If you have made it a goal to be more active on social media and publish more quality content this year – bravo!
However, it’s also important that you have an engaged audience to read and action on the content that you’re posting, so that the time you put into crafting social media messages pays off in the long run.
All of your current customers may know your name and can easily search for your Facebook page, but your ideal target audience probably isn’t just made up of just past loyal customers.
Likely, your target audience will also consist of people who could benefit from your services – but haven’t even discovered you yet!
Help them discover your business by getting the word (and your name!) out. Read on to discover how you can gain more Facebook followers and engagement:
9 Ways To Gain More Facebook Followers and Engagement:
1). Add a Facebook button to your website (or Agent Bio)
If you have your own website, make sure your Facebook page is linked somewhere visible on your website.
If you don’t have your own website, we can add a link to your Facebook page onto your TierOne Travel Agent Profile – contact the TierOne Marketing Manager for more info.
2). Add a Facebook link in your email signature
Likely, not all the potential clients you email back and forth with will become paying clients. For that reason, it’s important that you help them stay connected with you and the products you sell, even if they’re not quite ready to book yet.
Add a link to your Facebook page in your email signature that appears at the bottom of each of your emails and remind potential clients in your email messages to “follow you on Facebook to learn about great travel deals and discounts”.
3). Add your Facebook URL to your Business Cards
Consider having business cards made that include your Facebook URL (and other social media information, your website address, etc.). That way, when you are chatting with potential clients, you can hand out your business cards that they can take with them, and the potential client can easily search for you on Facebook once they are logged into their account.
Make sure to pitch that you post content on your Facebook account that they will want to follow along with, such as travel discounts and hot promotions – people are much more likely to follow along when they are offered some type of incentive for their attention.
4). Promote your Facebook business page through Facebook Ads
Promoting your Facebook business page is another step you can take to earning more likes and follows. Facebook makes it quite simple to promote your business page to potential clients in your area, for as little or as much spending budget as you would like. Usually, $20/day is a good budget to begin with. Contact your TierOne Marketing Manager to discuss!
5). Fill your Facebook page with searchable content
To grow your number of Facebook fans, each section of your page should include content that is relevant and helpful, but also searchable. Remember: All of the content on your page will be indexed (“scanned”) by search engines, helping you attract more fans to your page.
This does not mean that you should go on a “keyword-stuffing” spree and drop keywords, such as “family vacations!” or “luxury travel!” or “destination weddings!” in each and every sentence of your content. (This can actually rank negatively against you in the search engines).
It does mean, however, that you should spend time optimizing the content in each section of your page with relevant keywords and phrases appropriate for your business – words that people search when trying to book a trip or find a travel agent.
Contact your TierOne Marketing Manager to discuss this approach on your own Facebook business page.
6). Cross-promote on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.
If you use any other social media platforms, make sure to cross-promote with your followers there. Invite them to follow along with you on your Facebook business page and of course, tell them why they should choose to follow along with you there as well.
7). Post valuable content and stay active on social media
Yes, we understand that it takes plenty of time and effort, but truly the best way to increase your following on Facebook is by treating your fans like people – and that means consistently delivering content to them that is valuable, engaging in conversation with them and answering questions.
Delivering value really is important with the content you create and share with your fans, and how genuinely you interact with them. It’s about building long-term relationships and becoming their trusted source of your niche / specialty area. If they notice that you are consistently posting high-quality, accurate and valuable content, they will think of you as a valuable resource on that topic and likely turn to you when they are ready to book.
8). Run a Facebook contest
Yes, again with the incentive thing – contests do very well in helping a business acquire followers and engagement. Run a Facebook contest such as “Follow me on Facebook to win a $50 Visa Gift Card!” or whatever incentive you think will work well with your potential followers. Then, follow through with your word and once the contest time frame is over, randomly choose one person who will win the prize.
Yes, you may lose some followers once the contest is over, but you will also retain many of them, especially if you post valuable and helpful content regularly.
If you acquire freebies through suppliers such as gift cards, this could be a perfect time to use them!
9). Ask your friends, family members and past clients to share your page
Referrals go a long way when it comes to acquiring new followers. Ask your own network to share your Facebook page with their own followers!
All of these methods will help you acquire new fans and followers, so add them to your to-do list this year! Contact your TierOne Marketing Manager for help with any of the above.