"Yea! I just reached 200 'Likes'!"
200 "Likes" seem to be a pinnacle to businesses that start using social media to build brand awareness.
When it comes to turning "Likes" into dollars, there are a bunch of factors that work in unison to inevitably make you rich.
I am going to use the socially accepted analogy of treating your Facebook page like a house party.
It’s Friday night, and you feel like getting your party on! You call up your eight to 12 of your closest friends, and notify them that you are offering up your house as a venue to host the craziest bash Clinton has ever seen!
About an hour later those same eight to 12 friends show up, and the party begins. You dance, laugh, and have a great time cutting the shag rug in your seventies retro décor apartment.
What a blast!
The only thing that would make that party any cooler would be more people! The more the merrier right?
If only you had directed those eight to 12 BFFs to tell more of their friends about the awesome party you were about to throw, then your place might have been packed!
Instead, you are left with just a cool get together that resembles the same event that happened last weekend. Not the premier bash you might have had stewed up in your mind when you made the initial phone call.
Although it was a fun time…it could have been better! That’s how social media works, folks.
You have to tell your closest friends (fans) to spread the word. People usually friend those with whom they share common interests. Your current fans have already proven that they care what you have to say. It’s probably a safe bet that their friends will "Like" your page as well.
Give them a reason to promote your product or service. Ask them to share a photo for a chance to win a small prize. Author some open ended posts that result in the reader filling in the blank.
Not too long ago, Facebook introduced a little ditty called PageRank.
PageRank ensures that Facebook users only see information that they (Facebook) deem as relevant. It’s based on the amount of engagement that a user has had with that particular page.
In a social nut shell, if people fail to interact with a page--resulting in post shares or comments--you can guarantee that your message will start to fall on deaf ears.
No matter how cool you think you are on Facebook, if you don’t instruct your fans to tell their peers about your business, you will be home all alone next Saturday night sipping on a virgin daiquiri, listening to the first Britney Spears album, while playing Nintendo’s Wii Tennis.
Shout your existence from the roof tops! You have something awesome to share with the world.
I’m looking forward to witnessing your success!
- Andy
P.S. I would be an insanely lame hypocrite if I didn't practice what I preached, so I need you to help me spread the word about my business, Bent Business Marketing. Tell your friends, mom, dad, Girl Scout troop, or friends at the local nursing home!
Let everyone know that there is a better way to do business. Our local economy depends on it!
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Andy Sokolovich is the owner of small business marketing firm Bent Business Marketing. He can be reached at andy@BentBusinessMarketing.com.
