5 Ways to turn your facebook 'Likes' into Marketing Results

More often than not, Facebook marketing is a numbers game and the goal is to get as many “Likes” as possible.  It’s human nature.  We always want more, and the same certainly applies to social media marketing.

However, the true value of social media is not about how many fans and followers you have—it’s about what you do with them.  Many tend to forget the “marketing” in social media marketing and think social media success is just about posting content and getting as many Likes as possible.  It’s not.

Marketers today need to go beyond just getting Likes and create real engagement opportunities that keep their business top of mind with their loyal customers and make it really easy for them to share with their networks and friends.  While an increased number of Likes leads to a bigger audience for you to market to on Facebook, it’s only the first step in deriving real value from your investment in social media marketing.

The following are five things you can do to help turn Likes into real results on Facebook.

1. Create a compelling offer

This may sound like a no-brainer, yet all too often campaigns miss the mark because they’re not aligned with the interests of customers. Before you send out that offer, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself if you would act on it.

2. Build a full campaign plan

The most successful campaigns on Facebook span a two-to-three week period. During this time, there is a cadence that flows around publishing, promoting and driving action. Before you go live, consider how you’re going to sustain the momentum during those weeks and continue to drive traffic to your Facebook page.

3. Promote your offer across all of your communications channels

There’s no single method for promoting your campaign that guarantees results, so you’ll want to reach your audience where they’re most active and likely to engage—and in today’s world, that’s everywhere (look at all the options in #2 alone!). This can be in your email newsletters, other social media channels, your blog, or even in-person at an upcoming tradeshow.

4. Encourage fans to keep in touch

Getting fans to maintain contact after a campaign has ended is what sets great marketers apart from everyone else.  While you have their attention during a campaign, ask fans to join your email list or follow you on Twitter, for example, so you can keep in touch, keep a two-way conversation going, and begin building a long-term relationship.

5. Repeat successful results, not campaigns

You won’t want to do the same thing every time, but you will want to keep engaging your audience and encouraging them to share. You can do this by presenting new offers every month. These could be special deals for fans or exclusive content, for example. By mixing it up each time, you’ll increase responses while making campaigns more engaging.