How’s Facebook Working for You?
August 23, 2010 by Mary Ellen
When I’m asked to review social media, many businesses really want me to critique a Facebook page. More often than not, I ask, “How’s that working for you?”
While answers vary, I find many business owners are dissatisfied with their Facebook results but at a loss for how to change their outcome.
Here are 10 tips to increase your Facebook reach and effectiveness:
- Know your primary goal. Sample goals: build 500 fans, drive people to a specific URL, generate more visibility for a brick and mortal establishment, listen to customers, support a cause, energize a community. The goal clarifies what happens to your project.
- Add content to interest your followers. This can include links, articles, events, photos, videos and more. If you have a great forum on your website, consider posting an example of the discussion and inviting Facebook followers to join in. Similarly, invite followers to interact in other arenas such as Twitter. Compile your tweet feed on Facebook and encourage followers to add you to their Twitter list with the click of an icon. Add Facebook places, new to Facebook this month. Charlene Li says, “Facebook Places Completes the Picture.”
- Recruit Facebook followers online with links from your homepage, ads, other social media sites and special promotions. Put a fan box on your blog or on your website. I enjoyed (and you might too) the Grandma Mary Show post “How to Use Facebook ads to get More Fans.”
- Engage followers. Use “Share this” and “Like” widgets to engage your community. Occasionally add a creative poll and offer a prize for participation. (Don’t forget to read the Facebook rules for contests and promotional giveaways.) Blogger Aliza Sherman listed ten third-party apps in a post entitled, “10 Easy Ways to Enhance Your Facebook Page.”
- Recruit Facebook followers offline. Integrate your Facebook unique ULR on your ads and other marketing materials. Include a Facebook link in your newsletter or your email signature, for example.
- Thank people for liking your page. One local business owner announces prizes for “big” number goals such as the 100th follower. As she talks about the status, she encourages others to follow her page as well.
- Share your page with key leaders in your industry and ask them to comment, if appropriate. Include links to a larger community, or promote others who have done something significant in your area.
- Invite people to interact with your business on Facebook. But, before you do, be absolutely positive that your page offers value. Otherwise, the “suggest to friends” will simply be one more ignored alert. Mike Mueller says it much more eloquently “Want Me to Like Your Page?”
- Monitor your page daily, if possible, responding to followers. Set alerts so you know when someone has written on your wall. Set achievable goals for yourself, starting at a level you can maintain for the long term. If it’s not realistic for you to handle full responsibility for the posts, delegate the project. Post to Facebook frequently. Your fans need to be noticed, respected and made to feel welcome.
- Study the built-in analytics. Facebook offers a complete overview of your page, including page views, wall posts, discussion threads, photo views, and more. Download these numbers to a spreadsheet and track them to study your success track. Better yet, add Google analytics and learn even more about followers.
In spite of surging growth, Facebook is under-utilized by small businesses. Make it your business to understand as much as possible about how this tool can maximize your visibility and how a Facebook page can help you beat the competition.
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