7 Ways to Gain Facebook Fans Without Using Paid Ads

How to Get Facebook Fans Without Advertising

Facebook used to be considered a progressive part of a brand’s marketing plan. These days, it’s not “progressive,” it’s an integral part of your plan. Consumers aren’t impressed with the fact you have a Facebook page for your business; expect you to have one.

Of course, merely having a Facebook page with your logo isn’t enough. Consumers also seek out social proof.  In other words, they look for indicators that your business is thriving and responsive, including your number of fans, how often you post and how much your fans interact with your page.

As Facebook’s continued changes to its algorithm have made it harder to get consumers’ attention on this platform, many marketers have turned to paid advertising to help with fan acquisition. We use Facebook advertising for our own clients as well and think it should, most certainly, be included as part of your overall social media marketing efforts.

Advertising shouldn’t be the only play in your book, though. There are other tactics you can use to give your Facebook page a boost.

How to Get Facebook Fans Without Advertising

So, what do you do if your Facebook page isn’t as vibrant as you’d like it to be? Here are seven actionable ways you could promote your page that you may have overlooked:

1. Check Your Website Homepage

This is the first and one of the most basic steps you can take. Make sure you have a Facebook like button in an easy-to-find place on your website. While the old rules said that your Facebook icon should be above the fold, it’s perfectly acceptable to place it in the footer too. These are the two place visitors look to find your social links.

2. Use Facebook Comments on Your Blog

Using the Facebook comments plugin in lieu of your blog’s default commenting system allows your readers to respond using their Facebook profile. When doing so, it also gives them the option to share their comments on Facebook, giving your brand more exposure and the potential for more website traffic. You can increase your chances of translating additional site traffic into Facebook page likes because you already followed tip #1. (If you haven’t done it yet, you’re going to, right?)

You can get step-by-step instructions on installing the Facebook commenting system at WPBeginner.com.

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3. Announce Your Page Via Email

If you have acquired any type of email list, big or small, put it to work! Don’t just announce your Facebook page as an afterthought in your regular newsletter. Instead, email out a separate announcement – after all, it’s a big deal and a long-term investment on your part.

4. Cross Promote

Do you have a thriving Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram presence? Be sure to promote your Facebook page on other social media channels too. Of course, you need to do this tactfully. Keep your promotion balanced with the other great content you’ve been publishing that attracted your followers on Twitter in the first place.

5. Ask People to Share

When you consider that each person who likes a page has, on average, 150 Facebook friends, you can help your cause by asking people to share your page with friends. If even a few of your current fans share your page with their friends, it will grow your Facebook community. If you have a small, tight-knit community that loves your brand, why not ask for the share?

6. Show It in Print

Whether it’s business cards, brochures, catalogs, sales presentations or ads, make sure you list your Facebook page on all of them. Keep in mind that this is one of the more difficult ways to grow your fan base, because potential fans can’t simply click on your printed material to give you the like. This form of promotion requires them to stop what they are doing in that moment to seek out your page, or remember to do it later.

You can help make it easier for potential fans to remember or to find you. Do this by first claiming your vanity URL and then including it on your printed material. For example, we’d use Facebook.com/CrackerjackMarketing. It’s easy to remember and easy to find. If you don’t have a vanity URL (though you really should!) consider using a link shortener such as bit.ly instead.

7. Get Active on Facebook – But Not Just on Your Page

Another great way to get more exposure for your brand’s Facebook page is to be active on Facebook. Not just on your own page, but other brand pages too. Yes, yes you can like and comment on other brand pages as a Facebook page. Even better, Facebook has made is very easy to do so. All you need to do is to navigate to a brand’s Facebook page and change between interacting as your personal profile and your brand page.

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As you do this, other fans of that page will see your comment, giving you increased exposure. Use this tactic judiciously. Be sure you choose to interact with other pages that are aligned with yours, but not in direct competition. Also, be smart about your comments. You want to leave comments that add value to the conversation; don’t abuse this by being overtly self-promotional.

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Use the above tips to grow your Facebook fan base. And when you’ve finished? Sorry, you’re never finished when it comes to Facebook. Go ahead and rinse and repeat. Continuous action is key to your social media success.

7 Ways to Gain Facebook Fans

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