As it seems the Internet changes constantly, the business of marketing your business online seems to change often as well. Once upon a time, a Facebook ad campaign was an ideal way to target a narrow audience with repeated impressions. Now, simply getting your business Featured on the big Facebook fan pages in your industry is a far more effective way to market your online business. However, while there's an existing framework in place for Facebook ads, to get featured on one of the big fan pages in your business, you have to practice the three Ps: Push, Promote and Produce.
Push
Odds are, the big Facebook fan pages in your business aren't going to pull your content to their fan page. Hence, you'll have to push. Note that "push" doesn't mean "be pushy." Instead, you'll have to do your homework first and then push that content to the target company. In other words, if you want to get your foot in the door, you have start by pushing the door open.
So how do you start your "Push" to get featured? First off, you have to look at where you're going to push. That is, find the company with enough Facebook fans enough commonalities with your business to make it worth your effort (as a rule, a Facebook fan page with 2,000 fans likely isn't worth the effort). Look for the page or pages that has enough fans to drive traffic to your website and shares enough of a common target audience to create more opt-ins, likes, shares and even purchases. Once you know where you're going to push, create some content to push.
While it's easy to say "I've written this and it got a lot of Likes. Surely XYZ Inc. would want to feature it," doing so overlooks one little thing: What's in it for XYZ Inc.? Instead, think about the value you can offer XYZ Inc.
To make what you're pushing toward XYZ Inc. attractive to that company, simply write about XYZ Inc or interview one of their experts or executives. Then, once you've done that (not before), push your content to XYZ Inc. by approaching them with what you wrote, and mention you'd be thrilled to share it with their readers. If you wrote a good quality piece about XYZ Inc., odds are, they'll take you up on your offer. And when you've pushed your content toward XYZ Inc., it's time to start promoting it.
Promote
Now that XYZ Inc. has shared your content on their Facebook page, remember that it's up to you to promote it. Promote your post for XYZ Inc. to all your readers and everyone on your list. Share it via every social media outlet available to you, and boost SEO for XYZ and you by encouraging your readers to share the content too. When you're done with that, go back to XYZ Inc., show them the time and effort you put in on their behalf to promote your post and the amount of traffic you drove to the XYZ Facebook page and website.
Once you've shown XYZ Inc. the value you bring to the table as both a contributor and promoter, take the opportunity to promote that you have more to offer in the form of more posts, podcasts, videos, etc. In return, mention that you'd appreciate them promoting your additional content on their Facebook page. That request can be as simple as an email worded something like this:
Again, if XYZ Inc. liked what you wrote the first time, it's a good bet they'll accept your offer to do more. Yes, you're now writing for free, but remember - the payoff for your pushing unique and valuable content and promoting it comes in the form of the reciprocated promotion for your business, generated by your featured post or posts on XYZ Inc.'s Facebook fan page.
Now that you've successfully pushed your content, promoted it, and seen your work promoted in return, it's time to promote your passion. Yes, the ultimate goal is to get featured on Facebook by XYZ Inc., but to do that, remind them that you believe in what they're selling and that you want them to succeed. Demonstrating your passion for XYZ Inc. will show them that you're congenial to their cause and that you can be an enthusiastic supporter and content provider, and a valuable asset to the company.
Produce
One appearance on XYZ Inc.'s Facebook page is great and two is even better. With your foot in the door as a valuable asset for XYZ Inc., produce even more content to push the door open wide. Use that additional content as a way to show your passion for XYZ Inc., but also as an opportunity to show that you can be an ongoing asset to their company and their promotional goals.
As an example, let's say XYZ Inc. plans to host a webinar. Use that as an opportunity to promote your passion for XYZ Inc. and their webinar topic, highlighting not only your previous contributions but also your potential to produce more value for the company. Then, prove it by proactively promoting their webinar via blog posts, your email list, and your social media outlets.
Once you've shown that you can bring even more to the table for XYZ Inc., mention that they're more than welcome to share your blog posts highlighting their webinar, and that in return, you'd be happy to share your email list with them to help further promote their webinar. The idea here is to leverage your previous contributions to XYZ Inc. into even more opportunities to push your content, cross-promote and produce even more win-win opportunities for both sides. For additional production ideas, consider the following:
- Review XYZ Inc.'s white papers and online courses on your blog every month in exchange for promotion of your most recent white paper every month on their fan page
- Use your email list to promote XYZ Inc.'s monthly webinar and, in exchange, ask the company to refer their Facebook fans to your newsletter once every month
Use these reciprocal, win-win promotional opportunities as the basis to expand your production and promotional opportunities with XYZ Inc. Offer other cross-promotional opportunities, such as trades of content or exposure to show your value to XYZ Inc. while also producing visibility for you and your business. Those opportunities can include:
- Promotion of their monthly webinar to your email list every month in return for sending out three tweets about your latest expert interview blog
- Contributing one educational video to their YouTube channel every month in return for XYZ Inc. sharing it with their email subscribers
Just as in your previous solicitation for more opportunities, greater cross promotion is as simple as an email that reads like this:
Finally, now that your efforts have produced features on XYZ Inc.'s Facebook page, you've demonstrated your passion for the company, and you've worked out win-win promotional opportunities, develop a plan to produce even more. Produce weekly, bi-weekly or even monthly posts for XYZ Inc. that keep you regularly featured on their Facebook fan page. In return, simply ask for Twitter and Facebook mentions. If XYZ Inc. likes what you've done and they see the value you bring to the table, they'll likely accept your offer of regular production and cross-promotion.
The goal of producing regular content is to develop an ongoing relationship with XYZ Inc. that provides you with continuous exposure on their Facebook fan page and other social media outlets. And that's where you'll see the fruits of your efforts. To insure you're getting the most return on your investment (ROI), watch your analytics and keep tabs of your new subscribers, likes, leads and even your site's traffic sources. If you're happy with the return you're getting for the time you're investing, then congratulations on building a strong business relationship that's worth maintaining for the long-term.
Getting Featured on the most popular Facebook fan pages in your industry can be done, if you remember three Ps: Push, Promote and Produce. Successfully execute those three steps, and your business can take a big step toward more of the fourth P: Profit!