How many businesses are utilizing Facebook a social networking channel as part of their marketing strategy? Many of us may have a personal profile page, but what you need is a business page which highlights your company and products/services you offer. It is also a wonderful marketing tool that can be utilized to stay in close touch with existing customers and potential customers. Before we delve into the facts of luring fans towards your Facebook page, you should be aware that Facebook users can only like 500 pages; therefore, people are very selective about liking pages. You have the option of “Suggest your Friends” to like your page, but it’s not recommended because it can sometimes ruin your relations with them. Hence, we have to look at other innovative ways to increase your fanbase. Let’s get right to it:
1.Embed Facebook widgets – To attract guests to your Facebook page, you can embed Facebook’s social plugins such as the ‘Like Box’ and ‘Live Stream’ on your website/blog. This is one of the ways to expose your website/blog to your Facebook fanbase. The Live Stream widget gives the Facebook users the opportunity to leave a comments in real time.
2.Use Facebook advertising wizard – Another effective way to increase Facebook fans is to use Facebook Ads. When creating ads, you can select Pay per click (PPC) or Pay per impression (CPM) and customize to target a very specific audience. However, keep in mind to update your ads now and then to capture the interests of your fans.
3. Add Facebook profile link to your email/Send out invitations to join your Facebook community – Promote your Facebook business page by including the link in the signature of your email. You can also ensure that the Facebook logo appears in your e-newsletters that you send to your clients and potential customers. Instead of openly asking them to join your Fan Page, be discrete and ask them to “like” a specific wall post. In order to like a post, they must “like” your page. This is another effective way to increase your fan base.
4. Take advantage of Facebook Apps – You can create buzz using the new live video streaming Facebook application called Vpype. This app adds a tab to your fan page called ‘Shows’ which can then be used to broadcast live Internet shows or meetings.
5. Post creative and targeted content on your blog – Posting good, interesting and informative content of your blog will attract more fans to your blog. If a reader likes your post, he is likely to click on the Like button and in turn, the link of your blog will be posted on their Facebook Wall and show up in their friends News Feed. Any news of a friend’s action on Facebook will be published in the News Feed. Use this method to increase the fanbase.
6. Connect Facebook to Twitter – There are Facebook applications which will help connect your Facebook page to your Twitter account. Your Twitter fanbase will also start following your Facebook page. When you update or post photos, links or create a new event on your Facebook page, a tweet will be posted to your Twitter Profile.
7. Think about running a contest on your website/blog – Another effective way to increase fanbase is to conduct contests and giveaways on your website. Anyone interested in entering your contest or giveaway should become a Facebook fan of your page. This method has proved to be a good tactic to increase the number of “likes.”
8. Add your company Facebook profile link on your Personal profile – To increase the number of likes, instead of sending an invitation to your friends from your personal profile, you can add your company page along with a small description in the About Me section. Be sure to add http:// to your page link for it will not be clickable with just www.
9. Be a fan of your own fan page – How could you not support your own business? Promote yourself by mentioning your business page with a simple @BusinessPage on your own personal profile. To get the attention of your friends, feel free to add the @FriendsName to mention them in a post on your business page.
10.Put a placard on the front desk – If you are running your business from a physical location, it would be a good idea to put a placard on the receptions desk to let your customers know that you are on Facebook. You can give instant incentives to your customers who are on your premises and who become a fan of your page via their mobile device.
How are you gaining new Facebook Fans?
