Facebook may be the most widely used social network, but that doesn't make it any easier to gain traffic and leads. Competition is high and it's a fragile form of interacting that can make it or break it for brands. Tone of voice, what is said on-record along with your social media numbers will be the basis of first impressions.
This article will show you is how to improve this one aspect of your Facebook marketing recognising that evaluating success on Facebook goes beyond Likes, but that many marketers are judged on this.
As I work with Facebook Pages I see six different common shortcuts to gaining fans in a short space of time, some of which are most appropriate to smaller businesses, others that apply to all sizes.
Smaller businesses starting on Facebook will find gaining fans to be one of the most difficult first hurdles to overcome on social media.
Now we’re not talking about buying fans (which is not only unethical but also illegitimate), we’re talking about exchanging Likes with people in a similar situation to you.
There are several websites that will build bridges between you and other exchangers such as Like4Like.org and Like-Ex.com. The best thing about these websites is that they’re free and legitimate; there are real people who will reciprocate your Likes and expect you to do the same.
Alternatively you can try joining ‘Like’ oriented groups on Facebook, this works the same way as the former websites.
Remember that social media isn’t primarily a numbers game, so my tip would be to choose people who will be able to relate to your business page. If you choose random people to exchange Likes with, there’s a high likelihood of getting Unliked by these very people.
Sweepstakes, prize draws, competitions - whatever you want to call them, they can almost guarantee your Likes will go up. Facebook now allows pages to host competitions directly on their site, but apps are still the preferred method for many organisations.
There are two ways of going about this - creating your own apps using software from companies like Woobox or getting digital marketing agencies to do all the work for you.
If you choose to create your own apps for promotions take into account how your apps will look. Is your app vibrant and functional? Will the prize make it worthwhile for people to Like your page?
Virgin America previously used Woobox for a competition, tying the prize to what their business does [below]. It’s a simple app that uses an image of what people could win through simply Liking the page.
Asking for personal details isn’t just for the competitor’s piece of minds, these details can help Virgin with future marketing campaigns.
Many businesses will often turn to digital marketing agencies for creating social marketing campaigns, which include creating the apps. These agencies have a speciality in the design and development field furthermore making them a clear choice.
Xcite Digital have previously had the opportunity to run successful apps for Pizza Express. One of these apps was our ‘like me, like my price’ campaign. The purpose of this campaign was to get people Liking Pizza Express’ page and also encouraged people to spread the word about the app by sharing to friends and tweeting to fans.
The catch is that it wasn’t an instant promotion, people would need to encourage others to Like the page too! The more the Likes, the lower the price of the pizza - a simple concept that generated plenty of buzz.
After running a series of apps for Pizza Express, the campaign generated over 50,000 Likes. If you’re struggling with prize ideas you could try:
The possibilities are endless, so whatever you choose make sure it’s tasteful, somehow relates to your brand and will keep people coming back for more.
This can include anything from e-book downloads to exclusive games. Again, these will only work through apps. As we’ve seen before, promotions can be used through Like gating.
This practice will only work if the locked content will bring value to users. If your organisation offers professional services and has a B2B audience, creating games will not be the best choice for you. Instead you should look at hosting webinars or providing white papers for download.
On the other hand, if you’re targeting parents of young children, the use of games would be welcomed warmly. You could then give them the opportunity to post results of the games on their wall, which could generate even more Fans for your page.
On your Facebook page, you’ll see the handy ‘Invite Friends’ feature. It is most likely that you’ve already invited all of your friends (even the ones you haven’t heard from in years). Now what? The next step is becoming friends with more people.
That doesn’t go to say add as many random people as you can, Facebook will see this as spam and could even suspend your personal account. But you can try befriending those with a similar interest to you through groups on Facebook.
Those who will have a genuine interest in your page are the ones who will bring the most value; these are the fans who you will most often find Liking, sharing and commenting on posts. You can convert these into customers more easily than most.
Groups are brilliant for this technique, especially if you’re an active member on them. There is a limit to sending out Friend Requests per day, so try not to do this all at once. After accumulating more friends, you’ll be able to invite more friends and wait for the Likes to go up.
Keep in mind that there’s no guarantee your requests will be accepted, so do not become dependent on this way.
If you’ve ever seen Burger King’s ‘Subservient Chicken’, you will know that giving your audience the ability to set challenges and dares can result in your campaign going viral.
For all those unfamiliar with the campaign, Burger King decided to promote their new chicken sandwich in a way like no other. The campaign involved an actor in a chicken costume to following the commands of viewers.
Soon it became viral and the company reported a significant increase in sales. You can find out more about the Burger King's Facebook campaign.
Businesses can use the ‘Subservient Chicken’ as a source for inspiration. Asking people to set challenges/dares can provoke response, this response will have an added benefit on your Fan Reach.
One way to do this is by doing the following:
Choosing this course of action can bring plenty of pluses to your business, namely the potential of going viral.
Promoting posts and using Facebook Ads help with increasing Fan Reach, which in turn increases chances of people finding your page.
This may not be the most exciting method of getting the Likes up but in a lot of cases can be proved to be the most effective.
Facebook uses an algorithm to decide which updates users should see in their news feed. Unfortunately for businesses that means your posts will not reach all your fans. This obstacle can be conquered by using a Facebook Ads and Promoted Posts.
And this is how they work...
As with all of these shortcuts, there is no guarantee that you will gain the number of Fans you want. But they will certainly have an effect on each element of social media marketing.
Thanks to Robert Walker for sharing his advice and opinions in this post. Robert Walker is the Managing Director of Xcite Digital a Search and Social Digital agency that has become one of the fastest growing digital agencies in the UK. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn
By Expert commentator
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