Did you know that 1 in 8 minutes online are spent on Facebook? Research shows that people use Facebook for more than just connecting with friends and family… people welcome the opportunity to connect with businesses on Facebook.
People are open to connecting with businesses on Facebook, but actually engaging your Facebook audience will require you to put your best foot forward—your business will be alongside family photos, updates from friends near and far, and many other distractions.
You may wonder: how do you put your best foot forward on Facebook?
What do your Fans expect from you online? The best fan engagement will be a reflection of the relationship you already have with your customers and prospects. What do they expect from you - in store or in person?
If you’ve spent time considering your business goals for your Facebook Fanpage you’ve probably realized that increasing numbers of Fans, Followers or LIKEs isn’t enough for most businesses. Marketers should be more focused on the level of fan engagement rather than the number of fans or likes in a profile.
Facebook offers countless tools to tweak a Fanpage to meet the needs of any social business – polling customers, event promotion and tracking, posting videos, offering coupons, direct newsletter sign up, contesting apps, apps to schedule appointments, and more! Facebook also gives you the tools to get to know your audience, and to evaluate every aspect of your efforts with Facebook Insights.
Marketers are often quick to jump into engaging fans, but Facebook Fanpages afford businesses the opportunity to realize many aspects of a social media strategy - including:
- Goal definition
- Listening
- Organizing
- Fan Engagement
- Evaluation
In fact, Facebook offers so many tools, most businesses only scratch the surface of Fanpage customization. Just because you have a personal preference on Facebook doesn’t mean you are equipped to create an engaging Facebook Fanpage.
Want to get started efficiently creating a Facebook Fanpage designed to engage your target audience?
Download this 13-page e-book with more than 20 tips on how to maximize the effectiveness of your Facebook FanPage. The Facebook e-book includes an additional section on how to Engage Fans.
Not sure about the effectiveness of your Facebook Fanpage?
It seems today that most every business is on Facebook, and those who aren’t on Facebook are thinking about getting on. But almost as popular as the Facebook Fanpage, is the business owners’ concern that their Facebook efforts are a waste of time. The very engaging and sticky aspects that draw Facebook users in and get them to spend hours a month on the site, also make it easy for employees to get distracted while working on the company Fanpage.
Without a plan, it is far too easy to spend time on Facebook ineffectively or to miss opportunities. Your Facebook activity should be a well though-out aspect of a more encompassing social media strategy. If you wonder if your Facebook Fanpage and social media efforts are effective, start with the end in mind by writing social media goals.
Research shows that those people who write down goals are found to be more successful; well-written social media goals will set your campaign up for success. Not sure where to start with social media goals? Review this blog post: A guide to social media goal writing and you’ll find a free download too – a Social Media Goal Thought Starter.
Until Next time
Melanie Taljaard
