8keys

8 Keys to a Thriving Facebook Community For Your Business

by   |  May 21st, 2010
Social Media, Tips-n-Tools


 

 
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Some of this is starting to make sense. You’ve seen businesses have success with Facebook. You think you can too. And you know it takes offering something of value. This is all part of the fundamentals of social media. You get that. But still you’re asking yourself, “Why would people want to come discuss my product?”


The answer is simple – give them a reason.


But the reasons can be a bit of a hangup. What are some motivators, some incentives for people to engage? Great question. Here are eight essential keys to building a thriving Facebook community:


1. Ask for feedback.


It’s a fact of humanity that people love sharing opinions. Present the opportunity to do so on your fan page and you will get responses. It could be fun (like a Coke vs Pepsi type faceoff) or fact-finding (looking for your next flavor of cupcake). You can mix up the content, but the point is the same. Get people interacting with your page by starting the conversation.


2. Respond to feedback.


Now that you have fans posting on your wall, what do you do? Respond. This accomplishes a couple important things. First, it validates for the fan the time they took to comment. They know someone is listening and cares. Second, others see that you are listening and care.  And third, you keep the conversation going.


3. Include an abundance of pictures, videos, and blog posts.


These bring the experience of your business. And experiences make for more loyal customers. So take a video in the warehouse, interview employees, customers, the office cat. Pictures of the last charity event staff participated in. And if you have a blog, integrate it by posting it as a link to your wall and putting the Facebook “Like” button on your blog.


4. Be conversational, real, fun, and interesting.


That is, be you. Or more specifically, be the part of you that is also the brand. Remember, this isn’t a direct mailer or a radio spot. No one way messages here. Instead, you are sitting around a virtual kitchen table with people. Talk to them with that in mind and you’ll win business without the sales pitch.


5. Tag, tag, tag. And you’re it.


This deserves it’s own post but suffice to say, if you can figure out a way to tag someone in a picture, a update, or a video do it. Go out of your way to find or create content that you can link to specific fans. It’s a powerful feature, and terribly underutilized by businesses.


Disclaimer: to tag someone, he/she must be a friend in your personal account.


6. Specific calls to action connecting the social to the local.


Your business has online communities as well as offline ones. To start integrating the two, create ways to connect social to local and vice-versa. And make the calls-to-action specific. For instance, “Bring in a Facebook friend for 20% your next order.” Have a “Find us on Facebook” sign in your window. Have an iPad tethered to the counter with a sign “Want to share your experience on Facebook (or Yelp or Twitter)?” The more points your customers can interact with your brand, the more it’s awareness builds.


7. Find the higher cause your customer is fanatical about.


Consumers connect with brands in social media that are serving the interests of the community. So it’s not just about your product, but about the cause or values to which your fans aspire . Like how shoes fit into a healthy, handmade, eco-conscious lifestyle. Tell that story first and make your product an irresistible character in it.


8. Reward your fans.


Everyone likes a prize. Even if it’s just being the first to know. So try sharing with your fans the inside scoop, have a giveaway, or hold a special gathering for them. Use them as a beta testers and advisors for new ideas. Go unexepected and design a T-shirt just for them. These are the remarkable customer experiences that get your brand talked about.


So are you prepared to start building community? Do you have a story using one of these keys? Or have I missed one?

Matt Riopelle

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Reader comments (5)

 

You nailed it with the inclusion of specific call to action. Tying it into the local community meets the big picture goal, but it is also important to remember this for even the smaller opportunities like individual wall posts or photo descriptions.

Bottom line: Plan ahead and always consider how to involve your fans. Ask a few people before you post “What you say in reply to this? Would you share this to your profile?” If they can’t think of a response in a few seconds, you might want to reconsider the “call-to-engagement” :)


Jen Grant | May 21, 2010

@Matt, great suggestions. The reminder to always be real is of primary importance. People are so over marketing pitches cloaked in Facebook or Twitter updates.

(I love the idea of having an iPad tethered to your counter so people can instantly share their love of your business. That way, between customers, I can be playing on the iPad myself!!)


Lainie Turner | May 23, 2010

Jen – I’m going to steal adopt your “call-to-engagement” phrase. Love it.

Lainie – My hope is that at least a few businesses owners can now justify purchasing an iPad for themselves their counter.


Matt Riopelle | May 23, 2010

Nice post Matt.

There’s a lot of overlap between these different communities and its interesting how the interactions change between your blog, twitter, and Facebook page. I’m starting to feel like the Fan Page is somewhere between Twitter and a Blog.

Even though its about blogging, I think Loyan’s advice on ideas for blog posts applies nicely to Facebook posts as well (the handout definitely mirrors what you’re saying here somewhat):

Notes and Blog Post Ideas from Social Media for Business in Corvallis

Thoughts?


Jason Prothero | May 23, 2010

Jason – I think your are right. The Facebook Page, with the combination of Twitter like status updates and slightly longer, media and content rich posts more like blogs, positions itself nicely between the two.

Like I commented on Loyan’s post (has it been since March already?), businesses have an incredible opportunity to engage people with their story in social media. The more (effective) points where that can happen, the better.


Matt Riopelle | May 24, 2010
 


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