Facebook Isn’t the Place for Collector’s Items

There’s a great article on AdAge.com by Chris Perry called “Are You Investing In Facebook Fans or Just Collecting Them?”, that offers some invaluable tips to brands wanting to either utilize or improve upon their social media exposure. The greatest advocates that brands have in the digital world are their online supporters – those people that consume and enjoy your goods and services in real life so much that online, they click “Like” when they see your brand on Facebook. So how do you get a Facebook user to become your very own Fan, and afterwards, what’s the next step?

Perry offers not one, but ten. Right off the bat, treat Facebook the way you would treat any other advertising or PR campaign. Clearly state your communication goals, and understand your target audience. You can utilize Facebook’s targeting mechanisms to better direct your message. The capabilities are there – use them! Do research too – it’s important to know what your competition is doing on Facebook. How can you improve upon their current tactics? What are they doing that you’re not? What’s working for them, and what isn’t?

After you’ve gathered a core base of fans, understand what it meant when they clicked “Like” by your brand. Check out a few profiles, and see if you can’t make some correlations among them. Realize that there is a small group among these numbers that are your true advocates – check out who is commenting the most on your brand. These are the fans that are spreading the word, dropping your brand-name in conversations, and ultimately garnering you more support and more online and real-time fans. But don’t simply admire your numbers as they grow, recognize their full potential. Perry explains, “Put those who like you to work by giving them reasons to interact with the brand and provide a platform where their enthusiastic support is amplified to their networks.” This means, make status updates that appeal to your core fans. Make relevant comments that start a conversation. Ask questions that gain enthusiastic responses.

Perhaps most importantly, add value to your fan’s digital experiences. Give them a reason to visit your page every now and then, but stay realistic. Almost every brand has a Facebook page these days, so consumers are constantly facing opportunities to “Like” a brand with every click they make. Realize that your social media exposure is an investment on your part, and like any investment, it takes time to reach it’s full potential.

And finally, LISTEN. Your fans are saying something about themselves every day – that’s the best part about Facebook – people utilize it for the sheer purpose of sharing information about their daily lives.

For more information on this article, visit http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=144980, and keep your fan-base close!