How to Get and Keep Fans Engaged with Your Business’s Facebook Page

8 of 10 in Series: The Essentials of Creating a Facebook Page to Market Your Business

Engagement is the name of the game on Facebook, especially when you have a business Facebook Page. When you engage a fan, you solicit a response or action from him. This engagement from your business’s fans could be commenting on a post, liking something, contributing to a discussion topic, or posting photos and videos.

How do you get your fans to engage with your Page? That all depends on your audience and the subject matter of your Page. Here are some helpful hints to encourage fan engagement through your content:

Show your human side. All work and no play makes for a very dull Page. People like to share the more human side of life. For example, many people take part in “take your child to work day” or even “take your dog to work day.” If you participate in one of these, post a picture of your child or pet, and then add a note that they’re doing a great job at helping Mom or Dad at work. Ask your fans whether anyone else takes advantage of this opportunity and encourage them to post pictures, as well.
Ask your fans what they think. Be direct and ask fans what they think of your organization, new product, or position on a topic. For example, the Brain Aneurysm Foundation regularly asks its fans to share their personal experiences with the condition.
Tell your fans how much you appreciate them. Thanking your fans for their questions or complimenting them on their comments can go a long way in social media circles. For example, the clothing retailer Lands’ End participated in National Customer Service Week and thanked their fans for the incredible response they provided.
Highlight a success story. Talk about a fan’s success — she’ll be sure to thank you for the attention. Your other fans will appreciate hearing about one of their own making good. Many companies on Facebook run a Fan of the Month promotion and foster engagement by soliciting entries.
Share your tips and insights. People are always looking for information that helps them do their jobs better. Sharing helpful tips is some of the best engagement around. For example, technology blog Mashable does a great job at providing a steady stream of tips to its Facebook fans.
Provide links to relevant articles and research. You don’t have to be a prolific writer to be valuable to your fans. By posting links to relevant articles, videos, resources, and research, you build your credibility as a content aggregator.
Ask your fans what they think of something and test their knowledge using quizzes and polls. Mentos, the popular chewy fruit candy, regularly creates light-hearted polls by using the popular Facebook Poll Daddy Polls app. One of these polls was "In the Fruit Pack of Mentos, Which Flavor Do You Save for Last?” This poll both allowed their fans to share their opinions and showed the company whether one flavor was preferred.