How Do I Get People to Like My Brand on Facebook?

• How Do I Get People to Like My Brand on Facebook? | Special: Digital Marketing Guide - Advertising Age

  Ad Age's Digital Marketing Guide dispenses advice on getting people to like a brand on Facebook.  But even if people like the brand, are they really fans? What makes a Facebook brand fan treat that brand as a lovemark?

  tags: AdAge 2011 like Facebook howto

  • But the number of people who like a brand doesn't directly translate to the number of impressions that a brand makes with its posts. And, of course, not all likes are created equal.

  • Some brands have been able to grow their Facebook pages virally without the use of paid ad placement leading users to their pages, but they're the exception rather than the rule. Coca-Cola, the brand whose page boasts more likes than any other on the platform, didn't earn all 22-million-plus of its fans without a little prodding -- and it is one of the most iconic brands there is. "Most people aren't actively looking for brands on Facebook," Mr. Ringrose said. "You would never go, 'Hmm, I wonder what Skittles is doing?' Or "What's that weird organic coffee brand up to?' It's more about putting it under users' noses. 'Do you like this brand?' 'Yes, I do.'"

    A common misstep marketers make is not properly leveraging Facebook's ad-targeting tools to achieve a more efficient media buy, Mr. Ringrose said.

    Michael Lazerow, CEO of the software and services firm Buddy Media, which works to help some of the biggest brands, such as Target, grow and manage their Facebook pages, said the ultimate approach to building a following is a more holistic approach that lies at the intersection of paid media and earned reach.

  • This differs by brand (as do the habits of users who follow them) but Roger Katz, CEO of the social-media firm Friend2Friend, said giving your fans genuine reasons to engage with your content and pass it along to their own friends is the holy grail of social-media success.

    "When a brand has a fan, they are one step away from all of that fan's friends. That next step is an incredible opportunity, but it's also a challenge." He said when it comes to getting your fans to help spread your content, it has to be because your fans genuinely want to spread the word -- and usually that isn't because you shouted at them, spammed them or gave them a coupon. "People like experiences, and when they have them, they talk about them and share them. Getting users to propagate their own messages to their friends about your brand is where the magic is," he said

  • Most experts agree that while the number of likes associated with a page is a clear and easy way to measure its influence, it is not the most-telling number. In fact, when you consider the number of impressions your posts are actually getting (once you factor in how may of those fans have hidden brand page updates on their feeds or might miss your post in the clutter) the number of impressions you're actually achieving is much closer to half of how many fans you have. Mr. Ringrose even estimates that the unique impression rate on a post can average as low as 20%.

    And then there's the all-important question of engagement. "If you have a million likes on your page, and only 10 people are actually engaging, we don't call that a successful page," Mr. Lazerow said. "It all depends on what each brand wants to do. There's nothing wrong with wanting a large fan base, but what are your goals?"

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