Hi, hello and welcome! I’m here to tell you exactly how to bribe more people into ‘liking’ you on Facebook or following you on Twitter.
What you have to understand is that people don’t know what they’re doing with social media, so you have to give them a push in the right (YOUR) direction!
6 Social Media Bribes That Work:
- Contests: Do a contest! And hey, don’t give anything relevant to your brand away. Instead, try for something that EVERYONE will want, like an iPad. That will ensure LOTS of people like your page – who cares if they’re not interested in buying what you’re selling? You’ve got more fans, dude, and that’s all that matters!
- Run a Facebook ad: Make sure you target millions of people, that way you’ll get the most bang for your buck. And don’t worry about research and keywords, just pick something really generic. Again, the bigger the audience the more ‘likes’ for your page!
- Retweet & share the “big guns”: Don’t worry about creating your own original content, or sharing your own ideas, just run out and retweet or share of the info that Mashable, Social Media Examiner and Mari Smith put out. You can ride their social media coattails. And if you’re in another industry, say sales, just do that with Jeffery Gitomer or Seth Godin. Content marketing is for the birds – why do that when there’s all of that FREE content sitting around?
- Latch on to trending topics: If your main service involves training or consulting, don’t ever talk about that! Just talk about social media since it’s such a hot topic. You’ll be sure to get a TON of followers with your social media savvy. You can talk them into the stuff they didn’t follow you for later.
- Post nonstop quotes: People really love quotes. They also make you sound really smart. Like this: “Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.” ~ Ambrose Bierce See how intelligent I sounded?! I bet you already want to follow me ON TWITTER and LIKE MY FACEBOOK PAGE!
- Use coupons: Offer a bunch of money off your services in exchange for Facebook likes. That always works! Not only will you get a bunch of new fans, you’ll drum up a lot of business. And even though you’re not making enough margins on the projects to pull a profit, when other people see how many new likes you have, they’ll want to buy from you, too.
Once Again, WITHOUT The Sarcasm
I surely hope you realize the above was dripping with sarcasm! If you’re interested in “bribing” people to follow your brand on social media, you’re in for a long, hard ride.
Let’s break that down with some honesty:
- Contests: Make sure you pick a relevant prize that showcases what your business does best. By doing so, you’re gaining new ‘likes’ and potential leads for your pipeline.
- Run a Facebook ad: Targeting your customer profiles when planning a Facebook ad is essential! To give you a hint, we use more than 20 hashtags (keywords) when running ads for ourselves and clients.
- Retweet and share: Just make sure it’s not all info from the “big guns.” Make sure you’re nurturing your relationships with your digital and online cohorts. Share your own, original content in there, too. And make sure you’re having conversations! If all I see in your Twitter stream is a constant flow of RTs – I know you’re just “doing” social, rather than “being” social.
- Tie in trending topics: It’s smart to use topical and trending topics to your advantage, but underscore your expertise. Sticking with the training and consulting example, make sure you talk about that! Then use a hot topic, like social media, and tie it into what you do. Remember, you want people following you who can be added to your pipeline!
- Post quotes: While I love the occasional quote, if all you do is post these for your audience it looks as if you have nothing authentic to say. Doing this is another way to turn attention away from what YOU do.
- Use coupons: Coupons are an excellent way to rustle up some engagement on your page; giving away everything but the kitchen sink isn’t necessary. Just as with contests and ads, you’ll want to make sure you’re attracting the right kind of customers, and that there’s a favorable outcome (ROI) for you in the end.
Social media is not about bribing or begging or blatantly selling. Now excuse me while I go take a hot shower … talking like an icky salesperson makes me feel GROSS!
Have any thoughts you’d like to add? Let me know in the comments below!
See you in the social sphere!
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Brooke B. Sellas is the in-the-trenches Founder & CEO of @HelloBSquared, an award-winning social media, advertising, and social media customer care agency. She's also the author of Conversations That Connect -- a book all about social listening and social media customer care. Brooke's marketing mantra is “Think Conversation, Not Campaign” so be sure to give her a shout on the socials!
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11 Comments. Leave new
I loved this Brooke! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one using that many keywords for a Facebook ad 😉 You are right, though. Those 6 ways are great ways to get new likes if done correctly.
Mandy, if I showed you some of the crazy lists of keywords and hashtags we’ve compiled you might think I’m CRAZY! 🙂 We like to keep a running list just to know what we’ve used, what went well, etc.
So glad you liked the list. Thanks for stopping in and leaving your thoughts!
Whoa, I was about to call this crazy, then I kept scrolling, ha! The sarcasm part made me laugh big time! Good points when it comes to never over-doing anything. Be consistent and proactive, not automated and dull. Nice job!
Haha … It was difficult to be so opposite of my normal self. So glad to get a laugh out of you, Cedar. AND, thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment – it’s truly appreciated!
HAW! Took me a second to dial in the sarcasm there, Brooke. I was scratching my head on #1, then on to #2 before I realized “That’s why this doesn’t sound like Brooke at all… she’s being ironic.”
“You can talk them into stuff they DIDN’T follow you for, later.” Heh. Pure gold.
Yeah, all these ‘techniques’ are useless… or useFUL… depending on the heart and intent with which you use them. I’ve done contests, but only the kind that’s relevant to my message and to my people. So they do pretty well.
Keep up spreading the good word, Brooke!
Keep Stepping,
Kurt
Kurt Frankenberg recently posted…Reaching Out: Blog Commenting, ON PURPOSE
Tee hee – sometimes I’m just so silly, Kurt! Glad you caught my GIANT dose of sarcasm … and I hope you liked my “curve ball” (just like in baseball, you’ve got to change it up every now and then to keep peeps on their toes!).
Relevancy is KEY. I’m not sure how or why so many people miss that part, but as long as you’re aiming to do so, you should be golden.
Always love when you peek in and leave a comment, Kurt! You’re always making me smile and laugh!
[…] Name: Brooke Ballard Blog URL: https://bsquared.media/ @B2MediaLLC Social media advisor; psychographics over demographics. Emphasizes engagement and connectivity. “Think Conversation, not Campaign”. Met on Twitter, has RT’d a number of articles. Exchange jokes and mutual appreciation. Sharp writer. Six Ways to Bribe Fans, Followers to “Like” You […]
The part i liked the most is “I know you’re just “doing” social, rather than “being” social.” Some marketers think its sufficient to tweet once or set an auto tweeter to build up a relationship but in fact it takes more time than one can think of. It also needs dedication and consistency.
As far as the trending topics are concerned, can you name any reliable tool where i can find trending topics? Would love to sort them out regional basis so recommend something good in this regard.
Thank you for your thoughts, Nabeel! In the coming months (maybe coming years – but I think it will happen faster than that) the “average” marketer — let’s be honest, they really aren’t even average if they’re tweeting once or auto connecting their accounts — will not be able to keep up with the constant change, the constant need, and constant push for better and better content (whether used socially or not). Consistency and dedication will be the foundation, and if you don’t have a foundation, you most certainly can’t grow.
For trending topics I would recommend setting up a Google Alert on your keyword(s) of choice. There are also tools, like our friend Robert’s company BundlePost, that can help you with mass amounts of curation for trending topics (as well as scheduling). Let me know if those help!
Loved it! You hit the nail on the head again. How do you always come up with such awesome content? Any tips are welcomed. The sarcasm was quite funny. Your blogs just speak my language. Absolute Awesome Sauce! Have a great week, Brooke!
HAHAHA! Glad you like my humor/snark/sass. Thanks for stopping by and making my day! 🙂