How to Market on Facebook - 10 Smart Tips
How to Market on FacebookAbout two weeks ago I asked my facebook friends who would be interested in getting some traffic and exposure from my site that was willing to write an article on how to use Facebook for Marketing. About 30 people wrote me and said they were going to, only one actually did though. Today's ten tips come from none other than my good friend from the UK, Rachael Macgregor.
Can You Use Facebook for Business?
(From Ray) The answer is yes, but, you have to be very careful as to not tread on the annoying side of things. I have used Facebook for business for about two years. My wife has actually used Facebook to enroll more than 50 people into our primary company and become the #1 female earner in the company. So, yes, it is certainly possible to do Facebook marketing in an effective way.
Rachael's Top 10 Tips for Facebook Marketing
In the last year so many people have run to Facebook Marketing like it's going to solve all their problems and make it super-easy to build a business.
It will.
But only if you actually learn how to use it like a pro and stand out from the crowd.
Now, if you were looking for ways to mess around on Facebook "working" and doing fancy fanpage stuff, look elsewhere because in this article we're going to get in to the nitty gritty of what makes real people pay attention to you, follow you and inevitably BUY from you. When you know this, you don't even need to know half of the technical stuff.
I personally used Facebook marketing to get my business off to a super-fast start and replaced my income in my first 30 days online. So believe me, if a stay at home mum with no marketing experience can figure it out, you can tooI give you, my 10 Unusual Facebook Marketing Tips To Get REAL Prospects Hooked On You
1. Be cool, dude. There's nothing that screams out "I NEED TO MAKE MONEY" more than someone who posts links to their MLM or affiliate products on their wall all day. Or even worse, someone else's wall. Chill out and remember it's relationships first. Use Facebook to connect with people whether through your fan page, friends list, or by interacting on their pages. Work on being the least needy network marketer out there and you're already miles ahead of the pack.
2. Show people you are human. Gone are the days of stuffy professional businesses! People want REAL stuff now. Look at reality shows, they get people hooked. And why? Cause we've had enough of people hiding behind their business suits, their fancy shows and personas. We want to see the raw human stuff and relate to it (or laugh at it). I'm always sharing my life with my fans. It's what makes me real and helps me to stand out from the crowd. And often it's the silliest or most embarrassing things that get me a ton of messages, friend requests, likes and shares. Use Facebook as a platform to be more of you and to get people curious.
3. Create communities. Facebook groups are a great way to create small communities with your fans or even to use as incentives for buying a product through you or joining your team. You can set up a group by going to Facebook Groups and invite your chosen people to it. This is a great way to have a more personal relationship with your followers and create a win-win situation.Here are a couple of ways you can use groups to help grow your business -* Set up a private syndication group for members of your team - they get their content seen by more people and you create a tight-knit group of loyal followers.* Use a Facebook group to share your results with buyers of a product and answer their questions. Often other members will answer questions too making the load lighter on you. This can be a great way to ensure people stay subscribed or even upgrade their service.* Set a challenge for your team and create an 'elite' group where people get to know about upcoming promotions or products before anyone else for anyone that reaches their goal.*You can post videos in groups which will allow only members to have access, great for sharing private training.* You can make groups entirely secret so no one can see the content or members, or completely open for anyone to see. Lots of flexibility means you can create groups for all kinds of topics.*Turn on your notifications for the groups you create so that you stay in the loop, and be sure to reply to anyone in there so that you really connect with the community you are building. I post at least once per day in all my groups to keep them growing and flowing with conversations.
4. It's all about curiosity. If you learn how to simply make people attracted to what you are doing on Facebook, there's no need to go stuffing sign up links in their inbox. When someone gets curious about what it is you do, and how you are just so darn cool, they'll want to find out more. That's why you must ALWAYS have a good info page for both your personal profile and fan page so that people can find their own way to your website and email list. Now of course, if it comes up in conversation, that's a different matter. I learned in the beginning to always play it cool if someone says they are looking for something I have to offer and just say something like "If you'd like a link to it, just let me know" instead of suddenly going in to a big speech about what I do and how they can sign up. It's shows you're not needy and it keeps them curious. I don't think I've ever had someone that hasn't said "Yes please, that would be great!".
5. Lead with content and value first. If you've been a reader of Ray's blog for any amount of time you'll know that he leads with outstanding value first, and reaps the rewards second. It always has to be about the win-win with blogging and Facebook marketing is no different. Think of what your fans need from you and strive to deliver it daily. Ask thought-provoking questions that start discussions, post your latest blog content and videos, hold free Q&A webinars for your fans to participate in, answer every question that is posted on your wall and interact with everyone that takes the time to come to your page. Make them feel like they are getting something out of the relationship first, and then you will start to see the results second.
6. Network. It makes me laugh to put this in here but I have to. So many people still think that Facebook marketing is just about numbers and masses and that they don't really need to have any one-to-one contact with people. Facebook is a TOOL which is great for networking - but you are going to have to get comfortable with having conversations with people if you want to be successful. In fact the whole AIM of Facebook marketing is to have an inbox full to the brim of people asking about how they can work with you, or asking you for help (hint, any time someone asks you for help it's an excellent time to check if they are happy where they are or if they need to get in to some training like MLSP to help them along). If you don't respond when someone actually sends you a message, you are throwing away prospects and income.
Some ways to start making connections and getting fans are:* Commenting on other fan pages with the "Use Facebook as Page" feature you will see on the right hand side of your fan page. This way when people click on your image they will go to your fan page, not your profile. Leave interesting, thoughtful comments and people will check you out and become fans.* On blogs with Facebook comments activated you can choose to post as your page instead of your profile, again this will mean that people will be led to your fan page if they click on your name.* Add friends from relevant groups and fan pages and start conversations with them. This is something I did a lot of when I first started to really get my name out there and start making connections. At the end of each day I would check to see who was on Facebook chat and strike up some conversations. You can also use the inbox system - and the great thing is that Facebook saves your chat history so you never have to worry about forgetting what you last talked about with someone.* Facebook pay per click advertising is a great way to get targeted fans to come to you and start generating leads for your business. It's relatively easy to get set up and to get cheap leads if you start of sensible and go in with a 'testing' mindset. Personally, I've generated leads for as little as 50c using Facebook ppc, as well as using it to build my fan base too. There's some fab training on this on Ray's site here - Facebook Pay Per Click by Michelle Alpha.
7. Use tagging sensibly. There are great ways to use tagging and there are TERRIBLE ways to use it that will just hurt your reputation and make you look like a fool. I talk about it here in "3 Facebook Marketing Tips That Are Ruining Your Reputation" (LINK to post - /the-3-facebook-marketing-tips-that-are-ruining-your-reputation/ ). Think of the win-win in every situation. For example, if you just made a video promoting your blog and then tagged some people you knew in it - where's the win for them? Why would they keep it up on their page and send their friends/fans to it? Chances are they will delete the tag and think that you're a bit of a fool.
But imagine you just read this fantastic article ;) and you wanted to get a little exposure for yourself too. Well there's nothing wrong with writing a little testimonial type update and tagging Ray and myself in it. There's a win-win right there.
"Just read a great post over on @Ray Higdon's blog. Thanks for the great tips @Rachael Macgregor!"
Ray and I get some good looking social proof and YOU get a little link back to your fan page (from our busy pages) giving you some exposure.That's a smart way to use tagging and also a great way for showing leaders that you appreciate what they do. Which leads me to my next point
8. Connect with leaders. The funny thing about Facebook is, everyone is on it and most people are hooked just like any human being. It doesn't matter if they are famous, make $100 or $50k a month, are loved or hated - anyone with a Facebook account has the same features as all of us and communicates with others in the same way - via their wall, fan page and inbox/chat.Now, some people like Robert Kiyosaki and Richard Branson have social media managers but for most people in our industry, even those with personal assistants, they do the majority of their Facebook marketing themselves as it's such a personal thing.
This is great news for you. This means you can reach out to anyone on Facebook and have a real chance of getting a reply from them - and better yet, starting a real relationship. I've connected with so many others via Facebook. In fact that's exactly how Ray and I got to know each other over a year ago. A simple message and friend request is all that you need to get started, and over time by commenting on others posts, sharing and messaging those relationships become real friendships. You will never know how it will turn out and you can't go in it thinking "what's in it for me". You will learn so much by being connected with industry leaders and further down the line who knows what will happen - joint ventures, webinars, guest blogging, testimonials are all possible but only when you build a true relationship first and see what you can do to help the other person before yourself.
9. Show people you are here to stay. When I was starting out and looking for strong leaders to learn from, I looked at how consistent they were in their actions. It wasn't something I did on purpose but think about it - if someone is forever jumping around, vanishing for weeks at a time or promoting something different every day then it doesn't look like they know what they're doing and more importantly it doesn't look like what they are doing WORKS. By being consistent in your actions, not only do you show people you are here to stay, but you show them that you have a plan that works and that you are serious about your business. I make sure I check in to Facebook at least once day to reply to people, update my page and profile and post in my groups. Use Facebook to give people the reassurance that you are always around to support your people.
10. Learn about PEOPLE. Sure, I could give you a million technical-type tricks for building a flashier Facebook page or to get more people clicking your links but remember that Facebook is just a platform for connecting with people all over the world. If you learn how people behave you can apply it to all the Facebook marketing tips we've discussed in this article. A few of my favourite books that will help you learn real useable techniques for attracting a crowd are - How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie, "Influence" The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini and Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk.
I hope you have enjoyed this post and taken away some new ideas for your Facebook marketing. Over time, by applying these tips you'll see an increase in loyalty, trust and interaction from your fans which means three things - more leads, more income and most importantly you'll get to know your followers and develop great relationships with them.
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