LATISM 2011 RECAP: My Get Started on Facebook Presentation
Two years ago, I started to tweet. Two years later I have tweeted tons (8,119 tweets!), have 3 blogs,
Last week, LATISM got together in Chicago for LATISM11 to celebrate and share with each other what we have learned. It was an incredible event, with great speakers, parties and lots of bonding among the 450+ attendees. Ramon de Leon wowed the crowd as usually and we had the great privilege of hearing Dolores Huerta speak. We even got a live demo of the very new Google+ Pages and great tips via Eliana Murillo of Google.
It was also great to see very large and reputable organizations support LATISM like PBS, Toyota, Johnson & Johnson, Univision and the other sponsors pictured below:
I was asked to share my top tips for getting started using Facebook to reach and engage your audience. Here is a quick summary of my presentation:
How do you get started on Facebook?
#1- Start with a strategy: why are you on Facebook and how will you stand out?
- Set your goals : do you want to drive sales, traffic and/or acquire fans? Set specific goals that you can track and measure against.
- Have a game plan on how you will add value on Facebook: Will you make them laugh, cry, think, feel , learn, and/or help to mobilize. Consider the following:
- What are you strengths? What do offline people ask you or your organization about? What are you known for?
- Research what your competition and others are doing before you jump in. Please do not stick to your direct competition. You want to bring best practices from other industries.
#2 – Create great content for your Wall Posts: remember that 90% of Facebook users will not return to your Facebook page after they have liked it. Here is what I have seen work:
- Keep it SHORT
- Make it easy to engage: fill-in the blanks, yes or no questions and “hit like” types of posts
- Wall Posts that pop- Nice images spark engagement, animals and cute kids really work!
- Videos add even more pop. Post on YouTube and link from Facebook.
- Marketing to businesses- invest in a blog/content to get traction. You need expert content to post on your wall.
- Do not use auto post tools on Facebook– important to tailor your content. Also your post will be buried and you will get less engagement.
#3 – Don’t Be Shy with your Facebook page URL address – plaster it anywhere you can.
- Use the Facebook “Like” buttons on your websites.
- Include the address in emails, brochures, ads, business cards, stickers and other marketing materials.
- Just remember to be clear on why you are “Likable” (e.g., great tips or deals)
#4 – Facebook is a customer service tool – be ready to interact with fans and respond to their needs.
- Respond/engage to users- like or respond back on comments.
- Be ready for customer service needs- Facebook is the new customer service/complaint department. Make sure that customer service teams are equipped to respond quickly to issues/complaints made on Facebook.
- Leverage Facebook to get feedback and test ideas- Facebook can serve as a 24 x7 focus group for your product, messages and campaign. Monitor closely what works or doesn’t work on your page. Track comments made about your product and services. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback.
How do you accelerate fan growth?
#1 Welcome Tabs – use to explain what you do and what value you offer.
I like how Vistaprint makes it real clear on their welcome tab on Facebook what you will get by liking their page – access to ideas, community and deals. They also have a crisp call to action – start shopping! Here are some other basic tips for how to get started with a Facebook page.
#2 – Facebook Ads: You can use Facebook ads to get your community going.
Acquiring fans can cost as little as $.25 to $1 per fan with Facebook ads. You need to really target the right communities, have compelling ad copy and visuals. More tips on how to do Facebook ads here.
#3- Facebook Promo/Contest – An effective tool to incentivize users to like, buy and or get involved.
It’s very simple and cost effective to run a promo or contest on Facebook. I ran a very simple Offerpop tug of war contest to get traction on Facebook for Sol y Pimienta, a Spanish language cooking YouTube channel that I’m doing with a friend. We got 700 fans with a $200 budget with our Pavito Bueno contest, so low budget can work on Facebook too.
On the higher budget side, I really like this holiday promo from Target where they are giving 25 fans $25 gift cards. I like the daily giveaway and direct link to getting buzz for holiday sales. Here are more tips and examples on Facebook contests and promos.
Some of my favorite tools that I use to manage accounts and campaigns on Facebook:
- Stock images: www.bigstockphoto.com
- Re-size Images: http://www.picnik.com/
- Tab Creator: http://www.shortstackapp.com, http://www.pagemodo.com
- Contest & promos: http://www.offerpop.com
It was such a honor to present at LATISM and to be able to be there to learn, share and bond with people I spend so much time with online with.
I went to your panel at Latism- great information! So glad to see your recap here and great tips!
Thank you Justice for reading the post and the kind words! It was such a great conference.
I need a page like Target’s when I do dinner, dessert, cooking lesson, and fashion giveaways! It just seems to take up so much energy and coding knowledge I don’t have! Clearly, I’m not comparing myself to a multi-million dollar co. like them, but the concept is the same. Other than that, the tips are great and I think I put most of them to use already! Thanks for the reminders!
I think with the short stack app and a designer you can get close to a Target like page. A lot of it’s in the graphics and the concept behind the page. Thanks for reading the post.
Saving this to my evernote…excellent tips! My facebook page could use some work and these suggestions are awesome!
Honored to be saved to evernote! Thanks for the comment.
I was at your panel. I so need to to step up my FB game!
It’s hard to find the time! just one or two good post a week can go a long way.
This is such great information! I’m bookmarking this page, too. I’ve been thinking about doing FB ads for a while now. I’ll have to look into the promos/contests. I hadn’t thought of that before!
Thanks, Julie!
Thanks! I think one of your giveaways would make a great promo. A lot of what you do would transfer well to Facebook (love your holiday printables). If you want to brainstorm ideas, let me know!
Love the tips on how to engage FB fanpage members. I’ve noticed that the same people are the ones who like or comment on my updates and it’s so frustrating! But I have also noted that the questions and fill in the blanks, and even a quick “Hello!” without a post or promotion of a link/giveaway helps engage my fans. Thanks again!
I agree simple works on Facebook. For some reason, interesting pictures of animals seem to out perform almost anything
Thank you for this! I’m still trying to create a fan base, so these are some great tips to put into practice
You have a real active community so I see you as having some big opportunities to engage on Facebook. You could look at Facebook as a way to help local parents address school issues or getting parents to share tips. Interesting page to take a look at is https://www.facebook.com/autismfile.mothers. Thanks for the comment.
Awesome post, Julie! I attended your session and loved all the advice you gave about Facebook. Much of what I’ve learned about successful administration of a fan page in the last year is advice from you! Thank you as always for being so fabulous and giving with your knowledge.
You are so nice and generous with your words! Your cooking doesn’t need much to go viral
Thanks for stopping by.
I thought I was doing a pretty okay job of handling my FB pages, but now I see that there is so much more I could be doing. Thank you so much for sharing these great tips.
Start off by trying a few things, tweak and go from there. Thanks for the comment.
Great recap, for those who could not attend Latism I appreciate you devoting a post to inform us on facebook. I only recently started a fan page and much to learn, bookmarked!!
Best of luck with your new page and please reach if you have any question. Thanks for the comment!
Julie, I so wish I had gone to your panel, but girl, so glad I got this!
I also love seeing the great welcome tabs. It helps a lot.
I just started doing video on the Fan page. Vamos a ver!
Carrie, Video and you are a great thing. I need to check out the videos! hugs.
Julie, I am bookmarking this page. It’s chock full of great ideas for every level and budget on leveraging FB to increase traffic. This is especially helpful for independent bloggers, those without a huge investment behind them–budgets and staff–to maximize clicks. Thank you!
Thank you for all the awesome tips! and congratulations, your success as a bloger is an inspiration
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[...] LATISM 2011 RECAP: My Get Started on Facebook Presentation A recap of GigCoin’s CEO, Julie Diaz-Asper’s, widely acclaimed LATISM11 presentation on how to get started on Facebook and tips for accelerating your fan base growth on Facebook. [...]