05 February 2010 by Emma
Twitter, twitter twitter. It's all Smarta ever hears these days
- whatever happened to Facebook? It may not be blogged about as
often as it was, but it's still way above Twitter in the
popularity stakes - and it's still a useful marketing tool. Here
are our top five ways to attract more fans:
-
Spruce up your page
It may only be February, but the time is ripe for a spring
clean - so get your marigolds on. First, make sure you are making
the most out of the 'reviews' tab - where customers can give
feedback and testimonials on your product or service. If it isn't
being used, get rid of it: avoid having any dead space on your fan
page. And it may sound obvious, but ensure you have a nice image as
your avatar - pixelated or squashed images do not go down with
potential fans.
-
Give people a reason to 'fan' you
This could be competitions, special deals for Facebook
fans or even special events for your fans. Whatever it is, it needs
to be a real incentive - not just the odd update.
-
Go viral
Look at some of the examples of popular Facebook fan
pages, and seek to emulate them: Pringles (2,876,663
fans), for instance, created a set of low-budget, silly videos and
distributed them via its Facebook page. The videos, pitched
perfectly at Pringles' young, web-savvy customer base, went viral
instantly. If you don't think you have the resources to create a
set of viral videos, make like Starbucks (5,675,187
fans) and ensure you share new, useful content on a regular basis.
This doesn't have to necessarily link back to your website -
Starbucks shares interesting articles and blogs from other sites
every couple of days. Just make sure you're adding value.
-
Get snapping
Photographs are an easy way to engage your customers: post
pictures of new products and encourage fans to give feedback in the
comment section underneath. By just clicking the 'like' button,
your fans will feel they're engaging with the brand. Photos of
events are also a great way to get your fan page buzzing: tag
people you know and encourage your fans to tag others. Send out
invitations to anyone who isn't already a fan.
-
Use the Fan Box
The Facebook
Fan Box is a widget which allows users to become a fan without
leaving the site they're on. It's based on a piece of code you
paste into your blog, other social networks or your website. You
can even paste it into banner ads - so if you're willing to pay,
you could be attracting traffic to your fan page from other sites
in no time.