Yesterday I talked about how to create a Facebook Fan Page. Today I am discussing ways to use your Fan Page to bring more traffic to your shop. I am sure that you have all read or heard that the way to get more fans is to be engaging. But what does that really mean. I will tell you what it does not mean.
If you bombard your fans with links to your shop over and over again day after day eventually you will be advertising to the crickets. No one likes to see someone post 10 new items right in a row. Your fans will either drop you completely or "hide" you from their view. Another thing that fans hate is having links constantly posted on their wall. You know who else hates this? Facebook. They will take action against your account and not allow you the privilege to post for a few days or they will completely delete your account for you.
Being engaging means being human. Share parts of your life with your fans. They like to see the human side to you. Mention what project you are working on today and ask your fans what they are doing. I rarely post links to my shop on my status. On occasion when I write a fun blog I will put a link to it. Sometimes when I am featured in a treasury I will link to it. But mostly I try to be just your average Joe talking about the weather.
I do have a Etsy "tab" that contains my entire shop. You can get this from going to the Facebook link under your Promote section on your account page and following the directions. I really don't think it has done much for me but it is there. My fans know I have a shop on Etsy and that is quite good enough.
Most of my Etsy traffic from Facebook comes from me posting photo albums. When I start a new line or just once a week I will put up a new photo album with 5 to 10 pictures in it. In the description of each photo I put a link to the item. I am never pushy about it, I just say "Available at: Link" and it seems to be just enough. In other words don't force it. Let the traffic come naturally.
Getting more fans is the part most people struggle with. The first milestone is the first 25 fans. Here is where you ask your friends and family and post on your teams and blog about it and Tweet about it. After your first 25 fans you can claim a custom username that shortens your address(see yesterday's blog post about this) After you have your custom username it is time to get more fans. The more fans you can get the better chance that you'll get a customer out of it.
Here are a few ways to get more fans.
1. Be useful - Offer something useful to your fans such as all Facebook Fans will receive 10% off this month.
2. Offer a giveaway - Don't have a contest, Facebook is pretty specific on how you have a contest. Offer a giveaway at x amount of fans.
3. Advertise on Facebook - This can get expensive very quickly so be cautious. I am sure you've seen the "create an advert" box on the side of your screen. If you are not sure you can convert the fans to sales it might not be a good option.
4. Be friendly - Don't talk about religion, politics or controversial topics. Save that for your profile page. If you offend someone they will drop you like a hot potato and never think twice.
5. Keep it Rated G to Rated PG - This means your language and your pictures. Need I say more?
6. Post your Link - Many of the pages I Like allow a thread once a week to post my shop link. Try to refrain from posting your link just out of the blue on random pages. This could get you in trouble.
7. Like Pages - If you are logged in as a page, you can like other people's Fan Pages. Like pages that are within your industry. Follow the rules above though, if you like a controversial page or a page that is not PG then you can lose fans.
8. Engage others - be part of conversations. Like other people's comments. Share your experiences.
9. Timing is Everything - Try and figure out when your fans are most active and make your posts then. If you post at 3am many people will never see your post.
10. Be consistent - But don't be a robot. Post around the same time each day. Post every day if you can. But don't post the same stuff all the time. Mix it up.
I hope this helps some. I did not get to everything I had planned to talk about today so, I will continue my Facebook series tomorrow. In the meantime let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Thank you, Eric! That was really informative and helpful!
ReplyDeletegreat tip!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog. Glad I found it! This was useful. I'm going to see if I can get my 25 fans now... :)
ReplyDeleteBlog very attractive.Congratulations!
ReplyDeletesocial media marketing usa
One of the fastest and most effective ways to get more fans on your Facebook business page is to integrate your other social media accounts to it. For example, if you have a blog that has a lot of followers, link your Facebook to it. Have a share or like button on each of your articles. This way, you are not only allowing conversations within your blogs, but you are also building traffic to your Facebook page.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Landon. Make sure to include the “Share” or “Like” button on your social media accounts to promote your FB business page. This is makes your business just a click away from your potential customers. Use it properly and make sure to engage with your customers in a natural discussion. Use visuals to your advantage, but don’t overdo it.
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