When it comes to any type of online marketing, it’s not the size of your list, it’s what you do with it that
counts. The same is true with Facebook. Having 300 highly targeted Facebook Friends who you develop an active relationship with will be far more profitable than 3,000 Friends who come from everywhere, are interested in everything and who have little connection with you.
That said, 300 targeted Friends is better than 30 so keep working to build your list of Friends. Once you reach 300 to 500 Friends you need a way to connect with people more efficiently. On Facebook, a great way to do this is to create a Group of your own.
To do this, click the groups link on the left side of your Facebook page. In the new window, click “Create a New Group”. Give your group a memorable name, related to your business, and fill in the other details. Then start inviting your Friends to join your group.
Be sure to populate the Group with useful information to make people keep coming back. Post articles, links to blog posts, audios and videos. Get discussions going by posting provocative questions on the Discussion Board. The key to making your Group successful is to make sure people want to come back again and again.
Too many groups on Facebook seem to be created just for the purpose of collecting names but don’t give any value to the members. When I find a group like that, I don’t stay for long. But if there are interesting discussions happening and useful information I’ll keep coming back.
Once you have a good sized group and some good activity on your Discussion Board, you need to find a way to get the Group members to your website and to join your mailing list outside of Facebook.
If you have an email newsletter, post some of your best articles on your Facebook Group. At the bottom include a link to your sign-up page and a suggestion that they sign up to get more of the same type of articles.
Likewise if you offer free teleseminars. Post a few free recordings on your Group page. Then post a link to sign up to receive notification of future teleseminars.
By posting free content on your Group page you are proving yourself to the group. Once they know you offer quality information, they will be more likely to want more. It’s all part of the “rule of seven” – it takes time for people to get to know, like and trust you. (What’s the rule of seven?)
Andrea J. Stenberg
Have you had success using Facebook to market your business? Please share what’s worked for you by leaving a comment.
