overlay ads and branded content.

Business Pages Best Practices

A Facebook business page remains essential as a brand’s “home base” on the platform. Key best practices for 2026:

• Post quality over quantity: The algorithm penalizes overly promotional content. Maintain an 80/20 rule—80% value-driven content, 20% promotional.
• Respond quickly: Engagement with comments and messages signals to the algorithm that your page fosters genuine interaction, improving your content’s ranking.
• Use Meta Verified: The subscription service provides a verified badge, increased visibility in search and recommendations, and priority customer support.
• Diversify formats: Use a mix of Reels (discovery), photos (engagement), Stories (relationship building), and Live (community depth). Don’t rely on a single format.
• Encourage Favorites: Prompt your audience to add your page to their Favorites list for guaranteed feed prominence.

Subscription Services

Facebook’s subscription feature allows creators and brands to offer paid subscriptions to followers, generating consistent, predictable revenue while deepening audience relationships. To qualify, a page must have 10,000 followers or 250+ return viewers and meet engagement thresholds. Subscribers get exclusive content, badges, and direct creator access—making it ideal for content creators, educators, and niche community brands.

Boston-Area Brand Spotlights

Dunkin’ (Canton, MA)

Dunkin’ is one of the most-followed and most-engaged brands on Facebook, leveraging the platform for both national campaigns and local community engagement. Their “DunKings Cinematic Universe” campaign—featuring Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Bill Belichick, and Jeremy Strong—generated massive engagement across Facebook and Instagram. Dunkin’ excels at creating shareable, meme-worthy Reels content while also using Facebook’s local features (Events, Marketplace, location-targeted ads) to drive foot traffic to regional stores. Their comment-section engagement with other brands (Walgreens, Pringles, and others) turns every post into a viral conversation.

Boston Red Sox (Boston, MA)

The Red Sox maintain one of the most active sports team Facebook pages, with a content strategy built around game-day Reels, behind-the-scenes video, player highlights, and fan community engagement. Their use of Facebook Live for pre-game and post-game content drives the 3x engagement premium that live video commands. The team’s Facebook Groups foster dedicated fan communities, and targeted local ads keep season-ticket campaigns and promotions in front of the right New England audiences.

Wayfair (Boston, MA)

Wayfair leverages Facebook’s commerce features more than almost any other Boston-based brand. Their strategy combines product carousels, shoppable Reels, and retargeting ads to create a seamless discovery-to-purchase experience. Wayfair’s Facebook content mixes home-design inspiration with flash-sale promotions, and their use of Facebook’s dynamic product ads—which automatically show users items based on their browsing history—demonstrates how e-commerce brands can capitalize on the platform’s AI-powered ad tools. Their employer branding content also performs well, showcasing company culture and tech innovation.

Key Takeaways for 2026

Facebook is no longer just a legacy platform—it’s a living, adaptive ecosystem with unmatched reach in the United States. With nearly 200 million U.S. users spanning every generation, it remains essential for brands seeking broad consumer reach. Here are the critical principles:

1. All video is now Reels. Short-form vertical video is Facebook’s primary discovery engine. Every video you upload is automatically a Reel, making this format non-negotiable for organic growth.
2. Saves and shares are the new currency. These signals outweigh likes and reactions in the algorithm. Create content worth bookmarking or sending to a friend.
3. 50% of your feed is now discovery. Half of what users see comes from accounts they don’t follow. This means organic reach to new audiences is possible—especially through Reels.
4. Photo posts still win for quick engagement. Despite Reels’ dominance, photos with short captions (40–80 characters) generate the highest engagement rates in the feed.
5. Mobile-first is non-negotiable. With 98.5% of users on mobile, every piece of content—organic and paid—must be designed for a phone screen first.
6. Groups and Marketplace drive loyalty and commerce. 1.8 billion Group participants and 1 billion+ Marketplace users represent massive, under-leveraged opportunities for brands.
7. Facebook ads remain the ROI leader. At 5.3x average ROAS, $0.70 CPC for traffic, and 8.95% average conversion rate, Facebook advertising continues to outperform most other paid channels.

About Zozimus

Zozimus is a Boston-based, award-winning agency specializing in brand strategy, digital marketing, creative, and public relations. We help brands connect with audiences across every platform. Learn more at zozimus.com.