Why Should I Like Your Facebook Page?

As a social media marketing strategist, one of the most common questions I receive is “How can I get people to like  our new Facebook page?” (By “like” we mean click the little button that means they’ll receive updates from us in their own feeds.)

I know it’s rude to answer a question with a question, but we need to collect all of the data first. “Who do you want to like your page?”

Silence….  “Huh?”

If you don’t know the audience you’re targeting, how can you inspire them to show their friends they like you?

Let’s take a moment to review why people like pages on Facebook:

*March 2010 Morpace Study

According to a recent Morpace study, people like to support the brands they love and demonstrate that support to their friends. Yeah, we’re talking about WOM (Word of Mouth Marketing). This is important because now it’s even easier to tell your friends, family and the world that you like (or dislike) a brand or product. One little word, like, goes so far today compared to last year.

Coupons and discount offers are another reason people connect with your company online. This leads me to my next question, “Why should I like your Facebook page?”

Basically, if I’m a resident I just want to know if I’m going to get anything out of connecting with my apartment community online. If so, what will I gain?

• Entertaining contests or community news?
• Updates on renovations?
• Specials for renewal or referral?
• Introductions to new leasing agents or maintenance staff?
• To give me a forum to share my thoughts on living at your community?

If YOU don’t know what you have to offer, how will I know if I should connect? Here are a few tips for getting started on Facebook – from a resident’s perspective:

• Have a clear call-to-action. This means take the time to post somewhere on the page what it is you’re offering me. You get one shot to make an impression and I don’t like every page I see. You can place this information on a tab or in the profile box.
• Don’t be a microphone hog. If you’ve locked me out of posting to your wall, you don’t really want to be my friend do you?
• Conversation Avenue is a 2-way street. If you don’t respond to me in a reasonable time frame (admittedly impatient and instant-gratification generation) then I’ll either hammer you with questions/comments until you respond or I’ll “unlike” your page. Wait, I might do both.
• Honesty is STILL the best policy. If I’m grumpy and call you out on Facebook for the trash in my hall, admit there is trash in my hall. Otherwise I’ll just take a picture and post it on Facebook.
• Don’t you know I’m special? Offer specials only for your fans. Many large brands do this for brief periods of time.

Don’t get me wrong, being social with your customers can be fun if you understand who you’re talking to and what they expect from you online. Once you’ve got that down, the rest is similar to answering the phone. If you’re a business that’s serious about building relationships with customers online, the world will know it by how you use Facebook.

Now that you’ve read my post, can you answer this question, “Why should I like YOUR Facebook page?”

Tagged as: Brands on Facebook, Business Pages, Facebook, Fan Pages, Like, Marketing, Morpace, Social Marketing, Social Media, Study, Word of Mouth