In the digital age, social media platforms play a significant role in building and expanding your online presence. Facebook, with its vast user base and powerful advertising capabilities, offers a fantastic opportunity to increase your following and engage with your target audience. As a Facebook advertising agency, we would be remiss if we don’t share effective strategies on how you can leverage Facebook advertising and grow your following, which can help you reach a wider audience and build a strong online community.
What’s the purpose of having followers on Facebook?
Having followers on Facebook offers numerous benefits for your business. Let’s explore some key advantages:
- Increased Reach and Visibility: When users follow your Facebook page, they become part of your audience and your content appears in their news feed. This increased visibility allows you to reach a larger audience and expand your brand’s presence. As your followers engage with your content by liking, commenting, and sharing, their network of friends and connections may also see your posts, further amplifying your reach.
- Brand Awareness and Recognition: Building a strong follower base on Facebook helps increase brand awareness and recognition. When users regularly see your content and updates, they become familiar with your brand and its offerings. This familiarity can lead to trust and loyalty, making them more likely to engage with your business and recommend it to others.
- Direct Communication Channel: Facebook followers provide you with a direct line of communication with your audience. You can share important updates, announcements, promotions, and new product launches directly to their news feeds. This instant connection allows you to engage with your audience in real time, answer their questions, and address their concerns, fostering a sense of community and building stronger relationships.
- Customer Engagement and Feedback: Facebook followers provide a platform for customer engagement and feedback. They can like, comment, and share your posts, allowing you to start conversations and gather valuable insights. Paying attention to your followers’ comments and feedback can help you understand their preferences, address their needs, and improve your products or services accordingly.
- Increased Website Traffic and Conversions: With a strong Facebook following, you can drive traffic to your website. By sharing links to your blog posts, product pages, or landing pages, you can direct followers to your website and increase the chances of conversions. The more engaged your followers are, the higher the likelihood of them clicking through to your website and exploring your offerings.
- Social Proof and Credibility: Having a substantial number of followers on Facebook serves as social proof and enhances your brand’s credibility. When potential customers visit your page and see that you have a significant following, they are more likely to trust your brand and perceive it as reputable. This can positively influence their purchasing decisions and encourage them to engage with your business.
- Targeted Marketing Opportunities: Facebook provides advanced targeting options that allow you to create customized marketing campaigns for your followers. When you understand your audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviours in-depth, you can tailor your advertisements to reach specific segments within your follower base. This targeted approach increases the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, as you can deliver relevant content and offers to the right audience at the right time.
- Brand Advocacy and Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Loyal followers on Facebook can become brand advocates who promote your business through word-of-mouth. When they engage with your content, share your posts, or leave positive reviews, their network of connections becomes exposed to your brand, potentially leading to new followers and customers. This organic form of marketing can significantly expand your reach and attract a wider audience.
6 ways to increase your followers with Facebook advertising
Define your target audience
Before diving into Facebook advertising, it is crucial to define your target audience. Who are you trying to attract and engage with? Consider demographics, interests, preferences, and behaviours. By understanding your audience, you can create more targeted and relevant ads that resonate with them.
So, if you are a fitness influencer targeting women aged 25-35 interested in yoga and wellness, you can tailor your Facebook ads to highlight the benefits of your yoga programs and showcase testimonials from satisfied clients within that age range. Facebook will show your ads to these select women and help you add more people to your list of followers!
Craft compelling ad creative
To capture the attention of Facebook users, your ad creative needs to be compelling and visually appealing. Use high-quality images or videos (preferably) that reflect your brand and resonate with your target audience. Don’t forget to include persuasive copy that clearly communicates the value proposition and encourages users to take action.
For instance, if you are a fashion brand targeting young adults, you can create visually stunning video ads showcasing your latest collection or trendy outfits. You can use attention-grabbing headlines like “Discover the Hottest Fashion Trends of the Season” or “Get the Look That Everyone’s Chasing” to pique the interest of potential followers.
The key is to use colours, terms, words, and elements that your potential audience prefers.
Utilize audience targeting
One of the key advantages of Facebook advertising is its robust audience targeting options. Take advantage of these features to narrow down your audience and reach those who are most likely to be interested in your content. Targeting options include age, gender, interests, past purchase behaviours, or something entirely new.
Let’s say you run a travel blog and want to attract adventure enthusiasts who are fond of expeditions. You can target Facebook users who have shown an interest in adventure travel, hiking, trekking, outdoor activities, or specific travel destinations. When they see your ad related to mountaineering, they might immediately take heed of your brand and are more likely to engage with your content and become loyal followers.
Run engagement and Page Like campaigns
Facebook offers specific ad campaign objectives to boost engagement and increase page likes. So, while Engagement campaigns encourage users to interact with your content through likes, comments, and shares, Page Like campaigns specifically aim to grow your follower count by promoting your page to a broader audience.
So, if you manage a food blog, you can run an engagement campaign featuring a mouth-watering recipe video that encourages viewers to like, comment, and share. On the other hand, you can also consider running Page Like campaigns to expand your follower base by targeting users who have shown an interest in cooking, recipes, or food-related content.
Retarget website visitors
As a brand on Facebook, you have the luxury to utilize Facebook’s retargeting capabilities to reach users who have previously visited your website. You can create custom audiences based on website visitors and serve ads to those who have already shown interest in your brand, increasing the likelihood of gaining new followers.
For instance, if you run an eCommerce store that sells skincare products, consider setting up a retargeting campaign to show ads to users who have browsed specific product pages on your page previously. You can create enticing ads highlighting new product launches or offering exclusive discounts on the products they previously interacted with to encourage these users to follow your Facebook page.
Collaborate with influencers
Collaborating with influencers in your niche can significantly boost your Facebook following. This is an indirect advertising approach that you pay for but users don’t consider it to be as invasive as the other forms of Facebook Ads.
Start by identifying influencers whose audience aligns with your target audience and partner with them for sponsored posts or collaborations. Their endorsement can introduce your brand to a new audience and generate organic engagement and followers.
So, if you are a fitness brand, you can collaborate with fitness influencers to promote your products or share workout routines. Their followers, who are already interested in fitness, are more likely to follow your page for similar content.
As you can tell, having followers on Facebook is very important for every business. By actively cultivating and nurturing your Facebook following, you can establish a strong online presence, foster customer relationships, and drive business growth.