Building a good customer base in Facebook isn’t as easy as it looks or sounds. Since there are so many users on the social media platform, most people are under the assumption that being on Facebook guarantees their success, but that just isn’t the case. Businesses have to work really hard if they expect to grow their businesses on Facebook. Small businesses will have many more obstacles than larger corporations, but they can succeed if they use a few great strategies consistently to guide them along their way. Here are 5 strategies to grow your followers and customer base the right way on Facebook.
Design for Success
Visual appeal can determine whether or not people stay on your Facebook page once they get there. It is important to communicate your brand with high quality photos and concise company information. If your page looks bad, you will lose followers in a flash! If Facebook users have to struggle to find out what your page is about or what your company is about, then they will close your page out quickly and move on to the next one. Get some professional photos designed and take some time to come up with a great company bio that only takes about 25 seconds to read. This is the first step in keeping a Facebook visitor on your page that will turn into a follower.
Publish the Right Content
Relevant content is one of the biggest keys to your success. Develop a strong Facebook marketing strategy, and stick with the plan. Make sure that you post invigorating, fresh, and original content often. Daily, weekly and monthly updates are suggested. If you don’t add new content regularly, then your followers or fans may “unlike” your page. A great way to keep fresh content on your Facebook page is to recycle the content from your blogs and newsletters. This way, you can add small bits of text of what the Facebook user may be looking for and direct them as to where they can find that information with a link back to your site. Now your really doing marketing, gaining followers and directing them to your blog or website! Don’t be shy, you can also repost other organizations content and links on your Facebook page that are in your industry.
Engage Your Audience
Typical websites or blogs will have all sorts of people posting content, and then they leave it at that until the next time they submit a posting. With a Facebook fan page, your fans can also post constantly. It is important to keep them engaged, by participating on the page, by promptly responding to their messages, and by posting worthy things that will keep them interested. This is part of a great Facebook strategy to build a strong following that will ultimately drive results and profits for your business.
Promote Your Page
Do whatever you can to promote your Facebook page. If people don’t know you exist, then you won’t get any traffic. You could do this by advertising on blogs or websites that have a similar audience or you can ask people to “like” your page that you have contacted in the past about your business. Of course, ask your friends and family to like your page! Every time a page is liked, notifications are posted to user walls that they have liked the page. When their friends see this, they may decide to check out your page as well. Another way to promote your Facebook page is to simply hire out, considering working with a social media marketing firm to manage your page for you. It will take time to get a strong following, but this extra effort will help speed up the process.
Measure Your Progress
Facebook has a dashboard that will allow you to understand page growth and engagement. It will give you important statics about your page, so that you know where you stand. If you are lacking in some areas, then that will let you know that there is room for improvement with your page. Pay attention to this! If you don’t have enough engagement or people reached, increase the number of posts each week.
There is no one proven strategy that works. Every business uses different techniques to grow their Facebook pages. As long as you make an honest effort to grow your page the right way, then you should be able to see good results. Remember to maintain a designated and concentrated content strategy, your followers will appreciate a company that provides specific sets of information on a specific topic or group of topics. Finally, remember, this is a long term process and Facebook users are more likely engage with a company that is consistent in their posting efforts.
Tip: If you do not have the time to do this, try hiring an intern to help you!
