How To Grow Your Facebook Numbers On Your Business Page

How To Grow Your Facebook Numbers On Your Business Page

Do you get frustrated when trying to grow the number of fans and followers on your Facebook business page?  Do you keep putting out posts but just hear the sound of the tumbleweed floating by?

Here are my top tips to grow your Facebook numbers on your business page.

Send an invite to contacts 

Email all contacts and send out a newsletter letting them know about your page and asking them to join.  Don’t forget to put the link to your page to make it easy for them to find it.  I’ve seen so many emails saying ‘come like my page’ and no info on what the page is called or a link to it.  Yes, really!! 

Ask friends to share 

Put a post out on your own personal page inviting people to like your business page and to share it with anyone who may be interested in it. 

Link to your page from your personal profile 

On your personal profile make sure you have a link to your business page.  When posting in other groups etc, people may be interested to see what you do.  If they go to your personal profile and you have your business page set as your workplace, it makes it easy for them to find your page and like it. 

Put a link on your website 

On your website, make sure you have a prominent link to your Facebook page and ask your readers to come follow you for updates. 

Put links on all marketing material 

Put a link to your Facebook page on all your marketing material such as business cards, email footers, blog posts etc.  Make it easy for people to find you. 

Create interesting, interactive posts 

Create posts to gain interaction.  Use unique images, create videos (especially live ones), ask questions, get people to choose their favourite ‘something’ from a choice you give them.  Look at other posts from businesses similar to yours and see what types are getting the most interaction. 

Don’t sell, sell, sell 

Don’t just promote your business.  The majority of your posts at the moment relate back to something you are offering as a service.  Facebook will reduce the reach of promotional posts as I wrote in a recent article.  Have a read for how to increase your reach. 

Run a competition 

Create a competition.  Now a word of warning here.  This is a great way of getting likes but some of these are not going to be your ideal client as there are so many people out there who will enter any competition going.  It’s still a way to get a buzz going about your business.  You can either run a competition for something very specific to your business such as a free c.v. review or one of the best that I ran was to buy a lottery ticket.  I then said that anyone who liked the page and posted their favourite number in the comments below would get a share of the winnings if the ticket won. 

Like and share other content 

Like and share other posts that are complementary to your business.  You can like these posts as your business page rather than by your personal profile.  This helps raise awareness and in many cases, the owner of the page who posts you have liked will come and like your own page.  As they are a complementary business this helps you get in front of their audience that may have your ideal client in. 

Tag complementary businesses 

Also, when sharing an article from another page, or talking about something linked to another business page, tag that page in your post.  When you tag another page, the fans of that page will get to see your post which will gain interest in your own page. 

Check your cover photo 

Finally, make sure you cover photo is clear what your page is about.  Try to look at your page objectively as an outsider, what would they think it was about?  Ask a few people what they think.  If your cover photo relays the correct message and makes it clear this is what you do, you are more likely to attract the people you want to work with. If it gives the wrong message, people will scan it and move on elsewhere.

 

Do you have any tips of your own?  Share in the comments below and feel free to include a link to your Facebook page so readers can take a look.

 

P.S. Would you like help planning your social media to help increase your reach to gain more clients and make more money? Join my member’s club for a step-by-step guide. You’ll love it and start to get the results you want. Find out more here.

 

How To Not Break The Rules In Facebook Groups

How To Not Break The Rules In Facebook Groups

Are you breaking Facebook rules

Over recent weeks, I have had a number of new ladies join my Facebook group only for them to have their posts deleted and a message being sent explaining why and what to do in future if they want to stay in the group.

I have also had a few ladies contact me as they have found themselves banned from other groups that they were in.

I’m sure the majority of us use other social media groups to build relationships and promote our businesses but before you fall foul and get yourself banned, try adhering to these simple rules.

When joining a new group, before doing anything else, READ THE GROUP RULES

It’s so simple but so many don’t bother to do it.  The rules can usually be found in the group description or sometimes at the top of the page as a pinned post.  If you don’t read the rules, you are pretty rude and don’t be surprised if you get kicked out.

And here are a few other things to consider:

Mistake 1 – Promoting Yourself in a Non-Promotional Group

It’s quite simple – you will get banned.  There are a number of groups that don’t want their feeds saturated with ‘you can make a million in a week – come find out how’ or some other promotional spam.  Even if it’s not spam, if it’s a non-promotional group, you can’t promote in it.  Simples!! Which part is not understood?  It really annoys me that people join my group and can’t be bothered to read the description and group rules.  if they are that lazy, I simply ban them.

Mistake 2 Jumping on Someone Else’s Post to Promote Yourself

This is what happens.  Someone asks a question or starts a conversation.  They strike up a conversation with their ideal client and are building a relationship with them by giving them valuable help and advice.  You see this and decide to jump on board.  You leap in to tell the ideal client what you can do to help them and tell them to get in contact.

Let me tell you, THIS IS PLAIN BLOODY RUDE AND UNACCEPTABLE

Don’t be so lazy.  Go start some conversations of your own.

Mistake 3 Sending Friend Requests and Private Messaging Other Members

This has to be one of the biggest irritants of all time.  It’s false.  It’s spammy.  It makes you look unprofessional and desperate.

Before approaching anyone privately, you need to build a relationship with them.  Not just jump on them as soon as you see a glimmer of an ideal client.

If you are genuinely offering free help to them or giving them some valuable advice in private, then ok.  But if your sole intention is to sell to them, don’t be surprised if they report you to admin and you get yourself banned instantly from the group.

Mistake 4 – Joining a Group and Making your First Post a Promotion

Why would you do this?  Again, it makes you look unprofessional and desperate.  You wouldn’t go to a dinner party where you didn’t know anyone, walk into the room and start shouting at everyone what you do. You would (if you have any manners) walk in, introduce yourself, ask others what they do and get to know people a little first.

You need to start building relationships and trust before bleating about what you do.  I would suggest at least a couple of weeks of interacting with others and getting the feel of the group before any type of promotion.

Mistake 5 – Arguing with Admin

Yes, sending private messages to admin that you have a special case for promoting your latest craze and telling them how to run their group is likely to get you banned also.  I have had a few of these in the past where people have contacted me to say how everyone wants promotions to be allowed freely so I ought to change the rules.  Nope!!  My group.  My rules.  If they don’t like it they can go somewhere else.

In future, use some common sense and some manners when joining groups for the first time.  Yes, we all mistakes but learn from them and be respectful to others.  Alternatively, set up your own group and do whatever you want!

The perils of using Facebook for your marketing

The perils of using Facebook for your marketing

Do you rely heavily on Facebook for your marketing?  If so ….

Are you aware of the perils of using Facebook?

On Monday the Facebook page for the world’s largest social media magazine, Social Media Examiner, disappeared. Yep! Gone completely without warning! This page had over 380,000 followers and is an excellent source of information but for some unknown reason it went!

The owner, Michael Steizner, posted this message on his own Facebook page.

Social Media Examiner

And this message appeared on their Google+ page.

Social Media Examiner

What transpired from messages posted in response was this has happened to numerous followers ranging from pages with fans of just a few hundred to one with over 3 million followers!!!

This proves that can happen to anyone at any level.  I personally know of a lady who sold handbags through her Facebook page and had just over 4000 followers.  Overnight her page disappeared and she lost contact with all these prospective customers.  She had to start from scratch again and in the meantime her business basically stopped.

So please don’t sit back and think it will never happen to you.  Hopefully, it won’t but any business should put plans in place to protect themselves should it happen to you.

Remember, something like this can happen to anyone and any business and once your page is gone, it’s gone!! You are unlikely to ever get it back.

As a business, you don’t own your fans or your page so if your page goes you lose contact with these people.

 

What can cause my Facebook page to disappear

There are a number of reasons why a Facebook page can disappear such as:

  • An administrator deleting or un-publishing the page. Make sure you know who has access to make changes to your page and remove anyone who should not have permission anymore.
  • A breach of Facebook guidelines. So many Facebook users are totally unaware of the guidelines.  One of the most common breaches I see are pages running competitions and asking for likes and shares in order to enter which is a direct breach.  If this gets spotted and reported you are in serious danger of your page being removed.
  • Using your personal profile as a business page. Again, this is a breach of Facebook guidelines.  If you haven’t already read it, have a read of the article Facebook Business Page vs Personal Page
  • Technical issues. It appears this may be the case with Social Media Examiner and their page has now been restored.  However, there is no guarantee that once your page has gone that it can be recovered.

 

The key lesson here is DO NOT put all your eggs in one basket. Do not purely rely on one social media platform for all your marketing. Always make sure you list build so that whatever happens outside of your control, you have a database of email addresses that allows you to retain contact with your prospects and fans.

 

What can I do to get my Facebook fans onto my mailing list?

Here are a few tips to help you get your Facebook fans onto your mailing list:

Have an opt-in form

Put an opt-in form on your website so that when you post your blog on your Facebook page and readers get taken to your site, they have the option to sign up.  Put one in the sidebar and at the top or bottom of your blog posts so that people can easily subscribe to get future news and information delivered directly to their inbox.

Offer an incentive

In order to make it more attractive for people to sign up, offer them a freebie to download when they sign up.  If you are in the holiday home industry this could be something such as ‘Top 10 things to look for when booking a holiday’ or ‘A guide to choosing a colour for your home’ if you are an interior designer.

Post links to your opt-in form

Make sure you have a link to your opt-in form everywhere you can.  Use Facebook apps to add one to your business page and include the link at the bottom of your Facebook posts.

Ask for email addresses in groups

If you are in a group on Facebook and someone asks a question which you take the time to answer, ask them for their email address to send some further information.  Send them a little extra info and let them know you will add them to your mailing list (with the option to unsubscribe) for any future news.

Ask interactive fans for their email address

When a person comments on one of your posts you now have the option to send them a message (see pic below).  Use this to thank them for their comment and to invite them to join your mailing list (remember to send them the link).

Facebook message option

 

So now you know the perils of using Facebook and to how to protect yourself.

I hope you have found this article useful and please share the love and pass it on to anyone else you know who has a Facebook business page.

Facebook business page vs personal page

Facebook business page vs personal page

What everybody ought to know about using a personal page for promoting their business on Facebook

Are you still using your personal Facebook page for promoting your business?  If you are, stop right now!

Facebook may remove it

I see so many of these so just have to share some words of warning about using your personal page for business use.  Facebook frowns upon using a personal profile for business use and I have known a few people who have had their pages removed for doing this.  They had built up a significant following but had their business name on the page rather than just their own name which got flagged up to the powers that be at Facebook ivory towers.  I only know of one lady who had a polite warning and told to change it but I know of two others whose pages just disappeared!  All their Facebook contacts gone and nothing they could do about it.

Keep your personal and business life separate

Aside from this, you really want to try and keep your personal and business persona’s separate.  You may have just started up a small business which you promoted to your inner circle of family and friends but as your business grows you will want to widen this audience.  Do you really want strangers seeing photos of you on a night out?  Is this giving a professional image to your business?  And even if you don’t have the tendency to go out on a Saturday night and roll around the floor drunk, are you comfortable with potential clients seeing your innermost personal conversations with friends and family?  And again, even if you don’t post much personal information on your page, you have no control over what your darling friends may post on your wall that has the danger of causing embarrassment.

You will lose potential followers

Another significant problem with using a personal page is that people who don’t know you can’t ‘follow’ or ‘like’ you as a business.  They have to add you as a friend which then in turn allows you to see all of their personal information on their Facebook page.  People who don’t know you are unlikely to be comfortable doing this and you will miss out on an opportunity to connect with people outside of your circle of friends.

If you are using a personal page to market your business on Facebook, go change it now and invite your friends across to like it.  Even easier than that, Facebook has made it easier to migrate your personal page to a business page if you wish and they have an easy to follow guide here.

And once you have your new Facebook page set up, pop over to The Small Business Kit and share it for others to see.

 

*If you would like to know more in depth detail about Facebook marketing and how to make it work for your business visit The Small Business Kit and become a member today, all for less than your weekly vanilla latte!