Think back. When you were a kindergartener, all you had to do to make a new friend was to proclaim yourself “friends” and, barring any unexpected turns such as the new friend breaking your favorite crayon, you and your newfound buddy could be fairly sure you’d be “friends forever.”
Well, unfortunately keeping your friends/fans on your Facebook business page take as a bit more work than that. Here are 3 tried and true Facebook behaviors to keep yourself on the “ins” with your new fans.
1) Give ‘Em Something. We are human. We like to get things. Especially in a business relationship, we are hoping to get something out of it. When people “liked” your page, what did they get? Nothing. Oh. Well, what do you give them now? A product discount? Interesting useful tips about your industry? A chance to win in a contest? An invitation to a special event that they can get first dibs on because they are your valued fans? Any of these ideas will get your fans’ attention and make them feel like they are benefiting from your page.
2) Be There. Everyone wants a friend who is there for them. Have your fans heard from you recently? How long has it been? Or do you not want to say that number out loud? Having a blank inactive Facebook page is like having a storefront that is constantly closed. People may stop by a few times to check you out, but if they don’t see any signs of life they will stop coming. The best way to tackle this is to spec out all your status postings at the beginning of the month, and remind yourself (or better yet, use an automation tool) to roll them all out on the appropriate time intervals. It doesn’t take long to set this up and the payoff is big. If you’ve been gone a long time this might take some doing to get them back. But back they shall come.
3) Step Back and Strategize. What? Aren’t we all supposed to strategize BEFORE we jumped into a Facebook page? Well, yes, but we are a community of small businesses and the truth is that many businesses turn on their page before they turn on their strategic plan. It’s not too late. Think about WHAT YOU WANT from your Facebook page. To build your brand? To maintain customer loyalty? To learn more about your customers and collect data? Decide what your goal is and then go back to your list of monthly status updates and make sure what you plan to put out there is in line with that goal.
So don’t wait much longer. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and make a little to do list for each one of the above 3 action items. Before you know it, you will be not just be liked, but maybe even loved! (Awwwww!)
