It is estimated that there are around 40 million people on Facebook, many of them small businesses who use Facebook to promote their business and brand and connect with their customers. So, with this many people out there, why is it hard to attract ‘likes’ to your page? You could go the route of using paid ads, but I’d like to take you through some ideas that don’t cost any money.

Are your posts interesting?

One of the most common reasons why people don’t like certain pages is because they find the posts boring or uninteresting. This is why it’s so important to know your audience and know who you are aiming your marketing to. You need to know what floats their boat. I can’t answer that question for you as businesses have different target audiences, but I can point you in the direction of making your posts more interesting and engaging.

Images/Video

Make images a regular feature of your posts…captivating and relevant images can increase engagement and reach on your page and posts. Research has shown that posts with multiple images get more interest, so definitely worth giving that a go.

Video has become very popular too so, as well as sharing photos and images, share a few relevant videos.

Facebook ‘Live’, where you record yourself in real time talking to your Facebook followers, is definitely the way to go too in 2019 and it’s a great way to engage with your followers…and gives you the chance to show them the real you!

Personal stuff

People like to see the face behind a name, so make sure that you use a good profile picture of yourself.

Don’t go into overload, but also post some personal stuff on your business page, such as:

• A few photos of your holiday
• Talk about your favourite things or hobbies
• Share a photo of your pet

An occasional personal post helps give you the human aspect and people are more likely to engage with you and your brand.

• Make sure you have completed the ‘About’ section on your Facebook page; ensure your profile section is complete and that you have given your name, address (if applicable to your business or premises) and telephone number. Use relevant keywords in your title and in the ‘About’ section.
• Fill out as much of the page info as you can; categories, sub-categories, the URL to your website (and vice versa), where you are based, your opening hours – this will all help when people do a Google search.
• If someone sends you a private message, make sure you reply promptly.
• Put a link to your Facebook page on your signature on email, on your website, on business cards and any marketing information, such as flyers/posters…and of course on any other social media you have, such as Twitter, Instagram etc.
• If you write a blog, you can draw attention to your Facebook page by mentioning it in a blog post – make sure it is relevant to your blog post of course!

Competitions, Discounts, Offers, Incentives

• Competitions are also a great way to entice people in – if you promote your competition on your website or to your customers on your email list, making liking your page a competition entry requirement. And when you announce the result, do it on Facebook ‘Live’ or via video stream
• Offer an exclusive discount to those who like you on Facebook
• When you promote new products or services, offer a special discount to the first 5-10 customers
• Ask existing customers to recommend you to their friends and family and ask for referrals – if a customer refers someone to you and they buy, they get a 10% discount off their next order…or a free gift
• Give loyalty cards to your customers, so every time they buy from you, they get a mark on their card – when they have bought 10 items, they get a free gift – a bit like the coffee shop loyalty cards!

Above all, try and post regularly, so your name keeps popping up on your followers pages – their friends may see your name a few times and decide to take a look at your page.

If you belong to groups, leave comments on posts, and answer any questions people pose, so your name is out there (try and post using your business page, not your personal page).

Keep your posts short and sweet as readers can scan them quickly without having to click on ‘read more’

Use a variety of posts

Finally, have your heard of the 80/20 rule? The idea is to keep promotional content of your business to a minimum, so post non-promotional content 80% of the time and keep promotional content to 20%.

There are loads of different kinds of posts to keep your followers engaged, for example, promoting your blog post, inspirational quotes, top tip, competition and photos of your products.

These are just a few ideas. Don’t forget to look at your Facebook insights…as this gives you valuable information about your page and you can see what posts have been the most popular. You can then tailor posts for future use.

Happy Posting!