April 17, 2012

How to Turn Facebook Likes into Results

April 17, 2012

How to Turn Facebook Likes into Results

How to Turn Facebook Likes into Results

Companies and people are continually setting up Facebook accounts to promote their business but a lot of people are not seeing the marketing results they were initially hoping to get. Many people think getting as many likes as possible is social media marketing success - it’s not. This is great for growing your Facebook audience but if the message you’re sending isn’t converting these likes into customers, it doesn’t matter how many people you’re reaching.So what should you do? Well, here are five tips for getting Facebook marketing right.Create an attractive offerThe new Facebook Timeline for business pages might put more emphasis on people liking your page because they know your brand or business already and like it outside social media, but that doesn’t mean you can’t attracts others with an offer. But you have to make sure it’s a good offer. Ask yourself what your current and potential customers would like from you. Is it a free interview guide? A 15% off promotional offer? A special promotion only available to Facebook users? Make sure you give your customers a reason to come back to your page and interact with it. That is, after all, why you’re on Facebook.Have a planWe often get clients who have set up a Facebook page and just expected the likes to grow without any action. While this would be great, it completely misses the point of social media marketing. The easiest way to avoid ending up in a social media rut is to have a carefully organised plan. It’s also a good idea to go over your plan with someone and continually review and revise it depending on your feedback and engagement levels. You can view these through Facebook Insights and base your future posts, questions and photos depending on what received a good virality and engagement rate.There is no black and white for Facebook so just try it out and see what might work for you. If you have posts that receive no likes or comments, that doesn’t necessarily mean people aren’t reading it, so don’t go back and delete posts with no engagement rate as these will show other Facebook users that you’re consistently posting.Use all mediums to promote your pageJust because you’re on Facebook doesn’t mean everyone will automatically know about it. There are more than 37 million pages on Facebook as of December last year so finding yours can be a bit tricky. This is why it’s important you cross promote your page through all mediums so you can point your current and prospective customers to the right page. If you’re on LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ or Pinterst, have a link to your Facebook page promotion offer. The new Timeline layout has the wall as the default landing page but that doesn’t mean you can’t copy your promotions unique URL and use that when directing people to your Facebook page.One of the most effective ways of promoting your Facebook page and its promotion is to send out an email telling everyone how awesome your offer is and how they can get it.Stay in touchIt’s often said that it’s harder to gain a new customer than it is to retain one. If someone has already used your Facebook offer, the easiest way to keep them is to stay in touch. Ask them if they liked the offer; would they recommend it; what’s their favourite product or service you offer? If you keep in touch with your customers, they’re more likely to go to you when they’re ready to buy something again.Facebook is also one of the best customer service tools, so remember to answers people’s concerns and comments, whether they are good or bad. An easy, “Thanks for your feedback. We’ll look into this for you” can suffice until you have a resolution for the person, but make sure you don’t leave comments unanswered as this can lead to more negative experiences and comments.Don’t be a broken recordSo you created an amazing offer and got a heap of new customers from it - what’s next? Firstly, don’t repeat the offer every month. Mix things up and you’re more likely to encourage viral distribution of your content and retain your new customers. Secondly, It’s a good idea to make sure you stay up to date on industry news and share it with your customers so they know you’re at the forefront of your industry. This will also mix up the content you post on Facebook and while it might not drive direct traffic to your website, people are more likely to revisit your Facebook page for further information and it will demonstrate that you’re not always pushing sales on your Facebook users.If you want any help with your Facebook plan or setting up a Facebook page, you can always contact Bang Online Marketing on (08) 9328 7000 or email info@bangdigital.com.au