How to reach 3000 facebook likes

My facebook page has been established for around two years and my likes have steadily grown throughout this time. In January, my goalposts changed and I made the decision to try and make a living from blogging. This prompted me to become more focused in my goals and my first target was to grow my facebook likes until I reached the magic 3000.

On 1st January 2015, the North East Family Fun facebook page had around 1400 likers. In just two months I have more than doubled this (without spending any money). Here's how:-

Are you are easy to follow?

• Make sure there is a clickable link to your facebook page on your email signature email along with an invitation to 'like'. I send between 10-50 emails per day and this ensures my facebook page is being exposed to as many people as possible. Make sure you have this set up on all devices including your phone.

My email signature

• If you blog, make sure there is a clickable link to your facebook page at the bottom of every post

• Ensure there is a clickable link to your facebook page from your google+ profile

My Google+ profile

• Check your blog/website has easy to find social media buttons on your homepage

Post something unique that will grab attention

My top tip would be to not write about what everyone else is - try and make your posts unique and stand out - make people want to read them. I can tell from my website stats that everyone loves reading my Center Parcs posts. I shared this old post with a catchy introduction to draw people in and along with a beautiful picture. The reach was over 3000. Not bad for an old blog post that is over a year old. If I had simply posted a link, I can guarantee this would not have happened.

Write shareable posts

As well as posting unique content, make sure it is shareable. This means no links in comments (how could people share this). The key to creating shareable content is to take GOOD photographs and include information that people will want to tell their friends. An example of this is when I posted a picture of children's meals at The Botanist. Lots of people were posting photographs from The Botanist at the time but these mostly featured their signature hanging kebabs, the fabulous tree in the centre of the bar or the glittering domed roof. I hadn't noticed any photographs of children's meals and they were definitely something people would be interested in. I decided to share this photo and the results were staggering|! I think I gained around 700 new facebook followers from this post alone. It does pay to jump onto the latest craze but only as long as you take a unique point of view.

Act like a person

There is nothing worse than a facebook page that just link drops and isn't engaged in their audience. I know it's cliche but ASK QUESTIONS, make sure they're relevant and ensure you reply/engage to your audience. This all increases the chance of your page appearing in somebody else's timeline. Also admit your mistakes and own up to anything that shows you are human - people are more likely to buy from/engage with real people.

Tailor content to facebook

This may be personal preference but I am really not a fan of linked facebook and twitter accounts. I find it boring and just skip past these posts without reading. I don't find this way of posting to be at all engaging. My tip would be to unlink your accounts and post differently on different accounts. Twitter limits you to 140 characters for a reason - here you need to be short and snappy! Facebook lends itself to longer posts, links and photographs. Yes you can post the same content but just word it differently and make it unique to each platform.

Invite people to like your page

From a laptop if you click the people who like your post where it says '..........and 29 others'. This will bring up a list of people who have liked the post. If they don't already 'like' your page, there is a button to invite them. One click and it's done. Do this every few days and watch your likes grow.

Make the most of your network

If you are writing about another business or person - make sure you tag them! This increases your chances of a share or of being noticed. 

I am also a part of a few business and blogging networks. If somebody posts something I know is relevant to my readers, I will post to my page. I don't do this too often as I want my page to mostly be full of my own content however if chosen carefully, fantastic posts from other people will hopefully increase engagement and usually the person whose post you have shared will repay the favour and reciprocate a share to their page in the future.

Schedule posts

You can't be on facebook 24/7 however I think if you are out of mind you are out of sight. I usually try and schedule posts three days in advance (leaving spaces for new posts). I tend to schedule posts for 7am, 12noon, 2:20pm and 8:30pm. These times seem to work well for me.

Comment as your page

Comment on posts from brands/businesses you want to get the attention of or who may have the same target audience as you as your page rather than your personal profile. Hopefully a few curious people will click through and discover more.

Join Like Ladders

This is probably an obvious one to end with - join like ladders! I always choose ladders from the North East (eg Inspire network) as there is no point in having likers if they aren't going to engage with your page.

I hope you have found some of our tips useful. I'm no expert, these are just little things I have picked up that have allowed my page to grow. Please ask any questions in comments and I'll do my best to answer.

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