Facebook Fans
Facebook Fans are the people who Like your Business Page, not the Friends of your Personal Profile.
Used to be it was all about getting huge numbers of Facebook fans. You could buy them on Fiverr and businesses would offer iPads and other expensive gadgetry as competition prizes purely to grow their number of Facebook fans.
They would make liking their Page a condition of entry to the competition.
But there were disadvantages to this. They discovered that 95% of their new Facebook fans never returned to look at the page content, they were only there to win the iPad and had no interest in the product being marketed.
Worse, the arrival of Edgerank meant that having a lot of new Facebook fans who never came back to engage with the Page meant that your content didn’t get shown in the feeds of any of the existing fans who might actually be interested in hearing more about the product.
This lack of interaction on the Page showed Google that the content there wasn’t of value.
So Facebook changed the rules for fans again. They removed the need for a person to like the page before they could see the content on the wall.
With no barrier or resistance, they can now write on the wall and like the posts there whether they have liked your Page or not, so it is harder to assess the overall success of your content when you have guerrillas popping in and out at will.
To counter this, some businesses insist on what is known as a Fangate, where they offer an incentive to like the Page like an exclusive video or special report and you can’t get past it without liking the Page.
But, speaking to many people on Facebook, a large number of UK Facebook users hate being forced to become a fan in that way and will move along rather than doing so.
How Can You Grow and Engage With Facebook fans
1. Share relevant content – people can now hover over posts they don’t want to see and hide them. The number one reason that Facebook fans implement the hide button is that the Page posts too often.
Buddy Media ran a survey which revealed that status updates with 80 characters or less had a 20% higher engagement rate, so keep those updates pithy.
Photos and videos perform a little better than status updates but mix it up and give a good blend of content types.
2. Get the Frequency Right. You need to find that sweet spot in terms of posting frequency and the type of content. The average engagement rate for Facebook fans is 2% – although some big pages with thousands of followers get less than that.
Social Media statistician, Dan Zarella’s recent study of posting frequency came out at half a time per day or once every other day but most people won’t follow someone who posts that way. Hubspot say that you can post once an hour. Famous Social Media expert, Mari Smith, does it 2-3 times a day.
My own stats have shown that my insights have increased in both interaction and reach since I started posting something on my Business Page four times a day – trying to match it with the times that my own Facebook fans in different parts of the world might be on line but with the focus on breakfast, lunchtime, afternoon tea and after dinner in my own time zone.
You can visit your insights and get a better idea of where the bulk of your fans are located but it’s also important to think about who you are trying to reach. If you have a product that would be appealing to college students, then you need to get stuff up late at night when they are most likely to be online.
3. Focus on Engagement. PTAT – People Are Talking About This is a metric that Facebook introduced back in October 2011. It appears in the sidebar of a Business Page below the number of Likes.
Another recent study showed that many brands were only responding to 50% of Facebook fans’ posts. However of the half that did get a response – 80% then went on to make a purchase as a result of the interaction.
It’s human nature – people want to be heard. They need to know that someone is listening – especially if they have a complaint. And if they feel that someone is hearing their pain, it is far more likely to diffuse their negativity and frustration.
It’s crucial that businesses put systems and resources into monitoring their social media for customer support. Facebook fans expect a response within one hour. Sometimes they will post the same question on different pages and whoever responds first will win the business and the influence of that fan then spreading the word to his/her personal friends.
4. Focus on getting and keeping Facebook fans who really love your product or service. So, if you are a local business, make sure that your social media presence is mentioned everywhere that potential fans might see them so they can find you. At the checkout, on menus, on receipts and packaging, as a qr code in the shop window.
Making it possible for your Facebook fans to check in is a great way to promote your business. The friends of those fans see where they’ve checked in on the ticker or in their Home feed. It’s more than just a notification of where friends are, it’s an endorsement. Especially if they say something nice as part of the check in update.
Many businesses offer a discount at the checkout for Facebook fans who check in whilst they’re visiting. It’s free advertising on a platform that is moving ever more quickly towards a Pay to Play ethos.
Facebook Ads are a great way to put your business in front of potential new fans. Ads should be entertaining. It’s no good just putting your logo up with a tired marketing slogan. Edutainment has become the name of the game, whether it’s for advertising or just as a status update.
If you can make people laugh or cry, they are more likely to share your content. Make them feel a part of the big picture – like soap operas on the television. People come back because they want to find out what happened and it’s no different for Facebook fans.
With great service and great online content, they will become more than just Facebook fans, they are vocal and passionate cheerleaders for your business.
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