Recently I was able to nearly quadruple the number of my Facebook Page Likes (fans)!
I was of course very excited about this and even better it brings the number of my Facebook fans much closer to the number of my Twitter fans. I started my Facebook page much later than my Twitter account.
The Proof
Before I share how I did this I want to show you the proof from an email that I received from Facebook. Check out these numbers!
Who wouldn’t mind seeing more statistics like that? Nearly 6000% increase of people talking about it! That really is a major increase!
I’m sure that you would like to know how exactly I did this so I will get to the point and tell you.
How I Quadrupled My Fans
I participated in a giveaway with a bunch of other bloggers. One person organized the whole thing and the rest of us paid a small fee to host the giveaway. I only entered my Facebook page (I could have entered my Twitter and Google Plus profiles for follows if I had chosen as well) so it cost me a mere $5 which I already had sitting in my Paypal account.
The fee went towards the giveaway which was $700 Paypal cash. In order for people to participate in the giveaway to have a chance at winning the money they needed to enter. Makes sense right? In order to complete an entry they were required to like a Facebook page, follow a Twitter profile, etc.
Each like or follow was worth one entry and for the chance to win $700 the participants were more than happy to like and follow all kinds of pages and profiles.
So for $5 I was able to quadruple the number of my Facebook Fans!
The Benefits
- The number of fans and followers are used for social proof. In other words it’s one of those things that visitors look at to see how popular the blog is. They often look at Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and the number of comments among other things to get a feel for how other people like the blog. Most people are more likely to spend more time on a blog that other people obviously like. That’s a big plus!
- With more fans you have a wider reach of people who will see what you post onto your page. When you post links to your newest posts these new fans will have it show on their feed.
- I have not lost a single fan even though the giveaway has been over for a couple of weeks! That’s 100% retention!
- I’m getting a lot more traffic from Facebook.Facebook has shot up as one of my top referrers to my blog. It was pretty low on the list for a while and then all of a sudden after I got all those new fans it was one of the top referrers of blog traffic.
The Drawback
The only real drawback is that I can see is that these new fans are not necessarily targeted fans. There is no guarantee that they will have any interest in your content whatsoever.
If my great-aunt Mae clicked your like button because she was hoping to win $700 she probably doesn’t have any interest in your SEO blog.
On the other hand you may find a lot of your new fans have an interest in your blog. They had to find out about the giveaway through the bloggers who were hosting the giveaway. I’ve had some good interactions with some of my new fans.
Like I mentioned above I have maintained 100% retention on my new fans.
How You Can Achieve Similar Results
I am participating in a similar giveaway that you can join. This one is a laptop giveaway so you know that there will be a lot of people clicking those like and follow buttons for more entries to win a laptop! You can sign up for the Month of May Giveaway until March 30th.
If you do sign up for it I would love to hear your results!
To Your Success,
What are your thoughts on this traffic generation method?
Thank you for reading! I'm Stacy, the owner of this blog. You can learn more about me here.
I'd love to hear from you, please share your thoughts or questions in the comments section.
You can get free bonus chapters from my novel Deception!
Website: → Stacy's Fiction
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Thanks for your story on how it went with a participation.
While I was reading, I was thinking on how targeted are your likes, and you answered that later in the article.
If you retained your likes and the giveaway is closely related to what you write about, then that’s still a very good sign!
Samuel invites you to read… How To Write A Killer Article Like A Killer!
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Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Hi Samuel,
I thought that I would lose some after the giveaway ended but I have been pleasantly surprised!
Stacy
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Hi Stacy-
What great news and what an interesting way to increase you likes. So who won the $700? And if it is not too personal how much did it cost to join the group that organized it?
Thanks as always for the interesting read.
sean
sean @real estate blogs invites you to read… New Admirals Waterfront Home
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Hi Sean,
I’m not sure who won the money as the bloggers who hosted it weren’t able to enter. It was $5 per page or profile used for an entry.
Thanks for stopping by!
Stacy
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Love it, Stacy. I’ve done this before, but the likes I received penalized my page; but I believe it’s because at the time I was more focused on getting likes instead of churning out quality content.
That was a year ago, today I know better. Thanks for the link to the contest!
Kimberly
Kimberly invites you to read… Guest Post | Most Ridiculous Ways People Adorn Their Pets
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 7:18 pm
Hi Kimberly,
I’m sorry to hear about the likes penalizing your page. But it sounds like you’ve learned and improved!
Stacy
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Hey Stacy,
I am really glad that you had both the positives and negatives up – we could argue on and on about this – for instance: You could still convert those fans you got into loyal ones who actually care
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Jeevanjacobjohn invites you to read… Evoking Emotional Response, Details Matter and A Different Medium!
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
Hi Jeevan,
That’s my goal!
Stacy
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Contests are neat, but I really don’t participate in them anymore. I want targeted fans, fans that are going to engage with me, not jut an extra number. A large number doesn’t really mean anything to me unless they’re engaging with me.
Plus, there’s nothing to keep them from unliking my page later because they only liked it to get an entry for the contest.
Contests are fun, but I’d much rather use it for blog comments rather than getting likes.
Just my opinion!
Thanks for the run down!
Morgan@SociableBoost invites you to read… 20 Reasons You Hate Twitter & What To Do About It
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 7:22 pm
Hi Morgan,
I do understand that. I probably won’t do too many more than these two. I was surprised at how many likes I got from the giveaway!
So far I haven’t lost any followers from it!
Stacy
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Congratulations! I think that’s great if it works for you. Like some of the other comments it’s not something I would do, I have an essay blog. But if I was doing a review/giveaway site I could see how it might be worth it. I think it’s great you have retained the numbers, you are doing something right to keep them! Thanks for a very fair and informative post!
Kathy Radigan invites you to read… L is for Lizzy
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Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Hi Kathy,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. At first I wasn’t going to join any giveaways either but then I thought it would be interesting to try.
Stacy
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Congratulations with that great changes, you have discover and share with us new strategies in order to received a kind of progression in less than a week…
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Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Thank you, Vivian!
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Aloha Stacy, very creative and productive for a minimal fee and like results. You never know what you may get later with your constant posting. People are curious and tend to pay attention when you least notice.
Glad I came by and thanks for sharing! Lani
Noelani K invites you to read… Url Shortener, Could It Be A Benefit Or A Drawback?
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Stacy Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Hi Lani!
Great to see you again! I am very curious to see how the new fans will interact and if I can draw them in. So far so good! I’m looking forward to seeing the long term results!
Stacy
[Reply]
For a minimal investment, having those “not fully interested” likers is a good trade-off. The important thing here is that you are getting more people aware of what you’ve got to offer.
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Stacy Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
Those are my thoughts too!
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Interesting concept. I’m really debating on whether or not I want to do something like this just to drive some traffic to my site. For $5, it might be worth while. What I’m really curious about (and you didn’t allude to in the article) was whether or not this increased traffic raised any business for you or if it’s just a matter of more eyeballs on your material as it comes across Facebook…
Big Dan invites you to read… Swearing In Front Of My Kids
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 1:56 pm
Hi Dan,
I am giving it more time as I haven’t seen any noticeable results there yet. That’s one reason that I am curious to see how this will play out long term!
Stacy
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Did you happen to notice any effects on your search rankings by increasing your facebook likes ?
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Stacy Reply:
March 14th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
I haven’t looked into that aspect at this point.
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I think your post is excellent- and explains BOTH issues as I see it.
One can always develop more folks who touched one’s page. The question is how often do they come back and what they do with the information.
If it just means that you got your billboard put up on the LA Freeway, where millions can see it and never remember it, then what have you truly accomplished?
I, for one, would rather have the smaller, quality interactions….
Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. invites you to read… What DO you do all day?
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 17th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Hi Roy,
I definitely see your point, I know that participating in a giveaway like that is not for everyone. I thought it was worth a try and I do look forward to seeing what the long term results bring!
Stacy
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Stacy, the giveaway rules you put a pitch in for are very confusing. I am not sure that I would be able to get permission from any of my clients to put information like this on their websites. I will have to show it to them. Thanks for the suggestion.
Ann invites you to read… Sandwich Generation Money Guide
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 17th, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Hi Ann,
I agree, the upcoming giveaway is more complex than the first one that I participated in. Let me know if you want me to point you in the direction of more simple ones if you find them. You can also set up a google alert for “blogger opportunity giveaway” if you want to be notified directly when new opportunities are posted. That would be quite effective.
Stacy
[Reply]
[...] How I Quadrupled My Facebook Likes in Less Than a Week [...]
Giveaways are massively popular for boosting social media follow numbers, they have worked for my owns fanpages as well and this is why I continue to do them regularly.
Justin Germino invites you to read… Can IE 10 Help Microsoft Keep Up with the Competitors?
[Reply]
Stacy Reply:
March 20th, 2012 at 2:57 pm
Hi Justin,
I’m glad to hear that they are working for you!
Stacy
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Hi Stacy, awesome, I think these are great results. Given they aren’t targeted but the fact that you haven’t lost them is a good sign that they must be generally engaged with what you are doing.
Plus for the sake of $5 who cares!
Dan invites you to read… 10 things I do to ensure I always have something to write about
[Reply]
[...] This is something I am experimenting with at the moment as a result of seeing Stacy’s post here. The current competition gives people who like your page a chance to win a laptop (Stacy is also [...]
Hi Stacy, Giveaways are great ways to get more fans and followers. I have done that in the past with rafflecopter and the results were great
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When is the next giveaway? This is a brilliant strategy.
I want in on the next one! Drop me a line.
Coach Comeback invites you to read… 23 Pictures That Say – Stop Complaining and Start Creating
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
October 12th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Your timing couldn’t be better, I’m looking to join another one very soon. I will be posting the details very soon!
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AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Definitely count me in.
I love the way things seem to be working behind the scenes =-)
Coach Comeback invites you to read… Emotionally Draining Relationships – Why You Should Ditch Soul-Sucking Vampires
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
October 13th, 2012 at 9:46 am
It’s amazing how things work out perfectly at just the right time!
[Reply]
Stacy Claflin Reply:
October 15th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
Here is the link to the new giveaway that I’m participating in to promote my new blog for my upcoming book: http://stacyclaflin.com/2012/10/16/blogger-opportunity/ If you join, tell them Stacy Claflin referred you. Thanks!
Stacy Claflin invites you to read… How Low Self-Esteem Blocks Your Road to Career Success
[Reply]
Coach Comeback Reply:
October 15th, 2012 at 7:30 pm
I’m all over that Stacy! Thank you.
On you page you did say you are celebrating the “lunch”. I am pretty sure you meant launch. Although I do get pretty excited when there is food around. So I could go either way.
Coach Comeback invites you to read… Set Boundaries In A Relationship – The Quick and Dirty Way
[Reply]
Stacy Claflin Reply:
October 15th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
You’re very welcome!
Which page do I have the typo? I appreciate you pointing it out!
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3rd paragraph down here http://stacyclaflin.com/2012/10/16/blogger-opportunity/
Coach Comeback invites you to read… Farnoosh Brock on Finding Your Passion – Exclusive Interview
[Reply]
Stacy Claflin Reply:
October 16th, 2012 at 7:15 am
Thanks!
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