10 Fast Ways to Convert Facebook Followers Into Customers

It’s exciting to have a throng of Facebook followers, but it’s tricky to turn them into customers.

Not all of your followers are strong business leads. Many may only have a casual interest in your company. Some may not even be real; Facebook was accused in 2014 of selling fake likes, follows, and shares.

But, it doesn’t mean that you should ignore your Facebook followers. Many of them are interested in your business, even though their interest may be somewhat neutral. You can help cultivate that interest and curiosity into a business transaction with the right strategies — converting them into business leads and, ultimately, customers.

Here are 10 of our favorite ways to convert Facebook followers into loyal customers.

 

10 Fast Ways to Convert Facebook Followers

 

  1. Build in a Call to Action

Make sure it’s easy for your followers to become more involved with your brand on Facebook. You can include a direct link to a product page or shopping cart. You can also include a poll for followers to take or a request to share a specific post.

Whatever it is, tell your followers how to support you and, in many cases, they will.

Examples

  • Share a video of your product in action, with a link to the information page
  • Add a button to your page banner that leads to a buying guide
  • Include a link in your best posts guiding followers to the next step in your funnel

 

  1. Solicit Testimonials

Ask followers to post something nice about your brand, your products, or you personally (if that’s appropriate for your public persona). This does two powerful things for you:

  • You get several screen-shottable pieces of social proof to include in your advertising elsewhere.
  • Those who participate self-identify as people ready to do more with your brand. They were willing to offer a testimonial, after all.

Both of these results are things you can take immediate, direct action on to build your sales funnel and identify hot potential leads.

Examples

  • Publish a public post asking followers’ opinions of a new product
  • Solicit reviews for Amazon or Yelp
  • Send a private message to a recent buyer asking about their experience

 

  1. Link to Your Online Store

Make sure your Facebook page includes a link so that people can easily buy your products. Technically, this is a subspecies of the “call to action” advice above, but it’s important enough to mention on its own.

Show people where they can give you money, and make it as easy as possible for them to do so.

Examples

  • Publish a post about a new product, with a link to that product
  • Share an infographic of positive reviews, including a link to the product store page
  • Announce updates to your store, with a link and coupon

 

  1. Host a Facebook Event

Facebook events build engagement by creating a sense of urgency. They encourage casual fans to take action without any cost to them. A list of Facebook events that marketers find work well includes:

  • Viewing parties of live events or movies related to your brand
  • Facebook Live video sessions
  • Virtual meetups
  • Grand openings
  • Product launches
  • Online Q&A sessions
  • Webinars
  • Product unboxings
  • Topic discussions
  • Wrapups for events like a conference or trade show

Examples

  • Host a Facebook Live session where you show off a new product
  • Complete a countdown series for a holiday or event, encouraging followers to count down with you
  • Live-watch an industry awards show, answering questions as followers ask them

 

  1. Post a “Fan-Only” Deal or Coupon

This one’s simple.

Step One: Create a discount for one of your products, preferably one that encourages future additional purchases.

Step Two: Promote the discount on your Facebook feed as a “fan-only” deal.

Step Three: Let your followers know they can invite friends who aren’t yet followers to become fans and qualify for the discount too.

Examples

  • Offer a 10% off store-wide coupon available only on your Facebook page
  • Discount a specific item by 20% or more for followers who invite a friend to follow you too

 

  1. Hold a Contest

Facebook contests garner a surprising amount of engagement. Run a contest that depends on gaining a specific number of likes on your original post. This will draw people to your Facebook page, and they’ll share your post as well.

Depending on your budget, you can give a prize to everybody who meets a certain threshold. You can also hold a raffle where qualifying gives you an entry in a drawing. Either way, it creates excitement and publicity — and some hot leads.

You’ll get bonus points if you offer the prize at a discount price to those who participate but don’t win.

Examples

  • Hold a drawing for an e-book collection where everybody who shares your posts gets one entry
  • Give a small prize to every follower who comments on a “mystery post” you give them enough hints to find

 

  1. Personal Thank-Yous

In today’s world of automated, surface-level interaction, there’s something uniquely powerful about forging a personal connection. From time to time, individually call out people who went out of their way to promote your brand. They will remember you made the effort when they’re ready to make a buying decision.

Examples

  • Have a live person post a weekly thank-you to new customers, visible on your home page
  • Send a private message with a personal thank-you to every customer who leaves a review
  • Ask your followers to tell you what they would like to see changed, and thank them for their feedback with a small, inexpensive gift

 

  1. Run a Series of Bait Posts

A bait post is a post that encourages people who are interested in what you do to comment on or like the post. These shouldn’t be about a product, but rather about a topic that’s hot among your target demographics.

Run three or four of these over the course of two weeks, then identify everybody who participated in all four. These are your hottest leads, and you should immediately make personal contact to see which ones are ready to purchase from you.

Examples

  • Ask sports fans to predict the outcome of a game, then post their favorite moment of a game, and finally, nominate a game MVP
  • Create a poll about a favorite brand of consumer car, followed by a post asking for funniest breakdown stories, and finally a post asking how much everybody pays for oil changes.

 

  1. Get Proactive

Don’t wait for your followers to become leads and customers on their own. Remember, most people forget within the week that they’ve followed any given company or liked any given page.

Instead, make it a policy to follow up on new followers. Be sure to create engaging and interesting content regularly. If you post unique, entertaining, and helpful items, you’ll have a loyal and engaged following. (Just be careful you don’t commit a social media fail by trying something too unique.)

Examples

  • Set up a content calendar so you’re posting relevant, action-worthy content every day
  • Maintain a list of “hot followers” who are frequently active, and find out how to get them even more involved

 

  1. Ask Them Directly

Social media and publicity expert Russell Nohelty recommends directly asking Facebook followers why they followed you and what sorts of offerings they’d like to see from you. If they’re followers, they’re interested in your brand. If they’re interested in your brand, they’re simply waiting for the right thing to buy from you. Ask them what that thing is, and then provide it.

Examples

  • Run a poll asking followers what new offering they’d like to see from your brand
  • Interview followers individually about what they like and dislike about your industry
  • Publish a post asking what it would take for followers who have never bought from you to buy something from your brand.

 

Final Thoughts

The key for all of these suggestions is they aren’t fire-and-forget tactics. Instead, each method is a way of identifying the followers who are most likely to take that next step toward becoming customers. Once you identify these leads, do something each week to bring them closer to reading your blog post, heading to your website, and ultimately becoming a loyal customer.

Facebook followers don’t become customers overnight, but once they do, you’ll be surprised to discover they’re often some of the most tenacious and enthusiastic customers you may ever have.

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