Social media marketing is booming day by day and every online business is changing their strategy to be more active on social media platforms. Apart from the branding benefits, you also get targeted users that convert better into sales. Think of your Facebook page or other social media platforms as the first touch point to build trust factor, after which sales will be made on your website or through your referral link. I run the ShoutMeLoud Facebook page which has over 58,000 followers and here I share many of the strategies that helped me get to this level, it’s not the quantity that matters, it’s the engagement that matters.
If you are using Facebook as a marketing tool, this article will help you enhance your efforts and make your page more popular and engaging. One thing you should know about Facebook business is that now the number of fans on your page does not matter unless your fans engage with your updates. Facebook fan page is like a community/forum and like any other forum, you need to take good care of it to have an active community.
Creating a fan page is easy and I have shared a complete how-to guide here . Now, once your page is set up, there are many things that require daily attention to ensure your page will be more popular. Remember, engagement and more real likes are key and we will briefly cover all the actionable tips that you can easily implement.
Tips for Creating a Popular Facebook Fan Page
Now, almost all popular brands, such as Coca-Cola and Nike, have entered Facebook through fan pages. They use Facebook to interact with customers and enhance brand reputation. Think about it, Coca-Cola does not sell cola.
A fan page will help your readers and customers to easily reach you, and for businesses, it’s a great way to get direct feedback, suggestions, and communicate with your readers. Depending on who you are (blogger, entrepreneur, or online small business), you should develop your strategy accordingly.
One of the most important things is to have a clear goal. Set a goal for your page and most importantly determine your target audience demographic. For example, on my Facebook page, I target males/females between the ages of 18-40, with a global audience. For you, it depends on your business model.
For example: One of my friend who is a small startup and doing dropshipping business, he used Facebook for branding and actual sales happened on other e-commerce platforms which were not his. Since he was dealing in fashion clothing, the target customer was 16-30 years old and the location was limited to India. Also, he realized that most of his sales happened in the southern states of India, so he changed his Facebook marketing strategy to make his Facebook page more popular in the southern states.
Now is the time to learn some things that will help you grow your Facebook presence and establish yourself as a brand and popular hangout on Facebook.
Brand avatar and timeline cover:
The new Facebook timeline style not only allows you to add a profile picture, but also a cover picture. I recommend that you use your profile picture as your brand logo/avatar/Gravatar and use a timeline cover picture to introduce your brand. You can hire a freelancer from a site like Fiverr who charges $5 for such a cover picture, or you can use any of these Facebook cover maker sites to create or download your own cover picture.
Facebook Vanity URL:
Another role of branding is to use the same brand name (username) everywhere. Facebook allows you to add a custom vanity URL to your fan page, for example, the ShoutMeLoud fan page URL is Facebook.com/SidelinePlay . Not only is this easier to remember and type, but it also adds brand value.
Doing this will also help you promote your Facebook page on business cards or anywhere you have an ad campaign. For example, I can add a small Facebook icon to my business card and add @shoutmeloud, which clearly shows that the name we use on Facebook is ShoutMeLoud. Use your brand name and make sure it is memorable and people can write it down easily. If your business or brand name is too long, you may want to shorten it to something smaller. For example, my friend's business name is "Luckymojo Corporation" and he chose the name "Luckymojocorp" on Facebook. So use your creativity and choose an ideal name. If you are not sure, don't rush because it will be difficult to change the Facebook page name later.
Get more likes:
Now, another rule of thumb for a successful fan page is the number of fans. You need to get a lot of likes for your fan page, and an easy way to do that is to use Facebook ads . You can also hire a social media company to set your ad goals and help you get targeted likes. I have tried their ads many times and they work great because you can define demographics and the targeting is very useful.
If you have a website or blog, you can use the Facebook fan page box to embed the like box on your website. If you are an administrator, you can first invite all your friends to join your page, for this, use the Facebook invite all chrome extension. I strongly recommend that you do not buy fans from third-party unreliable services that sell 10,000 fans for $5 and so on. Because, these people will not be targeted and will reduce your engagement score.
I’ve shared some links to articles that will give you great insights on how to get more fans on your fan page:
Interact with readers:
Having a fan page with thousands of fans doesn't help you unless you engage with them. If you know about Edge Rank in Facebook, you know that when you push an update on your fan page, not every fan will see it, but a certain percentage of your fans will see it, based on your Edge Rank. And that percentage depends on the previous interactions between your fans and your updates. For example, if I like a certain page and I usually like, share or comment on that page, then I am more likely to see more updates from a specific page on my Facebook timeline. This is also helpful from a user's perspective because it will make my Facebook timeline more targeted and I will see content that I engage with.
An easy way to get more fans to see your posts is to engage with them and keep updating your page. Try to engage your readers and ask them some questions that they would be happy to answer right away. Ask general questions, trivia questions that will engage them. In particular, I've noticed that pictures/inspirational quotes go viral more on fan pages. You can use the Facebook fan page admin role feature to add new content developers and moderators, which will help you manage your page and make it more viral. If you use Facebook as your biggest marketing tool, you should consider hiring an in-house social media manager or hiring a social media agency.
Use the right Facebook tools to automate:
Now, for busy people like you and me, being on Facebook all the time and updating constantly is impossible. There are many social media marketing tools that you should consider using that will make things easier. There are 3 tools that I usually use to manage my page, and you can pick one that suits your needs. I will share all of the two tools I use:
- Hootsuite : This is a full-featured social media management tool that works with Facebook pages, Twitter, Google+, and a few other social media platforms. You can schedule updates, and with just a few hours of work, you can manage all your social media platforms. This is a freemium tool, and with a free account, you can manage up to 5 pages. You can read the full review of hoot suite here.
- Postplanner : If you are looking for a specific tool just for Facebook, you should consider using Postplanner. This is one of the most popular and easy to use Facebook marketing tools. I have shared a detailed review of Postplanner here which will teach you how to use it and what you can do with this amazing tool.
These two tools allow you to schedule a large number of updates on your Facebook page at once, and your page will be on autopilot mode. Just a piece of advice; don’t make your page completely automated. Keep the right balance between automated and manual marketing. After all, social media is about being social; isn’t it?
Use the photo and tag features to:
Facebook gives you the option to upload pictures and tag your friends. Since I have around 2000+ friends on my official Facebook profile, most of them are bloggers. I uploaded pictures from various blogger meetups I attended and tagged them. This resulted in 50+ new followers to the Shoutmeloud Facebook page. Nonetheless, people love to tag their friends when you share pictures that are thought provoking or add value. So, make use of this feature to make the most of the pictures you upload on Facebook.
You should also follow the latest developments in Facebook marketing news, which will let you know what new things you can do to make your page more viral and popular. Remember, making anything popular is not something that can be done overnight, and you need to start making it happen now. It’s a slow process, but it will really benefit you in the long run. There are many more techniques and ideas that you can implement, but you can start with these now, which will help you grow every day.
What to read next?
Let us know what tips you are implementing to make your Facebook page popular. If you are using any effective apps or tools, let us know through comments. Now, if you found this article useful, don’t forget to share it on Facebook.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you click through to visit us, at no extra cost to you. See how SidelinePlay is funded, why it’s important, and how you can support us.
Was this helpful?