5 Ways to Engage Your Facebook Fans

April 13, 2011 - Last Modified: April 13, 2011 by Jess Webb 2,279

So you’re on Facebook, and you have a great Facebook Page to promote your business – now what? Now you need to engage your fans and get them interacting with you and your Page. On Facebook, it’s all about building a community – your audience that actively participates in the conversation and responds to what you’re doing.

Here are some ways to engage your fans and get them interacting on your Facebook Page.

1. Post Regular, Consistent Content

One of the best ways to get your fans to start engaging with you more is to start posting more often. Remember that Facebook fans usually only see you when you post an update that goes into their News Feed. By posting regular, consistent updates, you’ll keep showing up in their News Feed and you’ll become more familiar to them. They will be far more likely to comment and interact with you if they feel like they already know you.

2. Always Provide VALUE

Whatever you are posting to your Facebook Page should be relevant, helpful, and interesting to your fans. You want to provide valuable information that will let them learn from you and even get results before they ever actually buy from you.

You can share quick tips related to your topic, how-to articles and videos, quotes, case studies and even resources from other people. If it will be helpful for your audience AND is relevant to your business and topic, then share it.

3. Ask Questions

Asking questions is a blatant invitation for your fans to engage with you. It can be a great way to spark a discussion and find out what your fans are thinking.

You can ask questions in just about any way you want. Add a question to the end of a quick tip asking them to share their experience when they apply the tip, or to share any additional tips they would like to add.

Or ask JUST a question in your update to start a conversation. You could ask them what their biggest frustration is right now around this topic, or invite them to share something great that happened to them recently, or ask them who they would recommend as a resource for something you need. These are all great ways to show them that you are interested in what they have to say and to invite a discussion.

4. Post Photos and Videos

Photos and videos tend to get a lot of response on Facebook. They stand out and people love to SEE something, instead of always just reading your updates.

You can post photos of your products, events you do, your team, and other photos that are relevant to your topic and business. You could post photos of you with clients, images from your portfolio or pictures of your store front if you have a physical location.

Videos are a great way to share great tips and how-to info. Post video tutorials, interviews, teaching sessions, workshops and anything else you can share through a video format. You could also do video interviews with each person on your team to introduce them, video testimonials from clients or share videos from others that will be useful to your fans.

A good mix of different types of media will help to keep your fans interested and give them a choice of how they prefer to learn from you.

5. Respond Quickly

When you do get comments and engagement from your fans, be sure to respond quickly. Let them know that you are listening and are happy to hear from them. Reply with a thank you, or even ask them a question to keep the conversation going.

The more engagement you get on each post, the more it will show up in your fans’ News Feeds, so encourage them to keep contributing to the conversation. You could ask them a question about what they commented on, to entice them to keep engaging with you. This also gives you a chance to get to know THEM and to find out what they think and what they need from you.

Make sure that someone on your team has the task of checking your Facebook Page for new comments, so that you can respond quickly.

When you add these 5 steps into your Facebook marketing strategy, you’ll start to see your fans commenting and interacting with you and your Page. The more interaction you get, the more your updates show up in the News Feeds and the more people will see it and want to participate in the conversation. It’s a beautiful upward spiral that will have your business EXPLODING on Facebook in no time.

Image credit: mil8 Flickr Commons

About Jess Webb

Follow @alljessilicious

I am Jess, a quirky entrepreneur who helps fellow quirks EXPLODE their business on Facebook. I love all things Facebook and being able to help business owners learn how to build an active audience to grow their business through Facebook. I'd love to have you on my FREE webinar, The Facebook Explosion Blueprint, to learn how YOU can EXPLODE your business on Facebook, as well.

{ 69 Responses }

Charlie says:

Absolutely agree with all this. It seems hard for far too many people to grasp that over promotion is NOT a good thing in social networks!
Mark says:

Great article, Jess. All five points you mentioned are key. One thing I have learned, in addition to the points you mentioned, is that actual interaction, as opposed to automation is a definite necessity when it comes to social networking. And since Facebook now numbers into the hundreds of millions with respect to total users, it is a potential source of traffic that cannot be denied. Thanks, Mark
AJ Clarke says:

These are some awesome tips Jess, One more thing I would recommend (which I'm currently failing on) is to make your Facebook page look awesome. There are a lot of apps you can install that will make your page look a lot better (such as allowing for HTMl). I am much more likely to be active on a page that I find visually appealing.
Ayden says:

Responding quickly has become sooo easy with smart phones hey. It also gives the recipient an importance factor when they see an instant reply for a mobile device.
Dheeraj says:

One more thing that I want to add is that Following the blog Niche is most important to gain visitors and genuine readers
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Dheeraj! :) Yes! Great tip to add - thank you for jumping in with that!
Adam says:

hello jess, I was obviously flattered to find myself inside the facebook, along some of the most popular and well known bloggers and now I have learn more about on your tips
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Adam! :) Glad you're learning from these tips! ;)
Chadrack says:

Hi Jessi, Thanks for these tips. I built a wonderful fan page for my blog sometime ago but have not really done much to market it. These tips will come handy very soon.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Chadrack! :) You're welcome! I'm so glad you found them helpful. Best of luck with your Facebook Page! :)
ZK says:

Jess ... great points.I always believe in consistency. Consistency is one factor which can make you much respected blogger in long run.All these great bloggers are example of it.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi ZK! :) Yes, consistency is definitely key! :) Thanks for the comment!
Kharim says:

This is a great blog post. I am always trying to communicate with my Facebook fan page members and I think this post will help me even more. Thanks very much Jess Webb
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Kharim! :) You're very welcome - I'm glad the post was helpful! :) Thanks for the comment!
Jay Philips says:

Great tips. It's interesting how some sites say post once a week while others say post multiple times a day. I post to my FB page every hour during business hours but only if I have content I think the fans would like.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Jay! :) There is a lot of conflicting advice and info out there, especially when it comes to Facebook. ;) The key is to find what works for you and your biz and then do that, no matter what someone else says! :)
karan says:

Thanks for some cool tips there... Mind at work again!:D
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Karan! :) You're welcome!
Icechen1 says:

Questions... Hmm, good idea, I should totally try that out soon.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Icechen! :) Yes, definitely give it a try! ;)
Alex says:

Hello Jess, Interesting article but I find it hard to make it on facebook and create a large fan base that will respond to your calls to action. First of all, how can you get a lot of fans on facebook, because as far as I know you have to post on other people's walls or something in order to get fans. Secondly, supposing you already have started to get fans, how do you maintain that connection with your fans, how can you gather more by using the fans you already have? Third, if you have an odd niche (we are not talking about the pills or other kind) that doesn't have all that much material you can supply to your fans. What do you do then? How can you keep engaging with them? Finally, I am pretty much a nullity when it comes to facebook fan gathering and pages, so thanks for sharing some of your wisdom :)
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Alex! :) Thanks for your comment! You certainly brought up some great questions that I'd love to address in depth in another article or webinar. ;) Really quickly, though.... 1) You can get fans from places OTHER than Facebook, as well! Here's another guest post on Women on Business where I talked about some ways to do that: http://www.womenonbusiness.com/3-keys-to-getting-more-fans-on-facebook/ 2) You maintain the connection with fans by posting content they find useful, helpful and interesting, as well as engaging with them: asking questions, responding to their comments, thanking them, etc. And when you're doing this and really providing VALUE for them, they'll be more likely to share your Page with their friends and bring more fans for you. 3) I believe you can always find material for your niche! Share other people's stuff - articles, videos, tips, etc - as well as your own, to help broaden out your resources. Even small niches have a lot of things you can say about them, and if you find other people who are talking about it as well, then you don't have to say quite so much yourself. ;) Great questions, Alex! Thanks so much for leaving a comment. :)
Eric Bonnici says:

Hi Jess Great guest post and I like how you show that providing relevant content and engaging your audience is key. One of my biggest pet peeves with businesses, entrepreneurs, and people is they do too much self promotion. And the worse part is some don't even respond to their followers questions or comments. Another annoyance is how people talk about themselves constantly. What you're eating, how much you hate fizzy hair, and so on is not relevant (posting this once in a while is ok but constantly no way). You ofter hear people talking about how they want to get more followers on Twitter, more Facebook friends or likes, and so on. Failure to engage, self promotion, and self centered posts won't help. In fact, it will drive your follower count down and or render them unresponsive. They will just ignore and overlook your posts. The point I want to make is that engaging your social network is important. And doing it without self promoting constantly is key. The occasional self promotion is ok in my opinion, especially when you're trying to generate business and leads. But by engaging your audience and keeping relevant without self promoting your fan base will naturally grow and increase. Not to mention you'll have responsive followers too. I hope you and your readers find some of what I've written here useful. And thanks again for your informative post. I'll see you on Twitter and look forward to reading more over at your blog. Talk soon Eric
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Eric! :) Great to see you here - thanks for the comment! :) That is exactly what I was talking about on my webinar this afternoon - it was all about engaging with your fans, replying to comments right away, avoiding too much self promotion, and so on. This is such an important topic, because so many people miss the mark on this, like you said. Thanks so much for adding this to the conversation. I'm sure it will be helpful for someone! :)
Phil says:

I agree with everything said here, but I also agree with what some people are saying in the comments, don't make too many posts a day, or people will think you're spamming. and yes, pretty photos and fun videos do seem to attract the biggest attention and interaction from everyone. If you can squeeze your product in and get a little marketing done, you've got it made.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Phil! :) You're absolutely right - too much posting is just as bad as too little. You really have to test it out and find out what really works for your fans and what they respond to the best. :) Thanks for the comment!
divas says:

Facebook is a very powerful tool to promote your business... Regular posting is required, but I think there should be some gap between 2 posts. Many updates in a day from the same page would be annoying. Great article! :)
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Divas! :) Yes, very good point! As I mentioned to Phil in another comment, you really have to test it out and find out what works for YOUR fans, what they respond to the best. It won't be the same for every Page and every group of fans, so you have to pay attention and see what works for you then stick with it. :) Thanks for the comment!
Vlad says:

Thanks for the tips. Personally i think that posting quality content on a regular basis is necessary for keeping you Facebook fans interested.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Vlad! :) Yes, I definitely agree! :) Thanks for that comment!
Nishant Soni says:

I would be honest here, this is something that everyone knows. Thanks for pointing it out though, will help people who are completely new in Internet Marketing Industry. My 2 cents: Consistency is the key guys. You keep reading hundreds of articles on successful blogs every day. And their success encourages you to stat your own Consultancy or Online business or blog. The key is, reading and doing ... then go read the next one and do. Read it all and thinking "I will do this n that" will not take you anywhere. Its good to read successful blog when you need encouragement and motivation. But ACTION is the key.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Nishant! :) Well said! Action is DEFINITELY key. Thanks so much for adding that to the conversation! :)
MarkH says:

Good solid advice. I also think the time of day your updates are made can help engage your audience on Facebook. And that time differs depending on who your fans are:- are they at their desk 9-5 with Facebook permanently open in another tab, or are they online just before or after work, or at lunch time.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Mark! :) Yes! Very good point - thanks for adding that! :)
R.O.M.E.L.O. says:

Aw, this would be useful to me if I have any facebook fans. LOL! Unfortunately, I don't have any fans at all. I do have a few friends and families but we kinda just share Farmville gifts with each other. :D
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Romelo! :) That's great! Facebook is certainly a fantastic tool for keeping in touch with friends and family. ;) Thanks for the comment! :)
Dennis Edell says:

Excellent tips Jess, good for just about any network as well as blogging. ;-)
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Dennis! :) Thank you - so glad you enjoyed them! :) You're right, these can certainly be applied to other networks and blogging. Thanks for pointing that out! :)
Alexis says:

From my own experience, providing value and doing it on a regular basis will position you in your fans minds as an expert in your topic. You're right to say it's g0od to ask question. Asking question will make your readers react easily by giving their answers. Quick reply makes a difference as it makes the person feels important to you.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Alexis! :) You definitely want to position yourself as an expert, and you're right, it's a great way to do that! :) Thanks for the comment! :)
Petra says:

As anyone who works a lot with social media sites can attest to, getting people to like you on FB is a whole different ball game. It's not nearly as easy as building up your "followers" list on Twitter, for example. You definitely raise a lot of good ideas as far as getting your fans to interact with you. The initial, much greater problem might still be (for some of us, at least) getting that initial "like." I think creating a landing page for your FB page is a great way to accomplish this. Thanks to a colleague of mine, I also recently came across a Social Media group on Linkedin where, basically, we all just posted links to our own FB pages so that everyone in the group had the opportunity to like everyone else's pages. I thought this was a great idea to help generate a greater FB fan base!
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Petra! :) The landing page on a Facebook Page is definitely a great way to get fans. And I love the idea of that LinkedIn group, too. That's awesome! :) Thanks for the comment!
jilianne says:

Posting interesting content might be the best way to attract fans. Another thing I notice is when you to try freebies, your fans increases by 5%. I tried this strategy and it works, I got it from #TimeSci (twitter hashtag). Thanks.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Jilianne! Love the tip to try freebies - great to hear how well it's worked out for you. :) Thanks for the comment!
kavita says:

great way to engage facebook friends as well as fans, will surely try this out. thanks for sharing
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Kavita! :) So glad it was helpful - thanks for your comment! :)
Zezebel says:

I have try asked question. that one really help you engage with your fan. Just make sure your poll or Question relevant to your blog.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Zezebel! :) Yes, excellent tip to make sure your poll or question is related! Thanks for jumping in with that. :)
Extreme John says:

Excellent tips for getting a decent community going in your favor. It takes time, and more of it now then ever before, but it pays off if you stick with it. Excellent contribution, especially for newbies looking to get started on Facebook.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi John! :) Thank you - so glad you enjoyed the article! Yes, it certainly does take time. Afterall, it's about building relationships, and those just don't happen overnight! ;) Thanks for the comment!
Wasim Ismail says:

I've noticed if you share videos and photos on Facebook, along with asking questions, you get a better response.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Great tips, Wasim! I've seen that too. Those are great ways to get more engagement on your Facebook Page. :) Thanks for the comment! :)
Isabel Rodrigues - Pro Blogger Journey says:

I have to admit I often neglect this awesome power of social networking. But its time I start taking it seriously
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Isabel! :) You're certainly not the only one who neglects it. It wasn't that long ago that I did, as well! You'll be amazed at the results you get when you start really using it, though. ;) Thanks for the comment! :)
Karen says:

Asking questions is a simple but necessary means of getting FB friends to interact on your wall. Some people may want to comment on something but may not be sure where to start.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Great point, Karen! Thanks for the comment. :)
Kev says:

Thanks Jess, I needed this post. I just started my fan page and its going slow. These tips will help me very much. Kev
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Kev! :) You're welcome! So glad you enjoyed it and found it helpful. Thanks for the comment! :)
Jane Cooper says:

Right now if you are not at facebook than you lose about 50% of clients, it realy important to get some customers on facebook because they like to be informed by facebook about things.
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Jane! :) Yes, Facebook is a great way to get new clients and there are a LOT of people on there ready to hear your message. ;) Thanks for the comment! :)
John Everett says:

Great post but if your a small and quite busy business dealing with posting physical products and updating these products and accounting, phone answering etc how do you find the time to keep replying and posting social media comments, I personally can't find the time for lunch, so should social book marking be avoided if available time is a limiting factor and accounts end up neglected? Great post by the way, thanks
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi John! :) I tend to think that no social media presence is better than a stale one that is never updated. But that being said, if you don't have the time yourself, what about having someone else do it for you? An assistant, employee or even a social media manager could easily keep it up to date. ;) Glad you enjoyed the post, and thanks for the comment! :)
John says:

Hi Jess, nice post jess , i must say that you had described facebook marketing strategy in very simple and interesting way. So simple to follow, still it is very effective. Thanks for sharing post John
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi John! :) Thank you - I'm glad you enjoyed the article! :) Thanks for the comment. :)
semmy says:

Hi Jess great tips how to using facebook fans page!! I think I'll try to used all the methods. And see how it's work. Thanks again for your article!
- Jessilicious says:
  
  Hi Semmy! :) Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the article and learned some things you can use! ;) Thanks so much for the comment. :)
  - semmy says:
    
    Looking froward another article writing by you

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