Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Why many business's Facebook fan pages don't work

Has this ever happened to you? Someone sends you a friend request on Facebook, and you think, "Oh yeah, I like that person," and you accept. Immediately you're bonked with a request to fan their Facebook business page. And you feel a little used. You haven't even had a personal interaction with your new "friend." And they're already selling you.

This is one reason I don't like how many business owners use their Facebook fan pages.

Fans are naturally enthusiastic about someone or something. I know who and what I'm a "fan" of. I don't need someone to urge me to remember that I'm a fan of Ella Fitzgerald, fresh fish and the McGlohon Theater. And if they did, I'd be suspicious.

What often happens is that we fan a business because we're real-life friends of the business owner, and we're showing our support. There's nothing wrong with that. But, notice that we're coming back to the human connection. The bond is with our friend, not with a logo and a storefront.

There are businesses that use their fan pages well. The shoe store Step By Sloan uses its fan page to showcase new shoe styles, posting photos on the page's wall. That window-shopping approach makes sense for that business. For your restaurant, it might make sense to post dinner specials or events. But when a brand new Facebook friend immediately asked me -- a content renter -- to fan her real-estate agency, I thought, "why would I do that?"

I've had several business owners tell me how many fans they have on their business pages, and I suspect some of this is tied up in the unfortunate popularity contest on Facebook -- The Numbers Game. Are you trying to boost the number of fans on your page just to indicate that your business is thriving? That's understandable, but what if it gets in the way of your actual relationships with real customers and friends?

The content of your fan page needs to be interesting; you need to invest yourself in that business page. If it's simply wallpapered with promotional posts and the company logo, fans won't really be fans. They'll tolerate the page because they're friends.

Ask yourself: How would you greet customers in your brick-and-mortar or at a networking event? You'd be as personable as possible. If you're going to the trouble to maintain a business page, go to the trouble of being present and sociable there.

On the other hand, if you're at a cookout and someone asks you about work, you don't dash into another room and re-emerge in a suit, business card in hand. You talk about work because it's a part of your life.

Just because you have two pages doesn't mean you can't be a friend on your business page and can't mention work on your personal page. Too stringently separating our personal and work lives on Facebook often results in a one-sided personal page, and a very drab business page.

Reward a friend for being a fan of your business page by showing up there personally yourself and investing in that relationship.

Reach the peeps!

Wondering how to reach the folks from Saturday's social media conference at Queens University of Charlotte? This Twitter list is a great way to get them all in one fell swoop:

http://twitter.com/QueensDiana/cltsoc-attendees
Posted by at 8:37 AM

3 comments:

  1. I have a blog page and music page on facebook and have been guilty of sending requests right after friending someone. One issue is the use of the word "fan." I'd prefer something different or other options. Yes, I don't expect a stranger to be a fan, but I do want to invite and introduce them to my art, etc.

    I think there are enough pros to being online that we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater. It's imperfect. Often digital awkwardness precedes actual relationship. But, I've developed great relationships with people I've sent such invitations to and vice-versa.

    The real key is applying the Golden Rule. It's so simple and so unused day-to-day. I need to ask, how do I feel when I get a fan request from a stranger? A friend request? Because I think it's OK to reach out to people that way (with taste, timing and discretion), then I need to be OK when I get such requests from others. I don't accept all such invitations, and so I don't get bent out of shape that many don't accept mine.
    ReplyDelete
  2. I have plenty of friends with facebook business
    pages and it's ALL about how many fans they have. Nothing else, and it's pathetic.
    It's also exactly the same way with Twitter. Scenario:
    I follow "world's best flour" because I bake with it ALL of the time. They send me an auto-DM back thanking me for the follow. (eyeroll)They spend their time tweeting the same blank, boring, product pimp-tweets. Or they blow up my DM box with spam. Occasionally they send a tweet trying to engage like, "what are you baking?" I see the tweet, I tweet back what I've baked using their product. I might even go through the trouble of attaching a twitpic of the masterpiece using their product.
    Then they do 1 of 2 things-
    1. ignore my tweet completely (no tweets back to people)
    2. comment back a compliment, but they still don't follow you back.

    Here is a business "trying" to utilize social networking, but they can't give a simple follow back. Really? Why would you NOT follow back customers that are loyal to your product, who are trying to engage with you publicly, socially and who are ultimately giving you (FREE) positive advertising to get your business name out there? Does it make the "world's best flour tweeter" feel special to have 5,000 followers but follows no one in return? It makes no sense.
    If you can't give me more than a coupon once in a while, I'm not interested in your fan pages on social networking sites. Or make sure whoever is running your "Accounts" knows what the hell they are doing, or your twitter and FB "fans" might unfriend you in a hurry, no matter how loyal they are to the product.
    Fans like to be appreciated, and it can be done with something as simple as a thank you.
    ReplyDelete
  3. Having fans on your Facebook page doesn't necessarily mean a successful business. There is no guarantee that you will be able to sell your product or service with that.

    form an llc
    ReplyDelete

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