If social networking is the new frontier of small business, then Facebook must surely be the wagon that gets us there. However, showing up and staking a claim isn’t enough; you’ve got to work that claim to unearth any riches. I’ve been optimising my own Admin Bandit fan page over the last few months and here’s what I’m learning.
Use applications to make your page different
“Customisation” is the Facebook buzz word right now. What it means is that you can modify the look and functionality of your fan page… and you don’t need to be an IT geek to do it. All you need is one of the many templates available online (the basic ones are free, while the more advanced attract a monthly fee) — setting it up is like painting by numbers. For example, I used Lujure to create my “welcome” tab, which is the first thing non-fans see when they go to my page. I’ve added a banner, photograph, Twitter feed, testimonials and a link to a 55-day free trial of my accounting software. A friend who runs a small saddlery on Facebook used Pagemodo to create her “welcome” tab. Compare the two to see just how flexible customisation applications are; the same basic technology has created two “welcome” tabs that are chalk and cheese. Of course, you don’t need to stick to a single application. Horse Feathers Saddlery used Payvment to create a Facebook store, complete with an inventory function and a check-out linked to Paypal. Just as exciting is how easy customisation applications are to find. The best ways are to check out the fan pages of other businesses in your industry, especially your competitors or do a Google search.
How to attract fans
Ah, this is where the rubber hits the road for fan pages… getting people to “like” you. Let me say upfront that attracting fans is not a popularity contest — all fans, whether they purchase or not, have the potential to share quality content and boost your social proof; that is, your credibility and influence. Start with the marketing basics:
- Add your Facebook address to your stationery, including your email signature, blog and website
- Regularly link to your fan page in electronic communications, especially blog posts and e-newsletters
- Give people reasons to “like” you. Make the benefits clear, such as special offers, free resources or sneak previews
- Ask. It sounds too good to be true, but “plugs” and requests through your personal Facebook page really work!
Apart from buying fans (yes, believe it or not, you can!), a competition or giveaway is the best way to get a sudden influx of fans, up to a couple of hundred at a time, especially the more elusive kind that you don’t personally know. However, Facebook has specific guidelines on hosting anything that comes under the “promotion” banner, so make sure you’re familiar with what you can and can’t do, and toe the line because I know people who have been unwittingly caught and temporarily suspended! Viral marketing requires more work and doesn’t bring the same instant fix, but it does offer a sustained trickle for steady, long-term growth of fans genuinely interested in your business, not just the lure of a freebie. In case you don’t know, viral marketing is about increasing awareness of your brand using pre-existing social networks. In the case of Facebook, it means regularly and actively participating in other fan pages, where you’ll meet and attract like-minded people. The really cool part is that every time you leave a comment or tag another user in a comment, you appear in at least one person’s news feeds, which puts you in view of that person’s entire network. Now, that offers possibilities! So, which fan pages do you head to? The easy answer is to start with those related to your industry and expertise. For example, my business is part of the non-profit, accounting and IT industries, so you’ll see a stack of community, non-profit, philanthropy, IT and small business groups and peak bodies in my list of “likes”.
How to engage your fans
Getting conversations started is probably the biggest Facebook struggle for any small business. And it seems no expert or study has a fool-proof solution… yet. Until anyone knows for sure, here are some ideas to try:
- Be human: share the bad with good, post photos of your office, life and day
- Don’t over-think your posts; say whatever pops into your head (within reason!)
- Ask for opinions and experiences, but make your questions quick and easy to answer
- Appeal to the emotions… people often respond to humour or injustice
- Thank people for simply being your fans
- Mix business and fun: I posted a photo of my dog at Christmas and my team at a convention with a spy theme
- Post regularly, BUT….
- Post quality over quantity: useful links, information, advice, famous quotes
- Tag people when you post about them or respond to comments
- Host Facebook events, such as sales, workshops, Q and A sessions
- Finally, look at super popular fan pages… what do they do?
