What do you like these days? If you're a Facebook user, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Every business on Facebook covets the precious "like" button.
But getting Facebook users to quickly click the "like" button can be a baffling process.
Recently, I read about a study revealing that only nine percent of Internet users will "like" a businesses' fan page on Facebook.
Granted, building a brand and a Facebook following for a company online is quite a challenge.
But it is not impossible.
In 2011, I worked with Bluestone Building, LLC, a residential contractor who builds custom homes.
When I starting working with the Bluestone, 27 people "liked" its fan page and engagement was almost non-existent.
Today, that number is more than 450 and engagement, conversations ("People talking about this") and comments are frequent.
Here's how Bluestone became more popular.
After the April 2011 tornadoes that devastated much of central Alabama, Bluestone Building owner became involved with the family whose home was destroyed on April 27.
As Bluestone began the process of rebuilding a new home for the family, I maintained the company's Facebook fan page for the two-month building process.
I put several techniques to work to increase the page's visibility: 1.
I made sure to be a regular at the construction site, taking pictures or having the construction supervisor take the photos for me and documenting the entire process to tell a story.
Those photographs and information became a regular feature on Bluestone's Facebook page that viewers could count on.
2.
Twice a week, sometimes more often, I added photo albums with descriptive captions to tell the story of Bluestone's rebuilding the Burchfield home.
3.
I tagged people who were in photos and "shared" those photos on their walls.
4.
Many people began following the page to keep up with the home-building status.
I encouraged those followers to "like" Bluestone's page by sending them messages through Facebook.
By liking the page, those followers could easily follow the progression of this wonderful story.
5.
After compiling a list of other Bluestone Building contacts, I emailed those contacts encouraging them to follow the two-month construction project and also asked them to "like" the page.
6.
Then I drafted and issued an e-alert that also told a brief version of the family's story, provided links to media articles concerning their story and asked all the recipients to "like" Bluestone's Facebook page.
7.
I began sharing the information with others who were helping the community rebuild after the tornadoes.
8.
I reached out to a charity that has a strong following on Facebook and that supports rebuilding Alabama, and asked their followers to "like" Bluestone's page.
For every Bluestone fan page "like", the owner of Bluestone would give $1 to that charity.
9.
Using Facebook posts, I "thanked" publications and reporters for reporting this important story.
10.
I repeatedly thanked the volunteer groups helping to rebuild the home.
Those volunteers enjoyed reading about themselves and seeing their pictures.
They would then share the fan page and photo albums with their friends and family.
So as you can see, convincing people to "like" a businesses' Facebook page is truly a challenge.
But it can be done.
Similar to the journey of capturing a new customer or client, this type of work takes creative and consistent communication.