Facebook offers a great platform for you to develop stronger relationships with your fans and customers, but not all Facebook Fan Pages are alike. Fan Pages in the same industry with the same number of fans can have vastly different communities based on how those pages engage with fans. The steps you take in building these relationships is key. Making small changes to your strategy can result in successful marketing and social commerce campaigns.
So what are the basic keys to managing a Facebook Fan Page? How can you make this a powerful platform to build loyalty, spread marketing messages, and generate sales?
#1 Have an Authentic Voice
Fans are smart and they know when a Fan Page is posting with authenticity. Celebrity Fan Pages are great examples. Engagement increases when celebrities post to Fan Page themselves, rather than updates speaking about the celebrity in third-person.
Here is an example of a Facebook post in an authentic voice: Derrick Rose recently posted a short Fan Page update that resulted in over 2% of his Facebook fans either 'Liking' or commenting on the post. This is great fan engagement! Derrick is building his fan loyalty and creating a community.
How do some other popular basketball stars compare?
- Kobe Bryant - Average engagement on first 5 posts at the time of this writing was .08%. None of the posts were in first person or looked to be written by Kobe.
- LeBron James - Posts that are in LeBron's voice are getting .2% engagement. Those outside of his voice are only getting .04% engagement.
Clearly an authentic voice drives engagement and interaction.
#2 Post Consistently and Often
Fifty percent of Facebook users visit daily. They want to see what their friends are doing and see updates from the pages they follow. Their behavior stresses that they want to see updates from you. Regular posts mean regular engagement. This gives you a better platform to promote and sell on Facebook when the time is right.
Here is an example of a missed opportunity. The Michael Jordan Fan Page has almost 10 million Facebook fans, but has not posted since 2009! Michael or his team may not even manage the page itself (most likely not). Imagine the engagement his page would get if posts were coming from Michael himself. Imagine the possibilities of promoting special offers to this ready-made audience of 10 million fans.
So What?
Why does posting consistently and with authenticity matter? When the timing is right to promote a special offer to your fans, they will be much more receptive.
Think of it this way: If you were able to drive your marketing message through any popular Facebook Fan Page, would you choose one with a more engaged community or one with less?