Tag Archives: fans

10 ways get more fans on Facebook

Below are 10 ideas on how to get more fans on Facebook to help you build your audience and extend the reach and effectiveness of your Posts.

1) Ask fans to suggest Page to their Friends and Share  - There might be a little value in asking your Friends to like your Page but extend this principle by asking your Fans to suggest your Page to their Friends.

2) Invite email contacts via Build Audience - An under used but handy feature is the ability to access the contacts in your address book and then invite them to like your Page. Go to Build Audience/Import Contacts and follow the instructions. Your Contacts on Facebook will receive a recommendation (see below) and those not on Facebook will receive an email.

3) Engage and reward fans - Give people a reason to Like your Page. Engage and reward Fans with promos, discounts, draws and competitions. You can use a tool like Shortstack to help with this. For more advice get in touch.

4) Consider Facebook Ads - You might not be too keen to spend money on Facebook but the fact is their adverts do work; you can increase the number of your Fans dramatically in a short space of time  Advertising works best in conjunction with engaging and rewarding fans (see 3 above). Remember that Fans can unlike you too so you’ll need to keep the engagement going for existing and new Fans.

5) Share your Page and Posts -  Regularly share your Page and Posts onto your Profile and into relevant Groups, although be careful only to share valuable content. Don’t spam.

6) Use your other channels to promote Page - Cross promote your Page on your other channels. For example, add a Like box or button onto your website, icons onto your newsletter and YouTube channel.

7) Use your Profile - Add your website to your personal profile and highlight your Page as your Employer.

8) Encourage check-ins - If you own or manage a venue, encourage check-ins with signage or perhaps a competition. This will help you to reach your visitors Facebook friends and raise the profile of your business.

9) Add social sharing to your website - As with 8) above, tap into the power of your Fans friends by adding Like and/or share buttons to your website (see share buttons on left) or items for sale on www.prettylittlething.com.

10) Don’t neglect offline promotion - Ensure your Facebook URL is on your business card, leaflets, posters, brochures, pop-up banners and other printed materials. Don’t forget to give people a reason to Like your Page (see point 3). If your business has workwear then ensure that your Facebook web address is displayed on shirts or uniforms.

Bonus tip - Add Facebook Commenting to your blog. Readers’ comments are then posted into their News Feeds so as with 8) and 9) you are using the marketing power of your Fans to promote to their friends. See below this article or any other on this blog for an example.

For more advice on how to obtain more Likes and make more of your Facebook Page please get in touch or book a call.

Example of a Facebook fan helping Sales

A simple illustration of how your customers can act as a powerful division of your Sales and Marketing Department can be seen on the Whole Foods Market Cheltenham Facebook Page.

Positive comments likes this are a great way to promote your business; this post being visible on the business’ Page as well as in the News Feeds of the the friends of the person posting.  As the old adage goes, “the best way to get business is by word of mouth”.

It’s also great to see the quick response by Whole Foods Market acknowledging the positive comment and suggesting another visit to the store.

If you have examples of good or bad use of Facebook please let me know by posting them in the Comments below.

Brands are ignoring their fans

The whole point of social media is that it’s about a two-way conversation. For businesses it’s about listening and engaging existing and potential customers by providing value. It’s therefore disappointing to see that according to a study conducted by Jim Singer, a partner at A.T. Kearny, out of Interbrand’s Top 50 Global Brands on Facebook, 27 of them won’t reply directly to their customers.

At best this is a missed opportunity and at worst it’s damaging to a brand. Ignoring your fans on a ‘fan page’ can only be negative. By creating interaction on your Page you can raise awareness and grow your audience. You can then develop a relationship with your fans by engaging them. More on this here: 5 ways to create interaction on your Page.

Reasons for a brand not replying to fans might include lack of allocated resources or the Marketing Department considering replies as customer services so not their concern. However, the first point can be remedied given we are talking about the budgets of the top 50 global brands. Regarding the second point it’s true that a brand might have separate Customer Services and Marketing Departments but such functions should talk to each other so they talk with their customers.

The results of the survey illustrate an opportunity for small businesses who can be more flexible in the running of their Facebook Page compared with large, slow to react conglomerate. Unlike big brands they should be able to find their voice more easily too as if run in-house the Administrator of the Page should have a good knowledge of the business and its customers. This is not always the case with brands especially if they are using inexperienced employees or an external agency to update their Page.

To learn more about Facebook book your place on on of my regular Facebook Masterclasses in Cheltenham.