This is actually true. I am a social media marketer and my Facebook page has only 22 likes.
When I rebranded the business I had a decision to make. Should I rename my current page or start a new one from scratch? I decided to start from scratch for 2 reasons:
- I wanted a new username and I didn’t have any changes left (currently you can only change your username twice)
- I was curious to experiment on how quickly I could grow it in the new competitive environment.
The truth is there are few customers that are starting from scratch when I meet them. The majority of my customers have a base but just don’t know how to convert them into sales.
I won’t be buying likes. I’ll be getting them the ‘real’ way, and I’ll lead you through that journey with me.
So what’s the first step?
Step One: Set it up properly
This includes completing all the fields in your about section, a quality Facebook cover image, a good-looking profile image and a few posts. There’s a whole post we should probably devote to this later.
Step Two: Tell a few people about it
You’ve already got a list of people on your personal page presumably, so let them know you have a new business page and ask them to like it. I recommend adding a statement something like this:
“My new business page is set up here. Follow @xxxxxx if you’re interested in xxxxxxxx. Please only follow the page if you’re truly interested. No pity likes necessary.”
You really only want people following you who are potential customers. Otherwise, when you get to the next step of setting up your ads, you’re spending your marketing dollars targeting people who have no interest in your product or service. There’s no point having heaps of friends following you just for the sake of it.
Step Three: Pay people to see it
Yes, on Facebook you must spend money on advertising to grow your fan base. This wasn’t always the case, but it certainly is now.
Step Four: Set up a schedule of posts
We refer to this as your social media schedule. You absolutely must have regular content on your page for people to bother following you. Not only that, it has to be interesting.
Initially, focus on getting some content on your page that your target market would be interested in. It doesn’t have to be all about you, you can post shares that would interest them. For example, if you’re a golf club, you might share some stories about what Tiger Woods is up to. No one is sick of him yet. You might also assume that they like cricket and rugby, and share any major news that’s engaging in that interest area.
When I’m under the pump I use PostPlanner to get some content that my audience will like. It’s an easy and fast way to populate your page.
Step Five: Get a strategy going
Once you’ve got a few basic wheels in motion, now you need to really think about how you’re going to engage your fans. I know you haven’t got fans yet, but when someone is directed to your page they might want to see what you’re offering before they decide to follow you, so make sure they’re not directed to an empty page.
This post assumes that you’ve already determined that Facebook is worth investing in. It’s a platform where your target market likes to hang out. On that assumption, you now need to determine what elements of your business are suitable for sale online, and set about a strategy around selling that online. When that message resonates with your target audience, the likes will come.
Although you can set up a ad strategy that promotes likes, it’s far more effective to strategise a message that needs to hit a specific audience. You’ll get much more bang for your buck, and your audience will be more engaged in your message.
