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A Basic Question Re Likes (30 posts)

Topic tags: Like Facebook Clients Prospects Ettiquite

Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi Everyone
I am new to the forum – I would really appreciate thoughts on getting started on Facebook.
I have 500 clients and many have a Facebook page.
What is the correct ettiqute – should I go to each of the FB pages and ‘Like’ them (in the hope they will reciprocate) or should I approach it another way? I could email and ask for a ‘Like’ but I thought leading by example and doing it within FB might be better?
And what about potential clients – is it appropriate to do a search for businesses in my field and Like them?
These may be obvious questions – and might be the wrong thing to do which is why I want to ask peers first before making a big mistake!
Cheers Simon
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Bob Farnham said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi Simon,
Starting with 500 people interested in your product or service is a great place to be…
I would encourage you to invest some time into reading up on inbound marketing to begin with. “Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust” by Julien Smith and Chris Brogan is a good place to start. Understanding the psychology behind marketing on the web is critical and will set you apart from many others. I carry the book in my bookstore on my website but you can get it anywhere books are sold. Amazon has their “reviews” section so you can see what others think about the book as well.
I’m happy to answer any specific questions as they come up.
Go for it!
@bobfarnham | # | Top
Ann at greenoak said
1 year, 3 months ago:
i wouldnt go liking them…you probably arent their personal friend etc…that would be way too forward for me….
.  our business did it this way.we built our page, got about   10/20 family and friends for   fans then ..sent an email out to our database of customers saying something like this::: come see our new facebook page it will have …bl;a bla bla and bla for   you….feature whats in it for THEM, what they like …….and put a live link in the email ….
dont beg/ask for likes…thats not a good image….. try and have something in their interest., something they really like you for….for us it was a paint recipe AND TOTAL EYE CANDY PICTURES OF OUR PRODUCTS……. …we also put   our faceboook link on all our emails and our website and talked it up to our customers….
we got a few likes right away  from our   families…and workers.
its great for some businesses . like ours which   is on the fun side of life with lots of women customers   and their favorite topics… and ….for other kinds of businesses it would be a lot harder…imho
@annfurnivall | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Thanks Bob – this is really appreciated. I will check this out @bobfarnham
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi Ann, thanks for this advice. So even though I have personally visited my customers and they all know me, Liking their page is not the way to go?
Bear in mind I am talking about liking their business page (not their personal page) @annfurnivall
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Ian Pace said
1 year, 3 months ago:
@simonstjohn If you actually know them and have them as friends on your personal facebook page simply post the link on your own wall now and again. If they are interested they will like it
@pacey | # | Top
Dedi Mason said
1 year, 3 months ago:
I have a FB Like box on the main page of my web sites and in each of our courses, I have signage in FB colors, with the well-known ‘thumbs up’, the FB ‘f blue box’, and only one line of text, our FB web address.
Facebook users recognize it immediately and I’ve had several pull smart phones out and look us up right then.
If you don’t have a business that your customers come to, consider a 2-sided business card and put a similar image on the back (I’d also have a QR code on there that links to my FB page).
This year, I’d redoing our in store signage to include QR codes that link to the page. Fast and simple is what they want
@dedimason | # | Top
Pristine Cleaning said
1 year, 3 months ago:
@annfurnivall Hi Ann, When you talk about Fans in your post do you mean Likes.
if so
@simonstjohnIm
Hi Simon, Im new to facebook too so am experiencing similar questions. In my opinion if you have 500 Clients that you deal with or have dealt with I would go straight to their Facebook page and Like it immediately, if they have in business, they want the likes. Depending on the business and their attention to their facebook page they will probably reciprocate the like, especially if they are doing business with you and do like you in the real world.
About potential clients, I presume you are talking about Business to Business, in my opinion going to a potential clients facebook page and liking it will draw a small amount of attention to you from them (again, it depends on how much they use facebook or even if they monitor their own facebook page). I think going to their facebook and liking their business is as good as cold calling them. I would do both and tell them that you found them on facebook.
there is a seperate debate that could be opened up here about weather FB is good for Business to Business (BtoB)or Business to Consumer (BtoC). In my opinion it is better suited for BtoC.
I agree with Ian, if they are Friends of yours on your personal Facebook page then jsut post a status update asking them to like your new business fb page.
Good luck with it
John
@johnpristine | # | Top
Ann at greenoak said
1 year, 3 months ago:
simon…i would like their business page….but not ask for them to like you…I would still email them and ask them to take a look at your page…. 5oo clients is a great start..!!.
i didnt realize it was business pages…
@annfurnivall | # | Top
Dave Smith said
1 year, 3 months ago:
For sure like any of your clients Pages, thats good to be good PR for you if they notice (some will, many won’t) but its a no brainer. An email out to your listannouncing your FB page is a good idea, in fact you can add a FB like icon into your email signature, so its there on every email you send. Plus add a ‘like box’ to your website and blog (if you have one), so people can like your page from there. You can also possible advertise using FB ads to get people to Like your page, but you will need to know how to target them depending on your niche. Hope that helps.
@davesmith | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Thanks so much Dedi – what great ideas……@dedimason
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi John, I have to say I agree with you entirely.
I seems to me that the rules in B2B are somewhat different (and my inerest is B2B as well as B2C).
I know that if any client Liked me I would immediately Like them back – not just for the sake of the Like but because I actually do like my clients and would want to keep track of their efforts @johnpristine
This raises an interesting new question for me – do you have to use Facebook on a personal level in order to use it on a business level – in other words, is posting family and personal and having a full profile required in order to be successful with Fan pages for your business?
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Mary Larson said
1 year, 3 months ago:
@simonstjohn Likes/fans on your page can’t see your personal FB, so it shouldn’t matter how active you are personally. They can’t even see who the admins are – which is why, if there is more than one admin answering wall posts, you should put your name at the end of it. SME is great at doing this.
@marylarson | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi Mary – that is great news….I was under the mistaken belief life would be an open book! Thanks for the advice re multiple admins and the wall too. @marylarson
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi Ann! Brilliant – that sounds the way to go. Like their page and sit back and see how it goes. I want to Like them anyway to get to know them and how they are using FB so that will work nicely. Thanks for your followup Ann! @annfurnivall
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi Dave – thanks so much. I will do as suggested re adding link to email signature etc too. I appreciate you taking the time to help me. Thank you! @davesmith
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Kathy Weir said
1 year, 3 months ago:
@simonstjohn Log into your page as the page. Once there use the page as yourself, the link is in the upper right hand corner. You then can send out a request to friends, again the link is in the upper right hand corner and also you can send a request out to your email list. Facebook automatically sends out the notifications.
@kathyweir | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Thanks Kathy…..I guess I was confused as to being logged in as me or the page and thus could not see the link. Really appreciate the tip! @kathyweir
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Kathy Weir said
1 year, 3 months ago:
@simonstjohn
Let me know if that works for you. Good luck.
@kathyweir | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi Kathy – it did indeed work…thanks so much. @kathyweir
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Naurene (Bree) said
1 year, 3 months ago:
I guess I’m odd man out but I think FB is great for B2B. I don’t think any business is ever offended if you like their business page but I agree with others that I wouldn’t ask them to like me back . And it doesn’t matter if they do. I often LIKE fanpages of people who are potential clients that I do not know. They like it as more fans is a form of social proof. You can also tag them if you do it in a non-spammy way. I have had businesses thank me for tagging them as I do it when I’m saying something wonderful about them. So it’s actually a good technique if done properly. Key word PROPERLY. ie – not in a spammy way.
@ndonelly | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi Naurene – my feeling is the same as you – what busisness would not appreciate a Like (and I agree, I would never ask for a Like from a business I did not actually have a relationship with).
I am interested in your comment ” You can also tag them if you do it in a non-spammy way. “
Can you possibly point me in the direction of understanding what tagging is and a tip or two on what makes a non-spammy tag?
Thanks for your help!
Simon
@ndonelly
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Can I add a branch topic here for everyone….
The discussion seems to suggest (for some of us anyway) that Liking a business page is OK.
So if I wanted to search for all the (for example) bed and breakfast businesses I can find on Facebook, what is the best way to do this? I tried the search facility but it seems very limited – there must be thousands but I can only see a handful in search. Does Facebook have apps/other ways to search members?
Simon
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Update – OK all…..I have found http://www.facebook.com/directory/
Smiles……
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Rivka Kawano said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Simon – Sounds like there is some confusion on personal profiles versus businesses pages on this thread!
In order to have a business page and use Facebook for business, you need to have a personal page first. I would start a personal page on Facebook and spend some time getting to know the platform before you leap into it as a business marketing tool.
Beyond that, from your page itself you want to make sure that your likes are targeted, as those will have the most value for several reasons. Would love to be more help so just let me know what other questions you have!
@rivkak | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi Rivka Thanks for your reply! I think essentially we all got the personal verses busisness page difference, but there was a misunderstanding (because I was not clear myself!) that I was talking about Liking Pages (not profiles).
I really appreciate your suggestion about gettign to know Facebook and I agree….it’s a big learnign curve.
Not everyone wants to use Facebook as a personal tool (although if it were an interest it would be incredible and fun, I am sure!), so for me the profile page is not a great interest whereas the possibility of providing better service to clients (and finding new clients) is my interest. @rivkak
@simonstjohn | # | Top
Kathy Weir said
1 year, 3 months ago:
@simonstjohn One way I use tagging a business from a fan page is when I read something about them I mention their name and make the name a tag. If they allow other pages to post to their wall, your comments will appear in their newsfeed. I have a fanpage, https://www.facebook.com/TucsonDining and I tag our locally owned restaurants daily to help promote their specials or awards to my fan base.
@kathyweir | # | Top
Kathy Weir said
1 year, 3 months ago:
@simonstjohn Good to hear you got it figured out. When you’re new to Facebook it takes a while to learn all the tricks. It’s helpful to have a wide range of experience and talent on the forum. There’s usually someone who knows the answer.
@kathyweir | # | Top
Ann at greenoak said
1 year, 3 months ago:
i think tagging has a fine line between complimenting and spamming….. i have had mostly bad tags such as…your store is great …im having a sale and heres my link…so wrong!!!
i have not t agged any others in my field….it just feels like ulterior motives…. great tags ive gotten were like…i got this at greenoak and love it…
@annfurnivall | # | Top
Simon St John said
1 year, 3 months ago:
Hi Ann
I totally see what you are saying and agree – I have to read up more about tagging but your thoughts help on what not to do, for sure!
<a href="mailto:Anne@annfurnivall“>@annfurnivall
@simonstjohn | # | Top

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