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Facebook Fans ... From Like to Really Like

Guest post by: Andy Marken

Article Overview: You like people -- OK some people -- and you want them to like you...no really like you. In fact what you want is a whole bunch of real fans. Just remember that that whole bunch can turn into a mob. Mobs can get ugly in a heartbeat. So be careful what you wish for...

Facebook Fans ... From Like to Really Like

Listen Up - You were told in school to keep your mouth shut, pay attention, listen, and learn. The same thing applies if you want to be the teacher's pet and the most popular kid in school...listen to the community.

You may have heard by now that folks spend more time on Facebook than any other website. By a whole lot!

To be more precise, it's 53.5 billion minutes a month on the world's largest social networking site.

When Zuck announced at F8 - the Facebook developer's conference - that the site now had more than 800 million citizens, he said he wanted them to be even more involved with the Site. In fact, he wanted Facebook to become the destination where people tell the story of their life.

We, and you, might think that's over sharing, but the growing community is changing the way companies relate with customers.

Companies are establishing their Facebook pages in record numbers and feeling their way along as they build, expand, leverage those relationships.

No one is exactly certain how much all those eyeballs and likes are worth.

It's still too early to say how much a Facebook friend and his/her recommendation can generate, but that's not inhibiting the rush to be there.

Companies like Coke, Starbucks, Nutella, Papa John's, Pringles, Skittles, Zynga, Zappos, Electronic Arts feel it's worth the effort.

Fan Value

While Zynga racked up more than $290 million last year from their visitors/users, others have determined how much their fans are worth to the company:

* Starbucks - $1.20 per fan

* Coke - $0.96 per fan

* Pringles - $0.02 per fan

* Adidas - $2.40 per fan

* Red Bull - $1.14 per fan

That's because a positive online brand experience creates loyal customers. They in turn tell friends and family about the brand and the sphere of influence grows.

Companies - large and small - are finding that closer relationship with customers and potential customers affect not just sales but the entire business.

Pays Off - Facebook company/product pages provide companies/brands with an excellent way to engage with consumers and help them become brand advocates. Having consumers who Like you is the first step. In fact, that's when the real work begins. Source - Forrester Consulting

Being active on Facebook has a tangible effect on a company's sales - 87 percent of the people who search for information on products/services reinforced their purchasing decision, according to the Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker.

Many firms are also active on Facebook as a means of countering or nullifying online information - 80 percent of the people changed their buying decision because of negative online information.

The bottom line is a solid fan base is good for business. But it goes way beyond simply asking folks to tap the Like button so you can show your boss how many Facebookers like your brand.

They expect something in return!

Something in Return - Getting a few thousand people to Like your brand takes an overall plan and careful execution. Increasingly, they want to be more engaged with the company/brand as well. Source - ExactTarget

That's when the work begins...getting and keeping Facebook fans.

Moving In

The task isn't as daunting as it looks:

* Your company/brand already has an on-line presence - newsletter, website, publicity/ad presence - use these to build traffic to your Facebook page.

* Use the free tools that are available like Facebook Questions that lets you ask questions and your company name, page link are added. For best results ask questions a wide range of people care about - avoid things like politics and religion which can make enemies on all sides of the subject.

* Use inexpensive, effective Facebook ads that are targeted at your niche market. This is becoming especially effective for regional and local firms because the information is tailored to people who can act on it, take advantage of it.

* Keep your Facebook page relevant so visitors see what fans are getting for "Liking" your page. Show them the special fan-only coupons, specials, product/news updates. If the information is relevant, they'll send it to their news feeds.

* Conduct contests, promotions, special events that attract attention; and when they win the worthwhile/meaningful prize, share the news, information with others. Let them share the information with other Facebookers.

* Let your fans become your marketing, publicity agents by encouraging them to tell their experience with your product/service, giving them - and you - positive exposure.

* Develop an exclusive fan area where Like members have access to special fan-only promos, contests, events, activities

* Whether Facebookers click the Like button or not, keep your content, your news, your information fresh. Keep developing and offering ideas, how-tos, offers, industry/company/product news and summaries that encourage people to return again and again as well as post links to their Facebook pages.

Is it really worth all that effort?

Value of the Effort

Study after study shows that people have been influenced to buy - or not buy - a product or service based on their online experience.

Nearly half of these people share the information - good or bad - with others in their community. Just remember that there no matter what you do, there will be millions (you hope) who visit your page, some very regularly, who simply won't become a fan and hit the Like button.

There are a lot of things people like, but they don't slap an "I Like" sticker on all of them. It doesn't mean they dislike you. They just aren't willing to give you permission to use their Like.

Why Not - There are a lot of reasons Facebookers won't "Like" a company or product. Sometimes it's as simple as they feel it is some type of endorsement. Other times, they really don't like the company or product. And today, it doesn't take much for people to Unlike you. Source - ExactTarget

That's okay too, as long as they come online to get product information, read the reviews, check out the ratings, read the product/service articles, ask others in their Facebook friend circles and....buy.

Remember the goal isn't to rack up as many Facebook "Likes" as you can to show your boss how good you are, but to build relationships with people out there and maintain, strengthen, expand those relationships.

It's always better to error on the side of caution so people don't "Unlike" you.

Turning Up the Heat - The great thing about social media is that instantly people can spread news, information around the globe. Yes, that includes bad news too.

Don't jump on Facebook just because everyone else is there. Remember what your mother said, "If everyone else was jumping off the cliff, would you do it to?"

Approach your Facebook page just like you did when you built your website, when you joined online forums, when you joined your club, when you entered a new class, started a new job.

Watch...look...listen...lurk.

It won't take you long to see the mistakes of others and that's far easier than learning from experience...don't let 'em kid you, that's no fun!

No-Nos

Avoid the obvious:

* The key reason people "Unlike" is that the person or brand posts too often. One or two posts a day is sufficient as long as the posting is interesting, informative, helpful

* Don't litter your Facebook feed with your Tweets because not everyone cares about your every thought and Facebook is for news, information people can read and use

* Set a default landing tab with a clear call to action.

* Schedule your updates, especially if you're using a third-party API because Facebook lumps them together into just one update so engagement can drop by 70 percent

* Don't post the same type of content continually because Facebook EdgeRank will manage your post impressions based on affinity, weight, time decay

* Don't delete fans' posts on your wall. If it's a negative or "uncomfortable" post talk with the fan - offline if possible - and resolve the situation. Remember, your Facebook page is on a public forum. Hiding the problem or ignoring it doesn't make it go away. Usually that makes things worse

* Avoid the hard sell. The objective of your Facebook page is to build and extend relationships. Want to sell em? Point the fans to your website for your specials, your sales

* Encourage - don't eliminate - your fans' ability to post comments. Your Facebook page is there to engage with customers and prospects. That usually happens first by listening. At least that's the way it works in our home

* Social media is so important to management today that people are hired for the sole purpose of increasing Facebook Likes, Twitter followers. Raw numbers are kinda' important but it's more important to know how much interaction you're having with your fans and the substance of that interaction. Michael Jackson has 11 M+, Mafia Wars has 6.5M+, Vin Diesel has 7M+, Megan Fox has 6M+. Does that mean anything to you? Heck, does it mean anything to them?

* Have a set of community rules and guidelines because remember it's your place of business, your house; so people understand that people have to be sensitive to others ideas, opinions and that items like profanity, cyberbullying and similar actions aren't tolerated, allowed

* When community members are carrying on a conversation, don't interrupt them unless the "discussion" gets out of hand. Instead, wait for the appropriate moment and provide expert assistance to stimulate positive conversations

Just remember there's no almighty Facebook expert out there. He or she is just like you, using the tools that are increasingly available and searching for just the right mixture to build their fan base(s).

Watch what others are doing right, wrong. Listen. Learn.

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Article Tags: Facebook, Starbucks



Related Forum Posts
Re: Twitter vs Facebook - I use Facebook pages for Business and rarely ever use Twitter. I hace lost count of the no. of Hotels that I have visited, regarding their marketing campaigns, that may have 5k Facebook Fans and only 100 followers on Twitter. It is a lot more difficult to engage with people on Twitter and thus harder to gain traction. If you are a business like Nike, then Twitter is great, but if you are an SME, then focus on Facebook or LinkedIn (if you are providing a professional service.) You can always have your Facebook feed directly in to Twitter, so you can have a presence on both, but do the work on one. Also check out ping.fm for managing campaigns - it is a free tool, and a great time saver.
Re: Social media question - Facebook is where I get all my traffic. Facebook is great, because you can create fan pages and your customers come to you. Twitter is good, but I just don't see the same results. I think Facebook is the most popular and it's easier for people to find what they're looking for.
Re: Facebook Advertising? - Facebook has more than 700 million active users and half of them log in on a daily basis. Through Facebook advertising, you can be sure to reach any particular segment. Conventional advertising models are expensive and difficult to reach a narrow target. Facebook advertising is one option that can get you results and target specific user groups. You may be the local beauty parlor, restaurant or a Fortune 500 organization, but eBizUniverse will show how to build your brand equity through Facebook advertising. Consider these ideal scenarios: You own a restaurant and wish to target those who are recently engaged to be married for their catering business. All you need to do is to find the women with the relationship status of “engaged” on Facebook and you have your desired segment with Facebook Ads. (See Sample Ads Below) There is a birthday special that your restaurant is offering and the Facebook Ads would be displayed only to those whose birthdays are in the offing. An event is being organized and you wish to target local college graduates, who are single and 25-35 years old. They are on Facebook and you can reach them with Facebook Ads.
Re: Are you going to use Facebook Timeline? - Hi apu, I Recently used Facebook Timelines, actually it seems like a Facebook blog which makes profile page more attractive but i don't think it will help in internet marketing because it also slow the speed of Facebook Page. Share your Experience!
Re: Facebook or Twitter? - Thanks for the feedback guys! I personally started with Twitter and am now moving over to Facebook. I polled people on both my accounts and (not surprisingly) the Twitter people said Twitter and the Facebook people said Facebook! The actual order of my social media presence looks like this: 1) LinkedIn (with little success) 2) Twitter 3) YouTube 4) Facebook


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