Kim Walsh-Phillips: Stoke The Fire: How To Get Your Facebook Fans Ready To Buy

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Want to creep out guests at a dinner party?

Start the conversation with a sales pitch.

I kid you not, I was at an event like this recently.

I was invited to a luncheon mastermind only to discover it was a loosely veiled sales pitch.

Not a great trust builder and definitely did not encourage me to attend something this “guru” put on in the future.

The thing is, the same dynamics are in play on your Facebook page.  Lead off with sales and you will not be invited to the party again.  On the other hand, allowing fans just to “freeload” on content and never ask them to do anything will not pay the bills.

So, what’s a savvy and successful marketer like you supposed to do?

The minority, those actually MAKING MONEY on social media, condition their audience to buy. They are training them to be ready to pounce when there is an opportunity to give money to them.

Here’s how to stoke the fire of your fan page and get your audience amped up to buy:

1. Condition them to click:  Offer relevant and valuable content that is not promotional, but that is not listed on your Facebook page. Train your fans to click through from your site to your blog. They will learn to discover that clicking is good and valuable. This is a very helpful behavior to have in place when later on you want them to opt-in to a webinar or other landing page.

2. Build trust:  Feature the “who says so” besides you by turning your clients, customers or patients into the content on your page. From Q&As to member spotlights, bring their faces into the conversation. No one wants to feel like they are the first to choose you to spend money with. Show them they aren’t alone.

3. Show results: Use case studies and past customer experiences as the foundation for engaging your fans. Make sure not to be too promotional, but still share stories as social proof.

4. Share some behind the scenes:  Let your fans get to know you and your team better to build trust and move them closer to a yes to buy.  It helps to show you are an actual person, not just words on a page.