Many small business owners have both a personal page, and a fan page on Facebook. One is obviously for private use with friends and family, the other for business use with fans and clients. But is it possible to use your personal Facebook page to get likes for your business fan page? We say yes, and we're going to tell you how below.
The Friend Connection
Right now you're personally connected to a number of people on Facebook. According to Facebook's own stats, it's probably around 130 or more. If each of your 130 friends is connected to another 130 people - your actual network reach is about 16,900 people. Looking a bit larger now, isn't it?
Assuming many of these are the same person across familiar networks, we can conservatively say that you have the potential to reach about thirteen thousand people from your personal Facebook page. But why would your reach be more realistic here than on - say your fan page?
• A face and a name
• Real connections, with real people
• Acts of human kindness
You've only allowed people on your personal network that you know or have met before. This means you are instantly socially connected with them. You aren't a nameless, faceless random in other words. This gives you the power of persuasion. It means, that if you really wanted to - you could send a personal Facebook message to everyone you know, and ask them to post something great about your fan page.
Appealing to people you know gets results. When you appeal to them personally, and ask a favor - people are 90% more likely to help you, if they know you. Everyone on your private network knows you. Secretly, you have access to over 10,000 people on Facebook...and you've only JUST realized it.
Let's say you're desperate to get 100 new likes for your fan page. What should you do? Use your network of course! The more someone knows you, the harder they'll promote for you. Pick 30 of your closest, best friends and family. Ask each of them personally to get 4 new people to like your business page. Result? One hundred and forty likes, for free and for nearly no effort at all.
Your Personal Facebook Page Power
We often forget as marketers that we're trying to create a business Facebook page that feels as connected as our personal pages. If only you could get those instant reactions your real friends give you! Well business is business. It's no secret that the more likes you have, the more likes you're likely to get. They show authority, credibility and activity. You'd sooner join a page with 1000 fans than 100 - right?
So start channeling your efforts into utilizing your personal page to build your fan base on your business page. Sending invites out to the same people is not going to grow your fan base. You need to use the people you know and trust to get ahead. That's social networking in its purest form!
How do you use your personal page to get likes for your fan page? We'd love to hear your great tips!
Image: Courtesy of sleengroup.com