Social Fans: If You Ask, They Will Come

The most common challenge among businesses on social media is building a fanbase or “likes”. This seemingly challenging concept actually has a very simple solution: ask them. It seems so elementary, you may think that this could never work. However, it is currently the most effective way to build a fanbase.

Add a clear call to action to your website asking visitors to become a fan on Facebook. You won’t gain new fans without new visitors, which is why adding the call to action in locations outside of social media (such as your website, blog, and mobile site) can be very effective in driving users to your Facebook account and converting them to fans. Coupling your call to action with a promotion or giveaway will also increase the likelihood of users hitting that “like” button.

Promotions and giveaways that have a monetary value, such as a dollar amount or percentage discount, are usually highly successful. However, promotions that simply offer “exclusive deals” to Facebook fans can also be effective. Of course, in order to keep the fans, you must post exclusive deals from time to time.

Below is the heading of a website that originally only had social media icons in the upper right hand corner (indicated with a red box). We added a clear call to action in the middle of the header (indicated with a blue box).

The results were excellent. The call to action yielded 66% more clicks than the Facebook icon on the right:

Furthermore, the client increased their fanbase by 216 members during the three months the call to action was implemented. Previously, the client was averaging 4-10 new fans per month. This call to action was the only new strategy that was implemented during the rapid increase in fan acquisition.

Having the call to action on your website can yield positive results. Another method that can be successful is including a call to action on your Facebook profile. A Facebook tab that includes a call to action entices the user to click the like button.

The pattern is very clear: if you ask nicely, the fans will come on their own. Once they are on your page, ask them again. Social media users are very good at following direction. So don’t be shy, ask and you shall receive!

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Contributed by Cassie Vignieri, SEO Specialist