before getting into the meat and potatoes of how to get the most out of your facebook page, we want to make sure everyone is on the same… page (haha).
here is what we know about facebook and your small business.
there are two types of people groups that you can affect (in other words, advertise for free) on facebook. the first group is your business’s facebook fans: those who have liked, commented, mentioned, or shared your business in their facebook posts.
the second group are the facebook friends of your facebook fans (say that five times fast): those who see your facebook fans “like” or mention your business on their individual facebook pages and news feeds. this second group sees and can be influenced by the social activities of the first group.
jeff, kacy, angela, and james are part of the first group, the fans. charlie, gary, luke, jackie, and the others who are commenting and liking are part of the 2nd group.
why does this matter? how does this affect your small business? fans and friends-of-fans exposed to positive mentions of your business on facebook (likes, comments, shares) increase their spend at your business by over 21%. that’s awesome! but, you have to have facebook fans first to get those customers and potential customers to spend that extra 21%.
let’s start getting some facebook fans from the easiest source first: your current customers. hopefully, you have already set up your business’s facebook fan page, if not be sure to check out our previous blog post with the step by step instructions. now, instead of just hoping all your customers will go online and like you (they are likely to not remember on their own), here are three ways to nudge them in the right direction.
help out one of our small businesses and like their page! go to this link: https://www.facebook.com/stephenvilletire
1. remind your customers with signs in your store front. you can ask your customers to “like us on facebook!” on your specials board, make and print simple signs on your own (if you are a fivestars client, we can help you with that for free), or facebook provides some free templates online. place these in your store where your customers stand in line so they can be prompted to like your page on their mobile device while they wait
2. offer freebies on the spot. give a your customers an incentive to like your page by offering them something on the house in return. i know, giving freebies can get expensive. but look at it this way: a small soft drink costs you no more than $0.50. you are paying your customer $0.50 to promote your business to all their facebook friends, and that is a ton of customers being reminded of your business. make it easy for your customers to like your page on the spot by setting up a small laptop so they can log into their facebook page while they are in your store and cash in on their freebie right then.
3. get your employees involved. make sure your employees are trained to ask your customers after every transaction. obviously accompanied with friendly customer service!
what other free ways have you used to get more customers to like your business on facebook? let us know in the comments!
come back next week as we continue this month’s series on loyalty marketing with facebook. have a great weekend!
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