Small Business Trends

Tips To Get People To Join Your Facebook Fan Page

Social MediaSeptember 16, 2009By Lisa Barone

With its new tagging ability, Facebook has made its site a whole lot more appealing for small business owners. Small business owners have the ability to seek out the people talking about them and users can get their voices heard, knowing businesses can check to see who has tagged them. But before either party can take advantage of Facebook’s new feature, you first have to get your customers to opt into the relationship. You have to give them a reason to friend your Facebook Fan page, and that’s not always easy.

I’ve written in the past about how to create a Facebook Fan page – how to set it up, what to put on it, how to make it look and feel like your brand. But how do you get people to actually want to join the page? How do you combat brand fatigue and take them from a passive observer to a full-blown brand evangelist?

You have to create an incentive.

Make People Feel Part Of Something

Think back to high school. You joined cliques for survival and to help you feel liked, respected, wanted, etc. You joined because you were made to feel like you were missing out if you weren’t part of the group. Social networking works the same way.

It’s very easy to be passive on Facebook. If you want someone to take that step and openly associate themselves with your brand, you need to make them feel like they’re missing out by NOT being part of your community. That they’ll be losing out on a common experience or missing the joke if they stay on the outside. You create that by making your community sound and feel 100x times larger than it actually is (unless you’re purposely trying to seem small and elite). You fake it until you make it. You make tagging part of your fans daily interaction with you. You make a game out of it so that you’re always showing up on their wall (with a link to your Fan page) and they’re always showing up on your page. Doing this helps spread your brand, it keeps you in people’s top of mind, and it makes them curious as to why they’re seeing you all over the place. I mean, how else do you get people to become fans of tarantulas?

Appeal To Core Members

Every group has a core bunch. The handful of folks who are responsible for change, for leading things, for getting everyone excited and spreading the company message. Reach out to these folks and get them involved in talking about your Fan page.

Create your promotional army by hand selecting the major players, sending the messages thanking them for their support, and then telling them that you need their help. Make them feel important and like they’re on the cutting edge of whatever you’re doing. Get them to always be talking about you and tagging you places. These types of action increase your trust, build your credibility and give you social proof. These types of connectors are usually the ones with very large social networks on sites like Twitter or Facebook. Ask them to use Facebook’s Suggest feature to “suggest” that their friends fan your page. When the request comes from them, it’s harder for others to decline and it just reinforces that “inside joke”.

Offer Exclusive Content

Facebook is much more intimate than the other social media sites. Users are less likely to invite strangers into their networks and are wary of brands. If you want their attention, you have to give them something of value for their efforts. Something exclusive that they can’t get from your Web site, Twitter account or anywhere else on the Web.

The most popular way of doing these seems to be through Facebook-specific coupons or special offers. Friday’s is offering free hamburgers, Victoria Secrets gave away free undies, Sears gave away coupons and gift cards, etc. Other brands give away exclusive content via video, photos, applications, advanced notice of events, or even just real interaction with other members. Figure out what your customers crave and then give it to them.

Make Your Fan Page Their Forum

No one wants to join a group where they have no voice. They want to interact with the brands they love and feel like they’re being listened to. Once of the best ways to get people to fan your page is to use it as a forum where you ask and listen to your customers’ advice. Let your members lead by turning your Fan page into a place where users can express themselves, to talk about what they don’t like, and things like they’d like to see you do in the future. If you have an upcoming campaign or product you’re working on create a Facebook focus group that encourages people to offer their input. If word gets out that your Facebook Fan page is where you go to crowdsource your ideas, people are going to want to be a part of that. Make your Fan page the place where your customers can go to get heard.

Facebook Fan pages have always been a valuable way to build a community and learn about your audience. However, now they’re also a great way to get your users to spread the word about your brand to their friends with the use of tags. Give them a reason to join your Fan page. Make it exciting and worth their time. And then encourage them to talk about you, to tag you and increase the eyeballs interacting with you online.

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121 Responses to “Tips To Get People To Join Your Facebook Fan Page”

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  1. Robert Brady says:
    September 16, 2009 at 9:27 am

    Don’t forget that you can also advertise your Facebook page with Facebook ads (disclaimer: I’m a big fan of PPC). The fan page ads have a Become a Fan button right under your ad making it easy for new fans to “join the club” and when one person becomes a fan all their friends see that in their feeds as well, allowing for a viral growth pattern if you’ve followed Lisa’s advice above.

  2. TJ McCue says:
    September 16, 2009 at 10:40 am

    Thanks Robert for the reminder. Good idea.
    Lisa, your posts are always right in the pulse of life. Thanks for these thoughts. I’ll pass them on to some clients.

  3. Twitter Trackbacks for Tips To Get People To Join Your Facebook Fan Page | Small Business Trends [smallbiztrends.com] on Topsy.com says:
    September 16, 2009 at 10:57 am

    [...] Tips To Get People To Join Your Facebook Fan Page | Small Business Trends smallbiztrends.com/2009/09/tips-to-get-people-to-join-your-facebook-fan-page.html – view page – cached With its new tagging ability, Facebook has made its site a whole lot more appealing for small business owners. Small business owners have the ability to seek — From the page [...]

  4. Gadget Sleuth says:
    September 16, 2009 at 11:41 am

    Does having lots of Facebook fans matter really anymore? It was the same as having a lot of MySpace friends…just a sea of people on a webpage who barely know who you are or what you stand for.

  5. Rebecca Smoot says:
    September 16, 2009 at 11:52 am

    I agree the new @mention function on Facebook can create a much deeper level of Fan engagement as well as broaden the Page reach across Facebook.

    Gadget – Facebook reported yesterday it has 300 Million users growing at over 5 Million users a week. How can any brand ignore such an opportunity. A FB Page will be as successful as the ongoing value it provides to it’s Fans… it’s about what you GIVE… in order to get anything out of it.

  6. Shirley George Frazier says:
    September 16, 2009 at 1:14 pm

    These tips give me great thoughts about downloads and other content to encourage new members to my two fan pages (with more pages to come, no doubt).

    It’s not easy building a base or convincing people to stop what they’re doing to check out your page and join, so valuable bribes with expiration dates are good incentives.

  7. Martin Lindeskog says:
    September 16, 2009 at 2:29 pm

    Robert Brady,

    I am interested to learn more about the Facebook ads for your fan page. Please “shoot” me an email…

    Lisa: I can’t offer your “undies,” but a you could win a cool t-shirt if you join NetZpider.net’s fan page. Please check out the site if you want to learn how Kalle Blomqvist a.k.a Charlie Bloom will use crowsourcing for “inventing, developing, spreading and selling two-way messages.”

    Full disclosure: I am social media enthusiast for NetZpider Network. Click on “Martin Lindeskog” Says: and you could read more about NetZpider Fan Page.

  8. Martin Lindeskog says:
    September 16, 2009 at 2:33 pm

    Hi again!

    I saw a Facebook connect button, so I had to test to write a comment by using my Facebook login! ;)

  9. Martin Lindeskog says:
    September 16, 2009 at 2:41 pm

    Sorry for the typo. It must be the crow epistemology that is kicking in… ;) It should be crowdsourcing.

  10. Kris Bovay says:
    September 16, 2009 at 4:19 pm

    Good tips. Thanks Lisa. I partcularly like the ‘make your fan page, their forum’ concept and will share it with clients to see how deeply they want to engage with their audience.

  11. Facebook User says:
    September 16, 2009 at 9:14 pm

    I believe the engaging part is half the battle. Make a page and give fans a reason to come back. Thanks for the tips.

  12. Anup S says:
    September 16, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    I just created a facebook site for our challenging mission. Your article was just in time because at this time we have no fans :)

  13. RedHotFranchises says:
    September 17, 2009 at 12:21 am

    The twitter frenzy is a great brand marketing opportunity for marketers, although I’d have to say Facebook is the Bomb with 175 million users in comparison to 6 Million Twitter users. Facebook users spend an average of 3 hours and 10 minutes on the site per-month the highest average time per-person amongst the 75 most popular brands online.

  14. Amanda Collier Stillwagon says:
    September 17, 2009 at 9:26 am

    I like the idea of exclusive content. A big draw for consumers would be the added benefit of providing exclusive coupons and coupon codes to shoppers. We’re all looking to save money and time, so being alerted to exclusive savings and sales would appeal to a lot of consumers especially with the holidays approaching so quickly.

  15. Get More “Fans” for Your Business/Brand Facebook Page « Advertising In A Recession says:
    September 17, 2009 at 10:54 am

    [...] Read Article [...]

  16. Endeavour Marketing & Media, LLC. » Get More “Fans” for Your Biz Facebook Page says:
    September 17, 2009 at 10:56 am

    [...] Read Article [...]

  17. Bill Walsh says:
    September 18, 2009 at 6:28 pm

    The important part is that the fans are incredibly targeted. For help doing this, http://www.cfsrevolution.com is a great resources

  18. Martin Lindeskog says:
    September 18, 2009 at 10:02 pm

    Do you have a short intro. on how to create Facebook Fan Page? Do create your fan page via your main profile or should first create a new account?

  19. social networking software development says:
    September 19, 2009 at 4:44 am

    Besides not downloading apps from people you do not know, watch out for messages you’re your friends that request you download files or follow links to other websites. If you are not 100% sure the message really came from that friend, do not click those links!

  20. Mark Mayhew says:
    September 21, 2009 at 7:40 am

    good post, I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who thinks that Facebook’s tagging feature, esp. in status updates, can be important/powerful.

  21. Jeff Yablon says:
    September 22, 2009 at 4:18 pm

    Nice. Generally follows the “how to do social media” blueprint, but great to see it made specific to this!

    Jeff Yablon
    President & CEO
    Answer Guy and Virtual VIP Computer Care, Business Coaching and Virtual Assistant Services

  22. social network designer says:
    September 23, 2009 at 12:36 pm

    Social networking tip #2: Turn cards into contacts

    When you get a business card in a meeting or conference, what do you do with it?

    * Stick it in your Rolodex?
    * Shove it in your drawer?
    * Use it to level up a rickety table at your café?

    If you want to make the most of that connection, you’ll immediately send that person an invitation to your network. That way they’ll keep up to date with your professional movements so down the track when you reach out to them, they won’t go, “Helen who?”.

  23. Susan Mallery says:
    October 12, 2009 at 8:59 am

    I’m an author with a fan page (http://facebook.com/susanmallery), and I love these ideas. My fans seem to love playing word games with me, like a madlib-type game I call MalleryLib.

    I don’t completely understand the @mention feature yet. I understand that when fans mention me by name on their wall, @susanmallery, their friends can click on my name and come to my page. But is there a way for me to see who has mentioned me?

  24. Gabe Nowak says:
    October 13, 2009 at 9:45 am

    Great article – we find our Facebook page very easy to keep up-to-date and also get instant reactions and quote requests to any new services or products we offer. Great article!

  25. Gabe Nowak says:
    October 13, 2009 at 9:47 am

    Thanks for the great article – we have our Facebook page address on all of our email communication – a great way for people to check us out and add us as a fan – please check out our page: http://tinyurl.com/have1com

  26. Twitter is from Mars, Facebook is from Venus « Real Florists Web Marketing & SEO says:
    November 27, 2009 at 1:00 am

    [...] too frequently is sure to get you “unfanned”, that is, if you were lucky enough to get some fans in the first place. Most Facebook users will only become a fan of a business they know, a brand [...]

  27. Nathan says:
    December 4, 2009 at 9:24 am

    I just started on the Facebook Fan Page for Palmetto Cheese. Another great way to attract fans is to give them content on your page that makes people want to come back. I made a recipe of the week slideshow that takes you step by step making a recipe using Palmetto Cheese. We also just started the Soulful Recipe Contest; which allows fans to signup on our fan page to the contest. I used an application called Wildfire that enabled me to put the contest directly on the fan page. I also began developing a character for the brand that will attract more families. He is called Pawley the Pimento. Palmetto Cheese was started in Pawleys Island, SC. For more information check out the Palmetto Cheese Fan Page

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Palmetto-Cheese-The-Pimento-Cheese-with-Soul/174917607012?ref=nf

  28. MiWebDesign says:
    December 4, 2009 at 3:20 pm

    Great tips to get people to join your Facebook Fan page! Thanks for sharing your insights!

  29. Top 10 Most Popular Social Media and Marketing Articles Tweeted in December 2009 « Steve Farnsworth's Digital Marketing Mercenary says:
    January 2, 2010 at 4:54 pm

    [...] 2.) Tips To Get People To Join Your Facebook Fan Page [...]

  30. Darren says:
    January 11, 2010 at 10:21 am

    I always kept Facebook as my personal space online. I also don’t think that Facebook ads provide the ROI small businesses need.

  31. one of my favorite blogs right now… : Marketing, Design and Life says:
    January 15, 2010 at 6:10 am

    [...] Tips To Get People To Join Your Facebook Fan Page [Small Business Trends] [...]

  32. stillwagon428 says:
    September 17, 2009 at 10:23 am

    Nice ideas sure to appeal to your business consumers.

    This comment was originally posted on Digg



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