Believing that “If you build it, they will come” might have worked in Field of Dreams and Wayne’s World 2, but as a small business owner you are probably finding that is not the case with your Facebook page. Does this sound familiar — you have a Facebook page and a few fans, but you really don’t seem to be growing your fan base; now you are wondering what you can do to get more fans.
Building a loyal fan base takes work but you can use these tips to start getting more likes on your Facebook page:
Make it Easy – Be sure that you have a Facebook icon on your website so that your site visitors can find your Facebook page.
Add a Facebook like box to your website and/or blog — Facebook offers a neat utility that allows you to create and customize a like box for your site. If you use your Facebook page as the URL when you are configuring the like box, it will allow site visitors to like your Facebook page without leaving your website.
Suggest your page to your friends – When you are logged in to your page as an admin you can use the Build Audience Feature to suggest the page to your e-mail contacts, Facebook friends, or you can share the page. (To access the Build Audience button – turn on your admin panel and you will see the button at the top of the panel.)
Join a Like Exchange — If you belong to LinkedIn you can join groups in which you can exchange likes. Basically you like another small business page and they like your page in return. Usually, I don’t recommend this method as it is not really building your ideal audience, but this method can be desirable if you are just starting a page and need to reach the 25 fan threshold to set up your customized username.
Engage your existing fans so your interaction appears on their time line. When your fans are interacting with your page, their activity will be added to their personal timeline for their friends to see. This can help generate new traffic for your Facebook page.
How to be more engaging on Facebook:
- Start a new Facebook photo album with pictures of your clients and your products or services and then TAG the client in the picture.
- Ask questions so you can get a response. It is great to share information but try to make a commentary too. Don’t be afraid to get a little personal sometimes, this is social networking!
- Invite fans to share their photos or stories. If you are a landscaper or interior designer or offer home décor, ask fans to send you pictures of their dilemmas and weekly pick one to review and offer pointers. Post all the pictures and have your fans offer suggestions too!
- Create a poll question. Use Facebook’s built in question tool to ask questions related to your business. Make these poll questions fun – that way people will want to answer the question when they see their friends have.
- Create a contest – People love to win things! Every person who likes your Facebook page will be entered to win… a gift certificate, movie tickets, an iPad. Whatever you think will attract followers to your page.
As you can see having a Facebook page is not enough, you need to actively work at building a fan base. Of course, once you have fans you need to keep them, but that is a topic for another day.
