Facebook has not only exploded into our personal lives, it is also having a dramatic impact on how businesses operate and market themselves. However, many business owners are quick to admit they are pretty lost when it comes to marketing themselves on Facebook. Many people set up their Facebook pages and then think “now what?” So we’ve put together some simple tips to help you get started, get more “likes” and engage your fans more effectively.
Add a Like button to your website
It may sound obvious, but adding a ‘Like’ button from your website is a simple way to attract traffic to your Facebook page. Moreover, you’ll be attracting the right people – your current and potential customers that are visiting your website. Try including a strong call to action such as “Like us on Facebook for exclusive offers, discounts and news.” Make sure you use the Facebook logo or F icon as it will be highly recognisable to your visitors.
Keep it smart
Clearly state your strategy and what your business stands for or about and keep it Simple, Meaningful Attractive, Relevant and Targeted. Make sure your info tab on your Facebook page clearly states what your business is about, what you do and why you’re different.
GRAB their ATTENTION
Offer various discounts, incentives and promotions to give people a reason to like your page. One of the most commonly cited reasons for “liking” a Facebook page is just this so give them what they want.
Start a debate
You can periodically ask questions or comment on a topic and encourage conversation. Make your page interactive to create an experience for the audience and bring people back.
Contact or connect to groups
When it comes to messaging ability, groups are more powerful than pages. Pages send updated info whereas groups send message directly into your Facebook messages inbox. However, it all depends on how scalable you want to be – groups are limited to 250 members whereas pages can have limitless fans.
Use video and video blog
A video blog is an extremely powerful tool yet very underrated. Video is a great medium to engage audiences as it is interactive and easy to consume. Regular video blogs on your Facebook page give people a reason to keep coming back and facilitate viral referrals.
Connect to other links
Place a link of your Facebook page to related websites and interesting articles. Content sharing is still the number one activity on social networks. If you find an interesting article, photo or video that you think would interest your fan base link to it from your Facebook page.
Run a contest or games to engage your audience
Engaging people to enter a game or contest is another great way to increase likes, visits, viral referrals and fan engagement. Moreover, if the competition is a “game of skill” your fans will be required to create their own content (e.g. upload a photo/video or “tell us in 50 words or less”) which can be disseminated as content on your Facebook Wall.
Make your audience a part of your community
Through a clear strategy and effective message a page can create a community where people share their common interest and feel a part of it. It also helps encourage people to invite their friends to join.
Blogs
Write, manage and update a blog to get your followers engaged and give them a richer content experience. Write about topics that will interest your audience such as news from your business industry news, and relevant trends, and encourage people to comment and blog.
Use a powerful and effective profile picture
Think of your profile picture as a marketing banner. You may not realise but it can be over 400 pixels tall. Maximise use of this space by not only including your logo but also promoting any special offers, new products and/or a strong call to action. It can catch customers’ attention, motivate new visitors to “like” your page and promote new offers to existing fans.
Interactive page
Try creating attractive and exclusive campaigns such as a ‘Fan of the month’ promotion can work to get fans engaged and motivated them to visit and interact more. Rewarding your best customers and more loyal fans will only help to build a more loyal fan base and facilitate word of mouth marketing.
Like, Share, Suggest
Encourage current fans to share their stories and suggest friends to join and like you page. Remember: don’t ask, don’t get, So don’t hold back!
Network with other Facebook pages
Talk about your page on other related pages by tagging your page in posts. However, make sure you are contributing to the conversation on the other Facebook page, otherwise you will come across as SPAM which is a big “no, no”.
Ask Question
A poll of various ideas and promotions. will help to get more people to visit, like and improve your page and business. You can now do this directly on your Facebook Wall using the Facebook Questions feature. Simply ask your question and set the answer options. It’s a simple and easy way for people to interact with your page.