People often wonder why it’s so important to build a large following on Facebook. They might even ask themselves what’s the point. Well after reading this article you’ll clearly understand why it’s important to build a large following of fans on Facebook.
- Social Proof. It’s hard to compare to large brands like Starbucks and Disney with their millions of fans, but as an individual who is seeking to build a name for himself or his organization having a following of over 10,000 puts you at a big advantage over other individuals and small companies with only a few hundred fans. When people come to your page and you have a lot of fans, they think to themselves, “Wow, they’re really popular.” However, when they come to your page and you only have a few hundred followers they may think that nobody knows you and they may also think nobody cares about what you have to offer. Social proof is big. Everyone wants to be friends and associated with the popular crowd. Therefore you will want to make sure that your brand is viewed as such.
- FREE/CHEAP Advertising. When you begin to promote to your fan base it costs a lot less to promote to people who have “liked” your page than it does to promote outside of your fan base. It may costs you $.50 to $2.50 per click to advertise to non-fans vs $.10 to $.15 cents to advertise to your fans. When you’re building a business on a shoestring budget this makes ALL the difference.
- Build Trust and Rapport. People like to do business with folks that they know like and trust and when you have a crowd of people endorsing you with a “like” then they may be more willing to buy something from you, especially if they come to your page and see that a lot of their friends like your page. This is even more reason for them to trust you.
- Documentation Beats Conversation. These documented endorsements mean something. The same way an endorsement means something on LinkedIn. When other people “like” you. That seal of approval represents documented success. They’re a lot of people who talk about being social media strategist and then when you go to their social media sites they barely have hardly any fans. Seriously? But when you have a documented following that continues to grow, it shows that something is happening with you and your business.
- Community. In this day and age when so many people feel left out. Having a place where people can come hang out and participate in the conversation creates a sense of belonging and community. People come to you because you want to be a part of something and people stay with you because they like the sense of feeling like they belong. Plus you provide something that they need at the time.
Over the course of time as you continue to build on all of the items discussed above, you will become a trusted source that people can count on and eventually, your Facebook page will become a constant source of new and potential customers for your business. Now you can clearly see why it’s so important to build a following on Facebook. Learn more about our Facebook tips in the e-book, Our Facebook Strategy.
