How to Convert Fans Into Customers
Second only to Google, Facebook is the most visited website in the world, with over one billion users and growing.
Facebook can help you reach all the people who matter most to your business and who are interested in the products and services that you provide. Your customers are there.
Based on Facebook’s own recommendations we have provided a quick guide showing you how to use Facebook to help your business grow and give you an advantage over your competitors.
Getting Started
The first thing that you need to do is set up your Facebook page. Facebook make it easy with step-by-step instructions.
There are lots of advantages of having a Facebook Page. It makes your business:
Discoverable: When people search for you on Facebook, they’ll be able to find you.
Connected: Have one-on-one conversations with your customers, who can like your Page, read your posts and share them with friends, and check in when they visit.
Timely: Your Page can help you reach large groups of people frequently, with messages tailored to their needs and interests.
Insightful: Analytics on your Page will give you a deeper understanding of your customers and your marketing activities.
When you set up your Page, you can request a web address like facebook.com/yourcompanyname, which makes it easy to find.
To maximize the impact, include this address on your business card, website and all of your other marketing and promotional materials.
Remember: your Facebook Page is an extension of your business. It’s an easy way to share updates and more with the people who matter most. It’s ready to help you engage your customers on desktop and on mobile.
Identify Your Audience
The next thing you want to do is identify your audience. You can do this by thinking about the people you’d like to meet, and introduce yourself and your business to. Try to create a persona of your ideal customer.
Not only can you reach more people through Facebook, you can reach the specific people who are most likely to become your customers.
To help you connect to the right people, think about:
- What do your ideal customers have in common?
- How old are they, and where do they live?
- How can your business help them?
To build your audience, encourage your current customers and supporters to ‘like’ your Facebook page. They are the people most likely to see your posts in their News Feed. Also explore the options under the ‘Build Audience’ button:
Invite your friends and family. Let the people in your life know about your Page so they can support you and your business by liking it. Although you won’t be relying on them for custom, this initial audience helps you establish credibility and popularity and will help spread the word right away.
You will also want to invite your businesses contacts. Upload a list to send people an email so they know about your new Page.
Remember to keep in mind that it’s not about the number of likes your page has. It’s more important to genuinely connect with the people you engage with on Facebook. If you do, they’ll help tell your story and be a loyal advocate of your business.
Make Your Mark
Make your business come alive on Facebook with compelling and engaging content.
As you post updates, photos and more, think about what your customers find interesting and inspiring. What do you want to consistently communicate about your business?
It will take a while to ‘find your voice’ on Facebook so experiment with different kinds of posts. Does your audience love photos or prefer when you share useful links? You’ll find out quickly what they like. You don’t have to guess because Facebook have a very useful tool called Page Insights, which allows you to see which posts are performing the best.
Tips when posting on your Page:
- Be real: Share what you are genuinely excited about and your customers will be excited too.
- Be responsive: When people comment on your posts, show that your business is listening and that you care by replying. If you need more time to answer a question, let them know you’re looking into it and haven’t forgotten about them or not bothered.
- Be consistent: The more frequently and consistently you post, the more opportunity you have for connecting with people and building trust. Setting a schedule for your posts can also help, particularly if you are sharing the Facebook posts between yourself and members of staff.
- Do what works: Replicate your success on posts that get more engagement. If it works, don’t stop.
- Make successful posts into successful promotions: When you notice that a particular post is getting a lot of engagement, promote it to reach even more people. When people like, comment on or share your posts, their friends are also eligible to see those posts in News Feed. It will spread the word even wider and make people more aware of your brand.
Continue to: Getting Started on Facebook: Part 2