How do I get more Facebook fans?

If I had a dime for every time someone asked me that question -- I'd probably be rich!

It can be frustrating to spend time marketing on Facebook and not see the results you want.

I know. I've been there.

I remember a time when I saw new pages getting more fans than my page. I beat myself up and racked my brain trying to figure out what went wrong.



Things have thankfully turned around for me since then. I'm grateful to say that I have over 5,100 fans on my entrepreneur page.

If you are in that place of frustration, I can show you how to push through it and move forward.

If you're willing to go the extra mile -- I'll even show you how you can get more Facebook fans this month.



In fact, I've spent days concocting this list of ideas that have worked for me since I started my page on August 8, 2010.

I still remember that day like it was yesterday. That was a historic day for me.

I started my page because I wanted to create a personal brand for myself.

Back then, we didn't have the follow feature that allows someone to follow you instead of adding you as a friend.

Here's an update I sent on that first day.





Over the years, I've learned many useful tips and tricks that have worked for:

My personal Facebook page

My business Facebook page

Post Planner 's Facebook page

Other pages I've worked with in the past

Combined, these ideas have amassed over 500,000 fans!

These are enthusiastic fans that have translated into real traffic and sales.

Facebook is one of the highest social media referral sites for Post Planner.

Facebook is also the #1 sales driver for my girlfriend's e-commerce store, Leneys.

In this list, you will find 45 ideas that you can use to get more Facebook fans beginning TODAY.

Even if you only execute a few of these ideas -- you can go from 0 - 5,000 fans much faster than you think!

45 Ways to Get More Facebook Fans This Month

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1. Post Personal Photos (give people a glimpse into your real world!)

I cringe every time I visit a page and see only promotional posts. This stale strategy will cause your page to have less fans and engagement. The key is to mix up your posts.

You can do it by posting personal photos or more behind the scenes photos.

Doing this will humanize your page -- and allow you to stand out from your competitors.

This will definitely help you get more Facebook fans!

2. Become a Brilliant Digital Storyteller



We all love a good story. In fact, we're all natural storytellers. We've been telling stories to each other since the stone age.

Storytelling is one of our most fundamental communication methods -- and it works well on Facebook!

When we're told a story, not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but our brain tries to experience the events as well.

Some of the best pages that stand out in my mind tell the best stories.

That is why pages like Humans of New York do well on platforms like Facebook.

For the next several days, I will be sharing stories of inmates from five different federal prisons across the Northeast—including Manhattan and Brooklyn. Posted by Humans of New York on Wednesday, February 3, 2016

3. Become an Expert at SHOWING Your Products Instead of PROMOTING Them

Overly promotional posts are DEAD. People hate them! Even Facebook doesn't like them.

That's why promotional posts don't do well on Facebook. People simply don't respond to them.

To get more Facebook fans this month -- you need to SHOW people your products instead of PROMOTING them.

Show your fans real results and how you use your products. Add value for your readers in each post (even if it's just giving them some eye candy).

People LOVE these types of posts -- and they like to share them with their friends.

For example, don't just post a studio photo of your watch -- take it out of the box and get creative with it!

4. Find and Post Viral Photos

As Josh Parkinson, Post Planner founder, recently explained in a Social Media Bootcamp training -- posting "audience-tested" content that has already been proven to be successful is one way to get more fans and engagement on your page.

We've all heard this one before... content is king!

On Facebook, it's more like... relevant content is king! :)

Simply posting something you find on Google will not do you much good.

You can use Post Planner to find the best content to post on Facebook. Each piece of content is audience-tested and ranked based on its Facebook success.

Don't believe me? Look at this post below. It has a reach of over 6 MILLION!

5. Schedule Your Content (so you can spend more time engaging with your fans)

One mistake businesses make on Facebook is posting content and then disappearing for a few weeks.

That's like working out for one day and then not doing it again for weeks. You're not going to reach your goals with that kind of inconsistency.

Posting consistently will help you get more Facebook fans this month since people will see your page more often.

I recommend you create a posting schedule (if you don't have a current plan that's working -- try 3 times a day).

Then pop into your page a few times each day to engage with the people who have taken the time to engage with your content.

6. Study Your Insights and Be Data-Driven

What's working? What's not? You need to look at your Insights regularly.

By studying the metrics and trends around your content, you'll learn:

The best time to post

Your most engaging type of content

Your top post

etc

There is a lot of insight in your Insights!

7. Use Facebook Ads (but use them wisely)

If you haven't set aside a budget for Facebook ads -- it's time to start doing that now.

Every day as you procrastinate this, the price of ads slowly increases because there's more demand than supply. This means businesses will have to bid higher to get their ads shown on Facebook.

According to Jon Loomer, Facebook ads CAN help just about any business.

With over 1.6 billion users, Facebook is big enough for you to reach almost any demographic on planet earth.

I'm a huge fan of Facebook ads. They've worked really well for my businesses.

8. Don't Be Shy -- Invite Your Friends

But don't invite everyone... just the people who you think would benefit from your page.

Look at your friends list. Who would find your page relevant?

For example, let's say you have a fitness page. Invite the people who are looking for ways to get healthy or need daily fitness tips and encouragement.

My first job was as a social media manager. My first task was to help grow their Facebook page.

I became an admin and the first thing I did was invite people who I knew would become fans of the page. The number of fans grew by 300% within a week.

To invite your friends to like your page, simply click the "..." icon on the homepage of your Facebook page.

In the dropdown menu, click on "Invite Friends."

9. Get a Friend to Invite Their Friends

Here's a little bit of secret sauce you may not know. You can get your friends to invite their friends!

You'll need to find someone who's as passionate about your page as you are (or owes you a favor).

This is a trick I used to help grow my partner's e-commerce Facebook page.

Since she sells women's clothes -- I simply invited all my female friends who were based in the same country.

We quickly got our first 500 fans in less than ONE WEEK.

10. Put Together a Juicy Giveaway

A Facebook giveaway can launch your page -- and give you that extra push you need!

We did a small giveaway on my partner's clothing page after we got our first 500 fans. People LOVED it, and it got us close to 1,000 fans by the end of it.

The key to making sure your contest is a success is to have a small group of people interested in it before it launches.

If you're just starting out -- keep your page filled with engaging content to attract people to your giveaway.

11. Publish Your Evergreen Content

Evergreen content is made up of all those timeless posts on your blog. They keep providing value to your audience over and over -- and they never get old.

The reason you need to continuously publish your high quality evergreen content is because this kind of relevant content will drive people back to your blog or website even months after that piece was published.

People will also continue to share it -- which will help you get more Facebook fans.

12. Mention and Tag People Whenever It's Appropriate

Want a Facebook hack to get more eyeballs on your posts?

Tag relevant influencers in your Facebook post before publishing it.

When you do this -- you'll be able to get more exposure from their fans.

Let's say you mentioned a particular blogger in your blog post. Let's say you even quoted them. All you have to do is tag them in your Facebook post and your blog post will appear in the news feeds of their fans.

Here's an example of how it will look.

13. Post When Your Fans Are Online

It is a waste of time to publish a post when everyone is asleep.

You probably won't get much reach if you do that. Less reach means less engagement and less shares.

To find out when your fans are online -- I recommend you dive into your Facebook Insights.

If your page is new, here are some popular hours you could experiment with:

12:00pm

12:00pm 2:00 - 3:00pm

6:00pm

9:00pm

14. Brand Your Facebook Images

This is a great trick I learned from Kim Garst. This was also recommended by Gary Vaynerchuk in his book 'Jab Jab Jab Right Hook.'

You can learn how to brand your images by reading How to Create Engaging Images for Social Media.

Branding your images allows you to continuously remind readers about your page. It also helps when other people share your image since they'll know where it originally came from.

Seriously...it doesn't really matter how many times you fail or how slow you think you are going...if you are MOVING, you are still way ahead of those who haven't even got going! Posted by Boom Social with Kim Garst on Sunday, January 31, 2016

15. Share Interesting (but always relevant) Content

The reason you want to share interesting content is because it allows you to build engagement and get more shares.

This is a simple algorithm that can help you get you more Facebook fans.

The better the engagement and shares, the more you'll show up in the news feed. This means more fans!

Are you retargeting people with Facebook ads? This article shares how to retarget your website visitors using Instagram ads: Posted by Social Media Examiner on Sunday, January 31, 2016

16. Target Interests by Using Facebook Interest Search

Interest targeting means knowing what your fans are attracted to so you know what kind of content they want to see.

You can determine this by doing a Facebook Interest search.

All you need to do is search like this

Pages liked by people who like ________

So for Post Planner, that would be

Pages liked by people who like Post Planner

These are the results from that search:

17. Link to Your Page in the Employment Section of Your Facebook Profile

One secret way to brand your Facebook page consistently is to link the page to your employment section in your Facebook profile.

According to Josh Altman, we should let the whole world know what we do.

In his book, Josh shares an example of how he got a new client from out of town because the client heard of him from a bartender.

You can do this digitally by letting everyone know what you do on Facebook.

18. Co-Host a Contest with Another Page

Co-hosting a contest can bring you lots of new fans!

Earlier in this post, we talked about doing a contest for your page. A co-contest is similar -- except it's a partnership between you and another page with a similar demographic.

For example, let's say you sell shoes... you can partner with a company that sells clothes (so they aren't a direct competitor of yours).

Then you can each give away products on each other's pages and talk about it on both Facebook pages.

You'll get new fans from their page and vice versa.

19. Add a Social Plugin to Your blog

When I started my Facebook page back in 2010, I managed to get 100 fans in a couple of days.

How?

I just added a Facebook social plugin on my blog. I had pretty decent blog traffic -- and I wanted to leverage that traffic for Facebook.

I saw an increase in likes in only a few days. If you haven't done this, do it now!

20. Use Video to Make a BIG Impact

VIDEOS are HOT! When I go to my news feed now, 3 out of 8 posts have videos in them!

People love them because they're so entertaining. They're also fast to consume -- and they allow you to connect with your audience in a more personal way.

Back in January, we even predicted that video would be a game-changer for your business this year. You can read more about that in 2016 Social Media Trends.

I am a huge fan of video. I've spent toooo many hours watching videos at 2-3 am.

21. Post a Collection of Photos

This is the latest trend in Facebook marketing.

Instead of posting 1 photo -- post a collection of similar photos.

For example you can create an album and name it "101 most inspiring quotes with 101 visuals."

Here's a great example:

22. Post Trending Content

One of Facebook's algorithms puts trending content at the top of your fans' news feeds.

This is why sometimes you see similar posts from so many different friends.

Facebook labels "trending content" as important -- and Facebook wants to be sure you don't miss it.

Take advantage of this little hack and find out what's trending and post it.

23. Link to Your Page in Your Bio on Your Blog (and anywhere you guest blog)

I remember when I started blogging at Post Planner -- I added my Facebook page in my bio on Post Planner's blog.

It's still in my bio (see below), and I still get new fans from this!

24. Post at Off-Peak Hours (yep, this can work too!)

Earlier we talked about posting during peak hours. In other words -- posting when your fans are online (as determined by your Insights).

But sometimes posting during off-peak hours helps too! This can work because the news feed is less competitive during that time.

To do this, you need to understand your target market really well.

For example, my girlfriend loves to post at 11pm-12am -- which is an off-peak hour for most industries.

She gets regular engagement and reach during this time because her customers are millennials.

They tend to go to bed later (about 12am-1:30am) -- and they often check their social networks before heading to bed.

Maybe your target market wakes up at 5am? Try and experiment.

25. Put Your Page in Your Email Signature

Don't forget to include your Facebook page in your email signature!

You're probably emailing a bunch of people and customers each day.

If you skip this step, you're missing the opportunity to get more people to like your Facebook page.

If you need help creating this, check out a tool called Wise Stamp.

It will let you create a professional looking email signature (including a link to your Facebook page) in just a few minutes.

26. Talk about Your Facebook Page and Your Facebook Community in Your Email Newsletter

Talking about your page (and the community you've built) in your email newsletters is a great way to get more Facebook fans.

Mention the benefits of liking your page. Explain what the community has to offer. For example, "it's a place where people come together to discuss entrepreneurial ideas."

Include a call to action in that email by saying something like "Don't forget to join our community on Facebook at..."

27. Turn Email Subscribers into New Facebook Fans

A nifty trick I learned from Melanie Duncan is to add a 'like' button that people see after they subscribe to your email newsletter.

My mind was blown when I subscribed to her email newsletter and saw this next!

28. Give Away Product on Your Page

Instead of giving away product on your blog -- why not do it on your Facebook page?

This will incentivize people to go to your page. While you can't ask them to like something in order to get a download -- you can still use call to action effectively.

Give people a reason to want to like your page. What can you think of that you can give away that will get people excited?

29. Be Active in Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are one of the best ways to get exposure. The key is to do them right. I've seen many businesses build their brand using groups.

When I wanted to learn more about soap-making, I joined several groups to get tips about how to do it. I also saw businesses share their latest soap works with other homemakers in the group.

Some of those people converted into customers and eventually liked their page.

How do I know? I'm one of them!

30. Comment from Your Page (instead of your profile)

One key to getting more exposure -- which will help you get more Facebook fans -- is to comment on other pages from your page instead of from your profile.

It's pretty easy to do too.

By commenting as your page, you not only get more exposure -- but you'll slowly start to build thought leadership for your brand.

31. Give Away Product to Influencers in Your Niche

When you offer products to influencers -- you're increasing the likelihood of them mentioning and tagging your brand on their Facebook profile.

This will help your business exposure and help you get more Facebook fans. We've done this on our page at Leneys and had great results.

32. Cross Promote Your Page with Another Page

Something I learned from Neil Patel recently was a term called 'shoutout for shoutout' or SFS.

This means 2 pages share each other's content and simply publish 1 post asking fans to like each other's pages.

It's a little trick Neil has used to grow his page to over 154,000 likes!

33. Get 'Facebook Popup Like Box' for Your Blog

Want to convert more blog readers to fans? Add a plugin like Facebook Popup Like Box.

What this does is add a Facebook like popup on your blog asking fans to like your Facebook page.

A friend of mine grew his fan base to over 10,000 fans with this plugin. He already had a popular blog, and he wanted to leverage that traffic for Facebook.

34. Network Your Butt Off!

The way to grow your network on Facebook is to start networking like crazy with others in Facebook groups or on other social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.

Once people get to know you -- you can connect with them on Facebook too. This will help you get more Facebook fans easily.

Pro Tip: Notice I typed "Once people get to know you -- you can connect with them on Facebook too."

This is not to be confused with sending your Twitter followers an auto-DM asking them to connect with you on Facebook when they don't know you.

If you do that, you will not see the results you want. You have to put the work into building the relationship first.

35. Get Creative with Your Offline Promotion Too!

If you have an offline store -- you can get people to your Facebook page by being a little creative:

Add your Facebook page name to your business cards

Ask customers to like your page to get a 10% discount

Stick a Facebook sticker with your page name on your window

Put your Facebook page name on all your advertising and marketing material

Add a magnet to the back of your car with your Facebook page name

Use a QR code on your packaging to promote your Facebook page

You'll find the most success with these if you add a reason why they should like your page (give some sort of time-sensitive incentive).

36. Create a Kickass Cover Photo Design

If you don't have a proper Facebook cover photo (or if you don't have one at all) -- you're showing your potential fans that you don't care about the details.

I remember getting invited to like a page recently -- and I didn't want to do it because their page wasn't even complete before they tried to get me as a fan. So unprofessional!

Having an eye-catching, well put together, KICKASS cover photo will get people excited about liking your page.

Once you get the image just right -- here's 17 wicked ways you can use your cover photo to promote yourself (and get more Facebook fans).

37. Consider Getting a Vanity URL (and be one of the cool kids!)

If you're posting your Facebook page link somewhere or want other people to share your page -- consider getting a vanity URL.

It cleans up your link and makes it visually appealing.

It also sends a message that your business is part of the cool kids club on Facebook!

A vanity URL will make your link go from this:

http://facebook.com/example-124214128931

To this!

http://facebook.com/example

SOLD!

Here's the instructions for How to Claim Your Vanity URL for Your Facebook Page.

38. Embed Your Facebook Posts in Your Blog Posts

Another way to fully utilize your blog's traffic is to embed examples of your Facebook posts in your blog posts.

The beauty of doing this is that people will be able to interact with your Facebook page right from within your blog. It doesn't get any easier than that!

Tired of the same old results from your Facebook marketing efforts? You're not alone.This easy to follow,... Posted by Post Planner on Monday, February 8, 2016

39. Be Responsive to Your Fans

To get more Facebook fans (and to get them coming in consistently) -- it's important to be responsive.

Not everyone who engages with your posts is already a fan. When you respond, they get a notification that you've responded to them.

When they see your response, you're giving them another opportunity to like your page.

Plus -- when your fans see you responding to comments and feedback -- they see you're paying attention. This is a great way for you to get a competitive advantage on Facebook.

People will be more likely to become part of your fan base if they know you're engaged with your audience. It will make them feel important to you (which they are!).

40. Post Crazzzy GOOD Original Content

Posting really good original content will help you get more Facebook fans because it allows you to differentiate yourself.

We quickly learned this when Josh, the founder of Post Planner, created and posted an image to our Facebook page last week. Whoa!

Do you treat them the same? Posted by Post Planner on Wednesday, February 3, 2016

41. Link to Your Facebook Page on Your Contact and About Us Pages

One thing I've noticed on my blog at AskAaronLee.com is people go to my 'about me' page often.

I think these are people who have stumbled upon my blog -- and they want to get to know me better.

Give people who go to this page the opportunity to check out your Facebook page.

They might just like it!

42. Use Humor to Delight People into Becoming Your New Fans

HUMOR is one of the best types of underutilized online content -- 2nd only to quotes.

Well, at least in my opinion!

Why is this? It could be because some people have trouble being funny online, or maybe it's because people want to be entertained (but they don't want to do the entertaining).

A lot of people go to Facebook specifically to be entertained. These people won't buy from you immediately -- but you can tickle their funny bone and keep them coming back with humor!

You can be funny while still being relevant to your niche.

You can also use Post Planner to search for some of the most viral funny photos.

Each of the photos in Post Planner is ranked according to how well it's performed on Facebook so far (it's audience-tested content).

But beware... once you start going through the thousands of funny options -- you might lose track of time!

43. Share Other People's Content (OPC)

One mistake I see businesses make on Facebook is that they don't share OPC -- instead, they only promote their own content.

Sharing other people's content is an important part of your Facebook networking and marketing. It will not only help in your relationship building, it will show your audience that you want to provide them with valuable content, regardless of whether it came from you or someone else.

If you're resharing other people's content on your Facebook page -- make sure you tag them in your post as well.

This will:

Get you on their fans' news feed

Let the page know that you've tagged them

Help you build a relationship with that page or influencer

Sharing OPC (and tagging them) will help you get more Facebook fans for sure!

44. Be a Source of Trending Content in Your Niche

We've already talked about the benefits of posting trending content -- but you can take that a step further and be the source of that content!

This means you're ahead of the curve compared to your competitors' pages, and you're constantly updating your page to share news about what's cutting edge in your niche.

If you can become the go-to place for this type of content -- it will become a no-brainer for people to like your page!

45. Use Post Planner of Course!!

Last but not least, use Post Planner. Post Planner was built for engagement -- and our innovative features will help you get more Facebook fans.

According to our friends at Buffer, people who use Post Planner get 650% more engagement than people who use other popular social media tools.

More engagement = more Facebook fans for you!

The key is to post high quality, engaging content consistently.

Find out how you can find, plan and post content with Post Planner here.

Summing Up

It's no secret -- getting more Facebook fans will require time, patience, dedication and commitment towards your Facebook goals.

If you want to grow your Facebook page -- just follow the steps I recommended!

The key is to take action. Choose a few of these ideas and get started TODAY. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll start seeing results.

Once you get your momentum going, you'll see new fans coming in consistently each day. When that happens, it's the best feeling in the world for any marketer!

We'd like to invite you to continue the learning -- so grab your free copy of our Facebook infographic below.

You'll learn some very cool secret Facebook features that every marketer (including you) should be using!