Step Seven - Why Bother With a Facebook Page?

BodyChance recently opened a Facebook Page for Musicians. https://www.facebook.com/bodychancecmusic Notice the number of Likes each post is getting, notice how many posts are being put up every day, notice the great variety of posts that are put up. We have enrolled several students to Administer the page. One of our staff writes up a review of the class activity in Music Pro. Any of the students who write music blogs regularly post a link to the page. It's involves many people so it stays active, and we don't have to pay money for people to see these posts in their Newsfeed. Instead of relying on newsfeed, many of the enthusiasts go to this page to see what is happening. Just like members of ATSuccess go to our Facebook community to see what's up, so people will go to your Page if it is alive and active. The Newsfeed ceases to matter - there is now a community that people want to participate in what you do. This is the way to build a Page in Facebook without spending any money. However, a teacher on their own, just starting out with no resources at hand, would be hard pressed to do this. I am not sure that how well this would translate directly to sales in a way that would justify the time you spent to make it work. Remember, this month is about how Facebook works, it is not a month about "You Must Use Facebook." My aim is to give you information about what works and what doesn't, so you can decide what is best for you. Using Your Facebook Page To Build Your Email List [NOTE: This second half of my blog is a paid area describing practical ways to implement what has been described above in a Facebook group with other other teachers and students. You can join anytime to be part of their discussions.] Getting confused by all this? So am I. It's is confusing, because Facebook is a complex system offering many different paths depending on your situation. So let me see if I can make this clearer for you…

A Facebook Page full of Likes is the next best thing to an email list. Previously, I have written that getting welcomed into a person's email box is the holy grail of marketing. Bar meeting a prospective student face-to-face in your studio, email connectedness is the most intimate you can get. Moving your Friends to a Page is akin to them joining your email list: you are getting permission to let them know about your workshops and other activities. It is an important step in the matrix of "permission marketing", because there are less restraints on your behaviour. This is why it is better to work through Pages, not Friends, when you have money to spend, or can make an active community. Usually it will cost you money. It costs you money to get Likes - unless you transmigrate Friends to Like your page. It costs you money to get them to see your posts - unless you build a thriving community. Getting Likes For Your Page Using your personal profile is a cost free way of building the number of Likes to your page. It will take more time and effort, but if your main resource is time (because you have so few students) then go ahead and start: 1. Making Friends with anyone who could be a student; 2. Encouraging those Friends to Like your page. It's a simple beginning, but it lays the groundwork for the next step. However, if you are in a hurry, you can use Facebook adds to build the Likes on your page, and this in turn accelerates building your email list. More on this later this month. Getting Them To See Your Posts The problem with Facebook is that the newsfeed is incredibly competitive - not many people see your posts unless it goes viral. That's happened to all of us at one point - we post something and suddenly find people are liking it and commenting on it, and the thing keeps growing for awhile. However, usually that is not the case. If you want people to notice you, you have these choices: Free Methods 1. Post a status report - hope for the best; 2. Build a bustling community Page - the niche approach; 3. Create Life Events - send them to selected Friends. Paid Methods 4. Pay for your posts to be seen - in the newsfeed; 5. Target your Likes with adds - on the right side of the page; Any method using money will be more successful when it is targeted more exactly. The most exact method is advertising to people who have already told you they are interested: because they liked your page. The main reason to move Friends to Like your page is so you can target them with adds, because you can not target Friends with adds. Facebook does not allow it. I wonder how many of you would actually experiment with Facebook adds at this stage of the game? What is your inclination? https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATCSProMembers/