C'mon and Like Me on Facebook

Attract new fans, promote your brand, and turn your Facebook Page into a business magnet!

Hello boys and girls! How are your social media meters? Did you fire up your crowd on Twitter? Have you been able to rally some new recruits? If so, I am glad it works out for you! Yet, do not celebrate victory too early and bear in mind this is a long-term process and you can measure the results in a couple of months. In the mean time, be patient and keep on creating value-added content that whets the appetite and satiates the hunger of your followers. Since I am still on it, I would like to somehow close the chapter on how to build an audience in the social media by briefly discussing how to turn your Facebook Page into a business hub that screams interactivity.

As I already elaborated on in my previous blog posts, social media play a pivotal role in business. In addition to all the publicity they generate, they also send the so called “social signals” that search engines like Google index. Although there was a raging conflict between Google and Facebook in the past and there is still some residual clashes amidst competitors, you should never, ever underestimate the power of the Social Network. After all, Facebook is the social media titan that boasts more than 800.000.000 users, a number that our little brains can hardly process. As the axiom goes, popularity attracts further popularity and you do not want to miss out on that one. Indeed, people who have Facebook accounts are constantly looking for interactive pages or groups to like or join. Hence, you can always get found on Facebook by some fans or prospects. If they like what they see, they might turn into leads. In addition, Facebook provides a great avenue to stay in touch with past or present customers and to further demonstrate to them that you are worth your money and they should hire you again or keep using your products. Moreover, a solid Facebook presence is great for your brand and it secures you a tremendous brand exposure.

Yet, as I always like to point out, take this piece of advice with a grain of salt: bear in mind that not just every social network is the right interactive channel for your business. It might just be that Facebook is not the right medium for your company. If people simply refuse to give a “Like” to your page, then one of those two scenarios is highly likely:

• Scenario 1: You are not doing the things right and you are not giving people a reason to stay on your Facebook site of action and interaction. Indeed, if you do not offer your fans anything on Facebook, then do not be surprised at the high number of unsubscribed users or the insignificant number of people who have joined you there. Keep an eye on your Facebook analytics data, observe the way people behave, see if certain trends crystallize, and try to encourage interaction. If you fail to generate some form of a dialogue, then I have bad news for you: you are not engaging, you are repelling users, and your Facebook Page is plain boring. You need to change the way you run things on Facebook as soon as possible. Just take my word for it, it is imperative that you do so.

• Scenario 2: If you are absolutely positive that you are doing everything right, you have created a vivid and vibrant environment, you are giving away exclusive content to your Facebook fans, you have created a few widgets, you are posting interactive daily updates, your company has generated some publicity and your other social media channels enjoy some followers, then there is a wild, but a very probable chance that Facebook is not the right medium for your business! Do not worry too much, it happens! Just take it like a man/woman, and move on to greener social media pastures. Yet, do not give up on your Facebook Page, keep it up-to-date, but do not count on it too much. At the end of the day, almost anybody has a Facebook account and he or she would not mind giving a “Like” or interacting with a business of his or her choice. Give Facebook a wild card just in case.

Now that we covered the two basic scenarios, let’s focus on how to make your brand popular on Facebook and turn your Facebook Page into a magnet for fans and friends. Basically, I am going to repeat myself a bit, but bear with me as these social media marketing tips are so important that they are worth repeating. Let’s roll:

• Make sure you create the right type of account for your business! Normally, people create pages, rather than groups in order to promote their companies, their brands, their products, and/or their services. Do not even think of creating a personal profile for your company! Facebook blocks those within 2-3 days;
• Take a minute to sit down and read carefully the Ads and Business Solutions section on Facebook! Getting to know the basic rules of the game saves you valuable time and prevents you from making hasty mistakes! Indeed, there are still tons of people on LinkedIn, Facebook and many other forums posing questions such as “Can I change the name of my Facebook business page?”, “Can I turn a group page into a business page?”, etc. Read carefully the guidelines, so that you can stay on top of your game from the very start;
• Complete your business page! Fill in all the fields! Such diligence gives you an extra layer of credibility and it makes your page look genuine and professional;
• Try to attract some fans to your business page. It is a good start to put a Facebook icon on your site to promote your Facebook page and invite people to join you there;
• In order to administer a successful and vibrant business page, give your fans and people in general, a reason to join the fun and enjoy their virtual stay there. Invest some time and/or money and develop a small widget or two that can make your page socially attractive and interactive;
• Give something extra to your Facebook fans. You might want to spice up your page and add a few interactive elements that capture the imagination of your fans, adopters, and endorsers. If fancy stuff is not your cup of tea, you can offer your Facebook enthusiasts access to exclusive content, special offers, etc. The choice is yours, so hit the audience with your best shot;

• Listen carefully! Every good social media strategy requires steadfast observation and extreme attention. Listening to people online pays off big time as it allows you to better understand their needs, their desires, their concerns, or their recommendations;
• Try to be interactive and engaging. The very purpose of social media channels is to start conversations and get to know your audience. So, do yourself a favor and do not be a wall flower. Jump in the ocean of interactivity every time you have the chance to do so;
• Encourage your fans to “share” your content! It suffices to remember that “share” for Facebook is what ‘retweet’ is for Twitter. It guarantees wider brand exposure and it can help you rally some new fans and prospects;
• Make your updates shareable! You can do so by publishing value-added content, viral videos or information, which your users find relevant and interesting. Do not indulge in self-adulation and do not post how awesome you are all the time! People do get fed up with blatant self-promotion and the result can be seen in the receding ranks of faithful fans;
• Enjoy Facebook, rally some fans, engage them, and have loads of fun!

This is it! Nothing more, nothing less! Please, bear in mind this is just the Starter Facebook Kit for business. I might discuss a more advanced use of Facebook for business in another blog post in the future. In the mean time, keep on checking out our weekly tips and tricks by staying tuned to our rock steady frequency, follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook. Join me next time as I am going to open the can of worms and tell you why signing a non-disclosure agreement nowadays matters more than ever! Till then, rock on!