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Why Don’t You Like Me?

Increasing Facebook Fans

by Jeremy Cote


Thumbs Up illustration

Why is my fan count so low? Doesn’t anyone like us?  Facebook fans are important to a social media marketing campaign. The more fans you have, the more people will see your messages.  There are many success stories about large brands accumulating thousands of fans a week, and even smaller local brands can catch lighting in a bottle and find huge success in fan growth. Those successes, however, often leave the rest of us scratching our heads.  In order to better understand why they aren’t “liking” your page, let’s look at what makes a typical person want to “like” a Facebook page.

Facebook is funny. People hate commercials on TV or radio and many are uncomfortable with in-your-face promotion elsewhere, but they will freely open themselves to it over social media.  Asking for a “like” is a lot like asking someone if they mind that you are going to stop by unannounced randomly throughout the week. They are opening this avenue of communication with you willingly, and there are some expectations that come with that exchange.

But first, why do people “Like” Facebook pages? It might be because an incentive was offered.   The better the incentive, the more likely you will attract fans.  An incentive can be anything from a discount coupon to a free hat, and the fan should feel they’re getting some of value when he or she clicks that “like” button.

You might also attract likes from people who are interested in your type of business and who want to learn more about it and what you do.  They “like” your page for the knowledge and expertise you can offer.  Keep in mind when a fan decides to “like” your page, it doesn’t mean that they forgot that they hate commercials. They still do, so this is where the content you provide becomes crucial. Your posts should be social and non-promotional 80 percent of the time, build your personal brand 10 percent of the time and promote your business and products 10 percent of the time.

A third reason someone may like your page is the person may be personally tied to your organization and feel obligated to support it.  It could be an employee, a community figure or nearby resident. These people might have a prominent voice in the community, and it is important to represent your business well to these fans. They will be the ones sharing your important posts.

And finally, someone might become a fan simply because you asked them and it was easy to find your page.  This can be accomplished through in-store signs using QR codes, putting the URL to your Facebook page on a business card or product, or linking to Facebook from your website with a large tag or app.

Any of these new fans may not be customers yet, so it is important to always represent your brand strongly, no matter what platform of social media you are using.  If you do a great job representing your brand, offering an incentive to “like,” providing content people enjoy, and making it easy to get to your fan page, you should see your fan number growing. And that has the potential to translate into increased traffic and sales.

 

Do you have any tricks to share with us and others that have worked for you?  Do you still need help?  Contact us for more information on how we can help you!

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