Build Your Facebook Community

Do you have a Facebook page for your business?  If not, why not?  It’s an easy marketing tool to implement and the cost to you is the cost of maintaining it (posting and responding to posts).  Think of it as an alternative to expensive print or television advertisements.

Facebook has more than 850 million users as of 2012.  If you just tap into a small percentage of those users and get them interested in your business, think what it could mean for your business.  Currently, I am reading a book entitled Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen.  It is a great little book about how to use social media for your business. 

Kerpen discusses the fact that most companies use their Facebook page to spout at their customers rather than engaging their customers in conversation.  He suggests engaging them in conversation about almost anything whether related to your business or not.  The idea is to make them post on your website in an authentic way because as they do, it shows up on their news feed and their friends (potential new friends for your company).  The more often your business name shows up, the more likely it is to be remembered.    Showing up in people’s news feed also provides you an opportunity to convert them to “friends”  by liking your page.  Once they are friends and if you can get them to talk to you, your business name is spread further (on their news feed) when they communicate with you.

So, how do you engage your Facebook friends as a business?  Say you had a home-cleaning business, you might post cleaning or organizing tips.  Take advantage of holidays for making suggestions.  Or, you might ask about their favorite activities once they have all their cleaning chores done.   The point is to get them to post on your page and build an online community so they respond to you and talk to one another. 

Build the number of friends you have by asking people to like your page on all of your print materials, by posting a friendly sign on your front counter if your customers frequent your establishment that asks them to “like” you (your business) on Facebook, and in every electronic communication (email, blog posting, etc.).  Hold contests to increase the number of “friends” you have on Facebook.  Kerpen gives a great example of a restaurant who did this by offering a free appetizer to anyone who shared its Facebook page with their friends and asked them to like the restaurant’s page and if the restaurant’s friend total reached a goal of ______ number of friends, all of the friends would get a free appetizer.  This contest resulted in an increase in patronage to the restaurant as “friends” came to take advantage of their free appetizer but they also ordered additional food and beverages.

Don’t be afraid of negative comments but do respond to them quickly.  Apologize, if possible, and tell them you will communicate with them off-line through personal email and then do so.  Take steps to follow up and correct the problem. 

Check out Kerpen’s book.  It has some great tips, and get going with building your own Facebook community.