Do you ever wonder how to gain more ‘likes’ on your Facebook page?  Do you wonder if those ‘likes’ will really bring in more business?  Do you see your competition in town and think, “they have so many more likes than me?”  Well, ‘likes’ doesn’t always equal more business but it sure does make you feel good!  It’s kind of like the Sally Field speech when she won an oscar…”You like me, You really like me!”  Who doesn’t want to feel like that?

Well gaining the right kind of ‘likes’ is the key to creating business.  You want ‘likes’ that are engaged and people that you can communicate with.  

Lisa Carpenter, photographer and speaker at The Seniorologie Tour Atlanta, is great at engaging her fans on Facebook.  Whether she is sharing an inspirational quote, showing photos from a recent shoot or talking about a topic that interests her fans, she does a great job engaging those fans.  And as she explains below, this is the key to keeping and gaining more ‘likes’.  Check out Lisa’s tips on how to get the right kind of ‘likes’ for your business.

If you did a search on the internet on how to get more Facebook likes you would find that there are over 2 billion results that will offer you suggestions and answers.  How in the world do you begin to sort through all of those tips?  It can truly be a bit overwhelming.

There is one thing that you don’t want to do and that is to buy your likes.  That would be like buying friends…they aren’t real.  You don’t just want likes, you want quality likes.  You want those fans that are engaged.  You want fans that not only frequent your page, but share your content with others.  If your content is shared by others, you will most likely gain new followers.

While likes don’t directly bring you business, there is a huge benefit to gaining those Facebook fans.   Getting someone to Like your page is sometimes better than traditional advertising because:

• Chances are that the person who liked your page has friends with the same interests and needs.

• It’s free

• Way more people will see your page than just the ‘liker’.

If you want a big brand, you want big likes.

What will thousands of likes on your fan page get you?  There is one thing for certain; it will ensure that your latest blog posts or updates will be seen by at least as many fans as you have and then some.  And most likely you will gain more followers.  Thus getting your business in front of many…which is the goal here.

Here are a few key tips to gaining more fans:

• Create Momentum –  Nothing attracts people’s attention better than motion, so create activity on your page every day.  You want to stay in their sights.

• Create Content That Engages – Ask questions and encourage comments.

• Use Eye Catching Images –  Images are the most shared content on Facebook…so use them and not just text updates.

• Keep Your Updates Short – If your text is quick and easy to read, then more people will share.

• Be True To Your Brand – Don’t try to be like someone else that is successful on their page.  The more authentic you are, the more engaged fans you will acquire.

• Just Ask – Go ahead and ask for likes and shares.  More than likely, they will do it.

• Respond – If you want an engaged audience, you must respond and answer questions.

• Don’t Excessively Self-Promote  – 90% of your posts should be fun & informative, 10% can be promotion.

• Have Balance – While you want to stay consistent in your posts, you do not want to overpost and flood the news feed of your fans.  It will annoy them and possibly make them ‘unlike’ your page.

• Be Professional – Don’t badmouth your competitors or complain.

• Go Viral –  Target active Facebook groups on your niche and come up with a discussion or status update  that could get attention.  Be active on discussions on other pages that are in your niche and comment using your Facebook fan page.

• Pay Attention – Too often we have our heads down being busy and we fail to take a look and see what is working. Pay attention to what works so you can do more of it. Your Facebook page has great analytics that make this easy. Learn how to use your analytics because it will help you to focus on what your community likes and the more your community likes and engages with your content the more visibility you get in the news feed.

This was mentioned just above but is worth saying again…once you get those likes, stay engaged.  When answering questions, tag the person’s name you are responding to.  Did you see a status that has something you think others will find helpful or useful?  Comment on it.   Commenting on other statuses is an excellent way to be engaged and interact.

If you come across a blog post or article that is worthy of sharing, be sure to copy and paste the link and then in the status area, mention who the author is by @ mentioning them.  See my screenshot below:

When it comes to seniors, getting them to like your page and sharing images that you post will likely get their friends to take notice.  It is a free form of advertising and it works.  Seniors like to see what you can do for them, so make sure you post interesting content that has to do with their age group.  Share their friends photos because they will likely think about getting their own photos taken once they see something that attracts their attention.  Share links to interesting articles or blog posts that you think they will enjoy.  Share sales at boutiques to help them get ready for their senior session.  There are many ways to engage your senior clientele on Facebook, Instagram and other social media outlets.

Have a tip worth sharing with others?  Be sure to leave a comment below.  Thanks Lisa for sharing your thoughts on Social Media!!