The Fall of the Like-Gate Wall
How many “Likes” does your Facebook page have? Have you ever run a campaign forcing people to like your page, just to get more likes? If you have, you won’t be able to any more because as of today, Facebook is outlawing likes to be a “price of entry to contests or content.”
Facebook wants to make sure that people are liking pages because they actually want to connect with a business or brand, not just because they had to in order to enter a contest. When I first heard this, my reaction was, “so what?” If a consumer likes a Facebook page, then your posts will (hopefully) show up in their news feed. Isn’t that the whole point – to get more people to know who you are, what you do, and spread the word about your company or product(s)?
On the flip side, I can see where Facebook is coming from. They want their users to play fair. You may say, “ss a Facebook page for business even that important? I’m a landscaping service. No one is going to search for landscaping on Facebook, they’re going to Google it.” While that could be the case, having a Facebook page can benefit your business in many ways. Here are a few that I think are most valuable:
Show people you’re still in business
If I see that a business has a Facebook page, I am likely to check out their page, see how active they are online, and what people are saying about them. If they were very active for some time and haven’t posted anything in the last 2 years, I would make the assumption they’ve gone out of business. That leads me onto another search, leaving this particular company behind.
Build relationships with new and existing customers
Customers have the ability to leave Reviews on your Facebook page. This is great because it opens the door to customer interaction, and a personal touch can say it all! Be involved with those who leave Reviews or posts on your page, and if someone leaves a negative Review, keep calm. Address their comment in a professional manner and see how you can change their past experience. This not only shows viewers that you excel in customer service, but that you truly care about your customers and want to make sure everyone is happy. After all, Facebook’s tagline for Reviews is “Help people find great places.” You want to be viewed as one of those great places.
Help people find you when they search online
Search engine optimization (SEO) is important for anyone and everyone who wants to get found online. Having a Facebook page can help boost your SEO efforts as links and posts on your page will be indexed by search engines. Relevant and continuous content on your page will not only help your search engine rankings, but will also show people you are still in business.
Be true to your Facebook fans and don’t entice them to Like your page to win something – make them want to like your page. From Facebook’s own
For more information on social media for business, please contact me by email sengel@g1440.com or phone 410-843-3826.
Sarah Engel is a Marketing Consultant at G.1440 who joined the team after graduating from Towson University with degrees in Business Administration and Electronic Business. She’s an infographic nut and a forever-long Apple fan. When she’s not behind one of her Apple devices, she is often found volunteering with her dog King, or heading to the beach for the weekend.