How to Increase Your Fans & Followers
Recent findings from Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate show that social friends and followers feel more inclined to purchase from the brands they are fans of. So how do you increase your fan/follower numbers?
Facebook (stats from study)
Primary Reason that US Internet Users are Fans of a Brand on Facebook
- To receive discounts and promotions (25%)
- Just because they are a customer and enjoy products (21%)
- To show others they like/support this brand (18%)
- It’s fun and entertaining (10%)
- To be the first to know information about the brand (8%)
- Gain access to exclusive content (6%)
- Someone recommended it to me (5%)
- To be a part of a community of like minded people (4%)
- Works for the company :) (2%)
Facebook recently changed it promotions guidelines so that contests can only be run on a 3rd party application, so running contents/promotions will cost you $35+ a pop, using services like Wildfire. But promotions and discounts are an essential part of the recipe, with Facebook’s audience still being young, price is often a factor.
A lot of the love you get on Facebook will just be a by product of having an excellent product. Facebook is a open platform for your customers to talk about their experience with your product in real life or the web. Listening to Facebook fans, improving your product, and communicating what you’ve done, over time, will build a thriving community and increase numbers.
There is a level of status associated with fanpages. Why were the first sites for luxury brands user generated? Because fanpages are an extension of our profile identity. In today’s world, brands are part of our individual stories, having a coca cola at a picnic, being a hipster with a MAC, they are voluntary product placements. To motivate people to willingly join your fanpage is part of a larger brand management strategy, making your brand symbol/name a “love mark”, so to speak.
