Last weeks article on getting more leads on Twitter got a fair amount of attention so today I wanted to touch on a few key ways you can use Facebook to grow your business.
Now, it’s possible that your prospects aren’t on Facebook, but it’s highly unlikely given it’s current popularity. Recently, Facebook reached 500 Million active members, so it should be pretty easy to find a target market for your niche simply by doing a search for your target keyword.
Step 1
That’s actually the first point I’d like to make in this article. Target groups of users in your niche and make connections with them. For example, let’s say you run a business about selling stamps.
A simple search in Facebook returned the first result as a group with over 5,500 fans. Now instead of clicking the link to go into that group, click on the “XYZ people like this” link underneath the name of the group (where XYZ is the number of fans). This will open up a window allowing you to add all these people as friends. It’s a manual process but will allow you to quickly amass a connection with a ton of people interested in your particular niche.
Step 2
Always Include a message when contacting them in order to establish an initial personal connection and also to introduce yourself. Make it something friendly and personal. Here’s one that has worked well for me in the past.
Hey, I came across your profile when joining XYZ group and wanted to connect with some like-minded people.
You’ll want to adjust it to your voice, but an introduction message such as this will give you a much higher response rate. Remember, in their mind you want to seem like someone that is just connecting with people who share similar interests. It’s pure psychology.
Step 3
Once these people become your “friends” the real work starts. You need to dazzle them and gain their trust before you market your product or service to them.
This is where so many people go wrong trying to “market” on Facebook!
Don’t just go blasting them out with you’re promotions or offers, draw them into your circle and gain their trust before you go for the sale. Give them something of real value, such as an ebook, video or course, and interact with them on your wall. An initial layer of interaction, that’s a real key in leveraging Facebook to soften up your new leads.
You can build up a huge following pretty quickly using these techniques without spending a cent on advertising. By connecting with like-minded people, providing value and establishing yourself as a leader in your particular niche, you will be well positioned to make your pitch.
How do YOU use Facebook to generate interest for your business? Share your tips in the comments below.
