You are probably reading this because you have a Facebook page yourself or thinking of starting one, right? You want to attract "fans" or "like" or whatever they call on Facebook these days, but you're not sure how.
Maybe you put a link in your email signature on your page or added to your website, Twitter'ed about it, etc., but does not take off as you expected.
If this is the case, then maybe this post will be valuable to you.
First of all when it comes to growth Facebook, Twitter or any social media platform .... you should start with the right mindset. Do not think that the appeal of "fans" or "like" or "followers". Think about it, in the sense of the construction of the community, a community that Pastor privilege and grow is obtained. As Seth Godin calls, think of it as a tribe. When your mind makes the change, then you will try to build a following for their own benefit in creating a community for the benefit of others. Of course, you win, but I hope it will be many others in the process. It should be more of them than it is on you if you do what works.
Nonvitreous this last statement. It is essential and will make a significant difference in how your community grows, if it is sustainable and whether it is really valuable.
SECOND not think in terms of numbers alone. Think commitment. Sure, you might have attracted "5,000 fans in a month" title of this post, but seriously, the number is much lower than the level of commitment you think. I prefer to have 500 members of the community fully committed to 2000 that were just lurking ... not played an active role. Commitment is essential. This is the only way to grow your community and moved to action. Anyone can raise a flock, but to find ways to participate and lead will make the difference.
Third, think about the conversations. When you enter a party, you interact with others. You speak. Now if only you talk about yourself, then you hit quickly and burn, but if you're alive and engage others in conversation by finding common interests, talk to them or ask questions that reveal responses dialogue, then you will be successful. The same goes for Facebook and social networks in general. Do not simply just post about you or your product all the time. Be helpful. Be resourceful. Sharing. Invite others to share and reach. No static, ask questions. Talk to people as if they were real human beings with real tastes, interests, etc. Show your interest and maybe go to look back.
Fifth, how do I do? This is what you really know? The formula? The magic pill? Silver Bullet? Of course you do, but do not think you can just duplicate these steps do not understand the above statements and get the same impact. Even these steps and share an understanding of the above, does not guarantee success. Each page of Facebook and the author, product, business, personality, etc it represents is unique and the results will be unique too.
Take what I share below as a guide, but I know that success for you may be different. Often trial and error is required, as well as a few tries to find the right combination of what works for your community's unique perspective. Be willing to try. Be prepared to fail, but above all, do not give up.
Well ... the steps I have taken:
I put the page.
I customized a bit by adding a HTML FBML box on the left sidebar to include graphics and links (jazz a little and just customize).
I kept the landing page URL of the Facebook page to the tab on the wall instead of creating a tab or anything "Welcome" that (despite what many "social media experts" suggest). Why? in this case I wanted newcomers to enter and see the conversations that take place. Conversations in the draw (hint: conversations are making "social media" social). I wanted to see not only what we publish the updates, but other interactions that add value to the conversation.
At first, I found $ 200 in paid Facebook ads to promote the page. Now that's an excellent point. I put 10 different variations ads with titles and content (a form of split testing). He also directed several demographic characteristics of people with ads and tested changes in CPC rates (cost per click). Once I found the ads that are the best, and I get the most clicks for the lowest CPC ads, then narrowed his two best artists and moved to the next step.
Then I found $ 500 paid with my two best ads yet. Why? This helped me to prime the pump for nearly 1000 members very quickly. I was able to quickly attract a qualified person directed to the page. By qualified I mean someone Party / psychographic demographic I was looking met.
While the ads have been running began to publish and interact with the community. We are not a product at all. We publish questions and statements that provoked a response. As members have also started to grow so does the interaction. A real sense of community develops in which people participated by commenting on posts, and interact with a theme that mattered.
Then we started to drive traffic elsewhere. We started tweeting links, ask others to link Twitter, asking existing fans spread the word and tell your friends about the page, share messages, etc. You see first build a base at # 5 and # 6 Almost stealth so that when we begin to promote the site more publicly that there was something valuable already in. Much easier to convert someone click on "Like" when they see others who are already involved. There is a certain emotional connection when people see other people involved, which makes them want to get involved too.
Rinse and repeat. Seriously, we continue the same strategy. Engage existing community, has been the subject of discussions, he asked them to share (periodically - be careful not to over-kill "Ask") promoted outside and grew and continued to grow. From time to time we pushed the product / book etc but we did it and it worked very strategic.
The page is 7,100+ members at the time of this post and more. Now you may be wondering if I'm going to share a link to this page with you and the answer is no. You'll have to trust me. Why not link to it? The site was created for a client based on a specific project I needed. This is a page that has a heavy political bias and I really did not want to go into politics this blog (for various reasons).
So there you have it. How I grew up a Facebook page for 5,000 fans in a month.
Daniel Decker works with clients to help them expand their influence. H is the Chairman of the upper level, marketing, communication, and strategic development firm working primarily with the implementation of authors, professional speakers, churches and organizations that are doing well (make a positive difference in the world) .
