For brands and startups alike, Facebook is a great social media channel to promote your image, increase your fan base and reach your audience. The interaction between you and your consumers can be the personal touch that distinguishes you from your competitors. There remains but only one issue: how to get lots of followers to interact with when you’re starting from zero. Building your fan base from scratch, with no brand equity, is one of the hardest things to do in Social Media but these next steps will help get you started.
Invest your time
Let’s face facts. You are going to be spending a lot of time on Facebook. The first assignment is to know your product’s demographic. If you are a startup clothing company, or a mobile game app then you’re going to target individuals who have interest in your product. Create a Facebook page with solid content and information about your product. Be informative, but brief. Always have new content via pictures or videos in order to entertain and promote.
Begin to research & observe competing companies in similar markets. Review the individuals who follow those companies, and what types of interactions they have going on. You are your product, so casually jump into a conversation. Do not market on other pages. That’s spam. Be casual and real. Introduce yourself to group leaders who can Like and share your page with their personal followers. This requires a lot of time and patience; however, the anticipation of a viral breakthrough for your page will keep you logged in, researching and engaging.
Start with your friends
Your personal friends, family members and connections on your personal Facebook page are the best places to start finding a following. Provide opportunity for a community to form on your Facebook page by posting relatable status updates that will tie your demo to your product. Ask your friends to Like your page, and if possible share your page. The Facebook snowball effect occurs when one Like leads to another, and so forth, but don’t stop there. Keep researching and updating your followers.
If you’re a clothing brand, promote your latest design or introduce a model to your friends. If you’re a mobile game app, promote images from the game to stir up curiosity amongst your Facebook friends. Remember don’t be a desert, where you hardly ever update your Facebook. But don’t be a jungle either, cluttering your Facebook with meaningless posts. As you attain more followers, remember to catch them up with recaps or summaries of your product’s latest news.
Get personal
Facebook is the place to post personal information about you and your relationship to your product. Researchers have found that personal statements from actual people working for the company are the most effective status updates. Companies all over Facebook have drawn a lot of attention by posting family photos, or posting personal status updates about their day at work. If there is something going on in the office or at a particular event this is the medium to host your personal content.
When your followers begin to ask questions, jump in and share your thoughts. Welcome questions and inquiries about your next event or updates. You want to make sure that your status updates have a strong follow through on your behalf. If you promise to update your fans then do it! Create a daily competition in order to keep Facebook users coming back to visit your page. The best thing you can do is create video blogs that you can host on YouTube but share on Facebook. Your personal mug on your products Facebook will help your demo position your product in their minds. Be sure to use positive content, and if you’re camera shy think about bringing in an actor to help with your product’s image. Provide images that are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.
Content
Strong content is always relevant to your product and fan base. Videos, pictures and memes work perfectly with Facebook. If you do use the very popular memes, remember that each meme has its own persona, and the task is to tie the meme to your product. There are several websites that let you generate memes that can be edgy and comical. Also, online videos are entertaining for your fan base, and a great source for highlighting product features while showcasing your brand image. Facebook is a great place to post pictures because it can get cluttered with text and a picture can be just what you need to tell a story. Remember to always show, not tell, and the more concrete imagery you have, the more your fan base will inclined to continue visiting your Facebook page and sharing your content and brand message.
Facebook shares
Finally you want your page to be shared amongst followers in order to get more views. The best form of promotion is to network with other brands or other companies who don’t necessarily do what you do, but can benefit from your product. Help each other, and share each other. For example a young startup clothing company that promotes an urban skateboarding style may partner up with a local rock band playing at the next skate park event. Create banners, pictures and promotional videos that can be shared by your partners. This will create the opportunity for you to physically share your Facebook page in person at events that touch base with your demographic. Think outside the box, and your page will begin to get shared by your followers.
Networking is one of the best ways to promote. Don’t just look for followers but look to follow other companies or individuals who will follow you back. Soon enough you will have built a brand image and brand equity. You will become recognizable, and other startups will want to partner with you in order to attain more Facebook shares.
Never let your activity feed on Facebook become an activity famine. Be consistent