How to Gain Facebook "Likes"

By Dan Slagen

Q: “I’m hoping to get ideas on how to gain Facebook Likes for my website. Any special tricks you can suggest? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.” — Simon Lau, Founder, Prestige Luxury Rentals

A: Here are a few things you can do to gain Facebook “Likes”:

1. Run multiple geo-targeted campaigns. This sounds like a lot of work and it can be, but it works. Your cost per connection will drastically differ by country and state as well. If you have a strong local presence, for example, it may make sense to allocate a significant percentage of your marketing budget to the local region. Test a bunch of different regions, see which ones convert best for you, then shift marketing dollars
as appropriate.

2. What are your age demographics? Who are you focusing on as your target market? What does each demographic require for you to reach them? It’s likely that messaging to an 18-year-old will differ from that of a 55-year-old. While it’s a must to always provide a proposition, value and call to action, the approaches taken can differ depending on which age segment you’re targeting. Keep in mind that you need to convince your target market to like your brand, regardless of any ad placement.

3. Identify your customers’ interests. Start specific to prove out your theory and save budget, then expand. Use demo targeting in the same way you would traditional media. Consider the psychographics of your target market as well.

4. Try using sponsored stories. These are posts from friends or pages on Facebook that an organization or individual has paid to highlight to increase the chances they’ll be seen. They’re regular stories that a friend (or page someone is connected to) has shared with someone else. Sponsored stories typically reduce cost as data has shown that Facebook users are more inclined to support companies that their friends support rather than just clicking on an ad without the approval of a friend. Run these campaigns separately from general Facebook ads so you can test and track accordingly.

5. Offer contests to your fans. Contests are a great way to generate buzz and new connections, but they need to be thought out and well planned. For example, you can offer to donate $1 to charity for every connection you get, a mass reward if your page hits a certain number of connections, raffle off gift cards, or even get creative and offer to do a free webinar or produce a company video if your company page accumulates a certain number of connections. Really think about what you could offer your target market that’s of value to them. You don’t necessarily need to spend a lot of time and money in order for a contest to be successful.

Dan Slagen is head of advertising for HubSpot, an inbound marketing software platform provider. Dan can be reached at dslagen@hubspot.com.