Any savvy business owner working with Facebook knows that quality fans are the keys to success. Super fans are a breed above; they are users who not only check on your page, but give you access to their data through their Facebook page and will encourage other people to purchase from you as well. It’s free advertising baby!
But how do you get a vague sort of fan to go to Super Fan?
In an overall picture, it takes time, persistence, determination, some luck, and lots of interaction. Unless you are a huge brand like Target, you have to put a lot of time and effort into turning your sort-of fans into mega fans. Not only that, but you can create a Facebook page which will be full of Super Fans! But how can you do it? HOW?!
These nine strategies will help you turn your Facebook floundering into Facebook fandom.
#1. There Has to Be a Human Behind the Status
The best companies turn their Facebook page into an interactive, communicative area where the employers meet with fans in an open communication. For this, you have to show your personal side and make sure to show that you are a real person communicating an idea, not a ‘bot. There are a few ways to do this:
- Get out of your niche every so often and show off yourself through photos, posts, and links. Talk about yourself a bit and your everyday life.
- Crack some jokes, show some silly pictures
- Be human!
#2. Content Baby!
Make sure that you have educational, entertaining, empowering, useful information for you fans to read. Post interesting links, show intriguing videos, play a few songs, and of course, have your regular updates detailing things like products launches and sales. Mix it all up regularly to keep your fanbase interested in what you’re doing.
It’s not just about changing things up though. Some Facebook users simply prefer one kind of media over another, such as video over articles, cartoons over notes. You can also mix up how to post your content; for example, you can have a range of blog types and showcase other writers or producers. And don’t forget to drive your fans to your actual webpage regularly through a range of posts and interesting tidbits.
#3. It’s Takes Two to Chat
You have to actually chat with your customers! Facebook updates are odd in that they are similar to calling someone, saying Hello, and then hanging up. This is because many users bounce around and so this translates to, what a friend of mine calls, Marketing ADHD where marketers hop from project to project and in this case, from post to post. Instead, wait a while for fans to respond and then chant back with them. You can learn a lot from them and they will feel like your company is actually run by human beings.
#4. Calls To Action
Facebook is not only a great way to interact with your customers and other marketers, but it’s also a great way to marshal everyone for a call to action. Simple calls to action are actually the best way to turn a vague fan into a Super Fan. This is a multi-step process though, so hold on tight!
First, put out good content such as different articles, videos, blogs, and even music related to your niche. A simple call to action at this point is just: watch this, look at this, read this, etc. This isn’t going to be your content necessarily; what it will is establish you as an authority in your field.
Then, start putting out discounts and coupons for your products and offers for a newsletter or subscription. These are easy to do, but build trust between yourself and your customers and trust is a key to Super Fans.
#5. Word of Mouth (It’s free!)
Word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertising and in the case of social media, this is even more true. Studies have shown that social media users trust their friends, families and collegues more than they trust a brand. This is because of the inherent bias of brands; obviously a brand will ‘rah-rah-rah’ itself, but a friend has no third party interference in their choice, so it’s more trustworthy. On Facebook, word of mouth matters even more and you want your fans to spread the word. Make it easy for them!
An easy way to do this is to create a contest or a promotion which will reward fans for inviting others to join up. Platforms like Wildfire let you track and reward fans who brought in their friends to join in. You can see this manner of advertising all the time on Facebook and beyond.