10 WAYS TO GET MORE FACEBOOK FANS
So how do you get new people to look at your Facebook page & enjoy it enough to “LIKE” it?
The sheer number of fans is not as important as it is to get the right fans to connect with your page. And continually growing a community of Facebook fans is important to long-term online marketing & fundraising strategies.
We’ve discovered 10 ways to help you get more like-minded “likers” on your Facebook page.
1) Create shareable stuff. This is the #1 rule of growing an online community. The key to getting new people to see your content is to get the people who already like your Page to share it. Engagement (likes, comments) is good but sharing is better. Encourage your current fans to share your posts with their networks and you will connect with like-minded people and grow your fan base.
2) Post consistently. Nothing can build up your following more quickly than consistent posts. Not all of your fans are online at the same time so not all of them will see each post.
3) Ask for help. Write the words Share and Spread the Word in your Facebook posts. People are busy, and they can be inundated with posts every day. Telling them clearly and concisely what you want them to do – Share the great work we are doing! – increases engagement and helps new people to discover you.
4) Like other Pages as your Page. This is a great way to get exposure and to make community partners aware of your presence on Facebook. When viewing a Facebook Page that is not yours, click the dropdown menu and choose Like As Your Page. Be strategic about this and make sure that you have proper approval to connect with these pages – a Like can be construed as an endorsement.
5) Engage as your Page. This means using Facebook as your Page (click on the gear icon in the top right when logged in to Facebook; then choose the Page you want). Once you are using Facebook as a Page, you can like posts, comment on posts and share posts from other Pages. This creates community, good karma and encourages other Page Admins to check you out also.
6) Get the Like Box. Add a Like box to the main page of your website. Click to John Haydon’s YouTube channel for more about why you need a Like box and how to install one.
7) Ask supporters. Make sure you are harvesting the low-hanging fruit. At a staff meeting have everyone pull out their phones and Like the Page; also do this at a Board meeting or volunteer training session. Request all staff members and volunteers to share at least one Facebook post per month (or per week) in their personal Facebook networks.
8) Hold a Facebook contest. Only hold a Facebook contest if it makes sense and is relevant to the organization. If you are giving away an iPad and your nonprofit has nothing to do with technology, then you will simply be collecting fans that only care about the iPad. For more on Facebook contests, read this post by Joanne Fritz.
9) Don’t think that if you build it, they will come. You need to advertise and promote your Facebook presence – i.e., business cards, email signatures, print materials, events, and press releases. Add a “Like us on Facebook” to everything going out to the community, customers, volunteers, etc via your thank you emails, email newsletters and thank you notes.
10) Tag other Pages. When mentioning another organization, company or public figure in a post, make sure to tag their Page by typing the @ symbol and then the Page name. You may have to play around with this as it doesn’t always work on the first try, and the Page may actually be named something different or be spelled differently. (Or they might not have a Facebook Page.) The benefits of tagging the Page are that the Page owner will see it and can highlight it, which will display it to the public and to their fans.
Now that you’ve read through these, you’ll appreciate our next request… please “like” our MN Field Trip Facebook page. Thanks, and good luck as we grow our FB communities… together!
By Julia Claire Campbell, Marketing for the Modern Nonprofit
