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Get More Results from Your Facebook Page

Everyone’s using Facebook these days to engage their customers, clients, members, and supporters. But how many businesses and organizations are actually getting results from all this activity?

The good news is that there are proven tactics that can help you get what you really want from your investment in Facebook marketing: More fans, more shares, and more business.

Here are four things to keep in mind:

1. Facebook users like to “Like” businesses and organizations on Facebook. Customers and prospects will Like your Page too if you ask them to — just give them a good reason to become a fan. Tell them why they should Like you, whether it be for access to an exclusive offer or download, or even just because you post some awesome and engaging content.

2. Getting more “Likes” and fans is only part of the story. It’s not about how many fans you have — it’s about the quality of the engagement with the fans you have. That’s what matters most. Sure, it’s great to have a large list size or fan base, but if no one is reading, commenting, or sharing your content, it doesn’t really matter.

3. Word of mouth referrals are the biggest driver of new business. In the context of social media, sharing is really just word of mouth enabled through technology. When a fan shares your content, they are effectively promoting you to their networks of friends. If you consider that the average Facebook user has more than 245 friends, sharing can help you reach a lot of new prospects. (A Pew Research Center study recently found that the extended reach of your Page could be as many as 31,170 people.)

4. It’s important to build a marketing plan with a clear goal in mind. If you don’t know what you want to get out of your Facebook activity, then why are you doing it? Your goal doesn’t have to be complicated: It can be something along the lines of the number of fans gained, documents downloaded, coupons redeemed, donations raised, or something else.

Create a great offer that relates to your goal. Then you can promote that offer with a social campaign that drives visitors to the offer on your Facebook Page and encourages your fans to share the offer.

That’s how you start a sharing cycle that will lead to more results for your business or organization, and a greater return on your Facebook engagement.

Are you finding success and real results on Facebook? Visiting our Facebook Page and tell us all about it!

Are Your Deals Ready to Get Social?

The decision to run a special deal for your customers is not an easy one for many businesses to make.

After all, why would you discount your products and services when your customers are already willing to pay full price?

But that’s missing the point.

One of the best reasons to run a deal is to get your customers talking about it, and better yet, sharing your deal with their friends on social media.

When your customers promote your business to their friends, they’re helping you reach new customers, and giving you an added, implied endorsement. It’s the kind of endorsement that doesn’t just create new customers. It creates new loyal customers, ones that won’t just take advantage of the deal, but will be more likely to come back again and again.

You just have to add the not-so-secret ingredient that makes every deal more successful: social media.

But I’m not social media–savvy!

That doesn’t matter. Your customers are, and they’re already talking about all kinds of things: the movie they just saw, their kids, who they think will win American Idol, the weather, the great meal they had last night … whatever’s on their mind.

Why shouldn’t they also talk about you?

Offer a deal worth promoting and your customers will be so excited that they’ll share it with others: “I love this store, and now you can get $20 off your next purchase!” It’s just that simple. You don’t have to go anywhere near Facebook, Twitter, or Google+, but your business will get exposed to the people there anyway.

Do I have to do anything to make this happen?

You don’t have to do anything (other than creating a great deal), but you can do something to encourage the sharing of your deal. Incent your customers by sweetening the deal with a bonus coupon if they share. After all, who wants $20 off when they can have $30?

Tell your customers that you’ll add an additional amount or percentage off their purchase, or you’ll throw in a free appetizer or dessert, if they pass along your deal. Make it worth sharing, and your customers will be more inclined to do so.

Is it really just that simple?

Yes. The combination of a great deal and an incentive to share it will lead to more business from both your existing customers and brand-new customers.

You just have to add social media to the mix to make it happen.

Have you ever run a deal? Share your experience in the comment section below. To learn more about creating a deal that benefits your business and helps you find new customers, check out SaveLocal from Constant Contact.

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Gina Watkins is a leading expert on e-marketing for small business – and has a real passion for helping businesses to succeed. Her ongoing series of dynamic lectures are filled with real-world examples, humor and results-driven wisdom garnered from more than two decades of sales, business development and marketing experience. In addition to owning her own business, she is an award-winning direct marketer, has been featured on WUSA Channel 9’s Mind Over Money show, Dr. Gayle Carson’s Women In Business radio show, Morgan State’s Briefcase Radio program, and in numerous other media. In her role as Constant Contact Regional Development Director, she’s presented to more than ten thousand seminar attendees about the keys to success with easy, affordable, highly effective technology tools that grow trusted business relationships.

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