Building A Thriving Facebook Community: 10 Tips for Gaining More Fans

One of the questions I get most about Facebook marketing is about building my fan base and how to do it. Everyone seems to be interested in increasing the number of Facebook fans, followers and likes. Let me start by simply saying sheer numbers are not what you are looking for. Having “likes” on your fan page is important but is not just about quantity, it is about quality. It is about building a vibrant community that is engaged with your page and your practice. Here are 10 tips that I have found to be not only helpful but that actually work in organically gaining a larger following, better engagement and reaching new prospects.

1. Use Questions. Questions make it apparent that you are seeking interaction. Give your fans permission to react to your posts. You can get some spirited comments and opinions, especially for attorney marketing, by asking questions like “Do you believe this is fair?” or “What is your opinion on the judge’s ruling?” People love to share their thoughts and if they see your page as a resource and venue to do that, it will build a vibrant, interactive following.
2. Make Use of Images and Photographs. All research indicates that photos and images on Facebook get more reaction than just text. It is such a critical component that many of the changes made to Facebook in the recent past have been to promote use of images. Use real time photos from your interactions in the community, a speaking event or community service. When using images of others be sure to reference where they came from or purchase before using.
3. Make it Professional but Keep it Personal. Make sure your page is well branded, and the content is spelled correctly as it does represent your practice. However, that doesn’t mean it has to be cold or stand-offish. Include personal information like news about a staff lunch or a photo of a fundraiser you were involved in. Recognize staff anniversaries and help build rapport between your team and your fans. Of course the friends of your staff can also help expand your reach.
4. Less is More. Using fewer characters in a post makes it easier to read. See what I mean?
5. Don’t Over-post. Over-posting is one of the major reasons people get un-liked, which is contrary to your goal. If there is a particularly compelling developing case, several post a day may be fine, otherwise listen to your audience, 3-5 posts a week is probably enough to get started but as your engagement grows you may need to post 1 to 2 times per day.
6. Ask Your Current Base to Share Your Posts. Social media growth is based on “sharing” and many fans need prompting. Give them a reason to share. “If you know someone going through a divorce, they may appreciate this info. Be sure to share.”
7. Be Pertinent, Timely and Compelling. Be consistent in your “voice” and become the source for legal information in your community. Build the image that if there is a significant story in the legal arena, you will have news or a comment about it. Be the expert. You can read about our story here on how we successfully grew our page to a community pool of 99,000+ followers.
8. Be Aware of the Seasons. More than a change of weather, seasons include Back to School Season, Holiday Season, Resolution Season, Tax Season, and Vacation Season. Make posts relevant to what is likely going on in the lives of your audience. This keeps you “in-touch” with reality and not just isolated in a world of legal issues.                                                                                                                                                   
9. Create “Like-Gated” Content. This is content that is available only to those who like your page. It could be a list of “Ten questions to ask an injury lawyer before you hire them”, a video, an e-book or other content. The viewer gains access to the content once they become a fan. Also be sure to ask them to share!
10. Utilize the Information Available from Facebook Page Insights. Facebook page insights provide the tools that give you an overview of your Facebook account, and what activity is creating likes. It provides guidance into what your fans like, and dislike, and allows you to focus on optimizing your Facebook activity. This is a terrific diagnostic tool that can help direct you in what to post and when.

Stay away from purchasing fans, or ways to capture fans through services that say they will get you 1000 fans overnight. It goes back to the quality, you want fans that are your target audience, interested in what you are sharing because they are and will be your word of mouth marketing. Social media marketing is constantly changing, as are the expectations of users, listening to what your audience is saying or NOT saying will make the difference in capturing new followers to your page. If your community is talking and engaging it will easily draw in new fans, if there is no chatter it will make it more difficult to get new fans to want to join in. Follow these tips and it will help lead the way to building a engaging, quality community of Facebook fans.

Looking for more ways to build your fan base? Check back soon on how to create targeted Facebook advertising campaigns to reach and even bigger audience.

Share with us what you are doing to build followers on your page! We would love to hear of your success and if there is something we can help with please reach out.