If the Affordable Care Act website goes down in a forest will anyone notice that they can’t sign up? Considering they couldn’t sign up when it was up ?

If a horse walks into a bar and the bartender says “Why the long face”, will anyone get the joke?

Let’s bring it home:

If a business has over 6000 “likes” on their Facebook page but only 95 people are “talking about it” is their Facebook page working for them?

What is more valuable: a business with 6000 likes and 95 people talking about it, or a business with 500 likes and 100 people talking about it?

Well, what’s the value of an email subscriber if the company never uses the database for anything? And what’s the value of the same email subscriber if the company has a smart, user-focused strategy for email?

Aha! Now we’re getting somewhere.

It is what companies do with fans that create value, not merely that a brand has fans that create value for the company. Without a Facebook strategy, or any social media strategy for that matter, the collecting of likes, followers, and connections have no meaning.

This we know: Value is made greater when brands foster stronger relationships with engaged fans.

New page insights on Facebook business make it as simple as Google Analytics- simpler, really, than ever before for business owners to gauge what types of posts motivate someone to do something. In it we can now see likes, comments, shares and post clicks.

A client of mine is rocking the value of their Facebook page and seeing clear results from it. Open for only 7 months, their Facebook page has over 500 likes, over 430 of them organically with only utilizing 1 paid ad. More importantly they have over 100 people talking about them (commenting, sharing, clicking into posts, liking posts)

Here are some ways we are engaging and retaining customers on Facebook and converting them to sales:

6 Ways to Engage Your Facebook Likes and Convert Them To Sales

  • Post a lot of high res and interesting images Tips for posting images to Facebook: Larger images tend to get more likes, shares and comments. Use the Upload Photos/Video function to publish photo files directly into your post instead of posting a link that shows a thumbnail. Optimize images for the 403 x 403 pixel display in the timeline. Larger images display from the center of the image, and some of the edges may not appear in the news feed unless a user clicks through.
  • Upload useful, relevant info that will engage your particular audience. Make it relevant to their needs, not yours. My client is an urgent care center, so helpful to them is useful health alerts that are emerging at the center. “We saw 24 positive flu’s this week. Make sure to get your flu shot.” Not only will this alert your audience to the outbreak, but it will remind them to come get their flu shot…without having to “sell it”. And oh- by the way- there’s a coupon app under the banner for $5 off, which brings me to
  • Make use of the available Facebook apps and add relevant, engaging ones specific to your audience. Like a coupon for a discounted flu shot, lets just say.
  • Include video, when at all possible, again relevant to your brand. We produce a “Medical Minute” YouTube series and blog. You can bet your bippee every one of them get uploaded from their YouTube channel to their Facebook page, as well as their website of course. This strategy packs a triple whammy: not only are you encouraging engagement, familiarity with the staff /brand/product/service, but doing this also gives the added advantage of using YouTubes’ (Googles) massive SEO juice. On top of that, you are leading them to your YouTube channel where the balance of your fancy schmancy video’s live. And hey, there’s an app for that too, that can be housed directly under the banner
  • Gather Votes With Like vs. Share Ask your fans to like a post to vote for option A, or share the post to vote for option B. Because vote counts are visible, fans are motivated to participate. Walmart frequently uses the like vs. share post with a mashup of two competing images and a small graphic overlay of a like vs. share icon. They post the full image with a brief description that tells fans how to participate.
  • facebook like vs share
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+

 

  • Offer Weekly Give Aways, or a raffle: Once you’ve done it a few times, Your fans will come to the page just to see what is being given away that week. And then theyr’e there. Now what? What else can you have on the page once they click into it that will lead them to you? It does NOT have to be pricey—a $10 gas card, (who doesn’t love a gas card), or a $15 CVS card but again, make it relevant to your demographics and audience. If your business is not in a Starbucks kind of hood, offer a Dunkin Donuts gift card. It also creates good karma with your choice of gift card partner. Often times they will donate a gift card for the opportunity to spread their own brand.

Have you found easy ways to convert Facebook likes to sales on Facebook? Or is real value only created when you unleash the potential value of fans via programs, interaction, information and other sorts of engagement? Your social media strategy is only a strategy when it is leading potential leads to your business. Engagement, familiarity, fun, what’s in it for them factor, are all necessary factors when thinking through how your Facebook platform will lead your potential “likes” to your door.

What works for you?

 


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