Afternoon All
Ah man this post I was SO keen to get writing yesterday, but time as always just ran right away from me and it was the end of the day before I even knew it!
I had the idea for this post over the weekend, and like most things I write I let it fester in my mind for a day or so before I put pen to paper so to speak!
As part of the work I do, I spend quite a lot of time in Forums and in various groups on Social Networking sites – and recently I’ve noticed a lot of people are messaging me, or posting threads and questions about struggling to get ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ or ‘connections’ across varying platforms.
Now I’m no expert on these matters (remember I’ll never use that phrase – Social Media Junkie only here) but I kind of think there are a few key things that people experiencing a lack of ‘being liked’ should take into consideration.
Now you all know I have ‘Chris Farrell’ to thank for this being my business now, and one of the first thing Chris tells you about Facebook is that you can get a ton of FREE traffic to your website, simply by carrying out a couple of key tasks with your Facebook ‘Page’
The fact of the matter here is Chris (and MANY others including Jo Barnes, Casey Zeman, Rosh Khan to name but a few) has demonstrated in real time that what he teaches with regard to Facebook does work ….. Incidentally enough is it a coincidence that those mentioned in the brackets above are all graduates from Chris’ training ….. I think NOT! Chris teaches HOW to be a successful internet marketer – and those names above are enough proof in the pudding for me.
Anyway I’m digressing here, this is not a review of Chris Farrell Membership site …. back to the focus of this post.
If you want people to connect with you on Social Media and LIKE||Follow||Connect with you the first thing you need to do is MAKE YOURSELF SEEN ….. What do I mean by this exactly?
For every person you speak to/connect with give them the opportunity to find you on Facebook!
I was in a forum today and was talking to someone saying they had followed the exact same advice and steps I took when building my Facebook community but is struggling to get past 10 likes – and may I just add the advice / steps I took are the same the Jo, Casey & Rosh had also taken for Facebook growth, so I kind of wondered if this person was doing things in the right way.
I want to help, that is my main focus and drive because of how much I love Social Media, I went looking for this person’s Facebook page to see if I could offer some constructive help and advice on growing their community on there, and also get them over the 10 likes and make it 11 
I couldn’t find this person’s ‘Page’ Nowhere in their profile, forum signature was a link to the Facebook page, so I thought – check out the blog / website there will be a link somewhere there ….. WRONG – no social plugin, no contact page NADA …. Now I’m not saying that is incorrect at all, but offering help so people can GROW is what this game is all about, so I dropped a little forum private message back just letting them know I couldn’t find them and perhaps it would be wise to include on their website a link to various Social Profiles.
For web businesses to work (in whatever niche) if you are using Social Media to grow your business / presence YOU NEED TO MAKE IT EASY FOR PEOPLE TO FIND YOU.
Are you struggling with your online presence and getting people to like and follow you?
If you are, and you are doing all the steps that the respected people in the industry teach you to grow a presence - like one of the many things Chris teaches for example:
Facebook – 50/50 rule – no matter how much time you have to spend on Facebook you spend 50% of your time liking respected powerful pages in your niche and you post on those pages – get involved in conversations, add value to debates and questions being asked, and you spend the other 50% of your time grafting on your page – adding articles, photos, asking questions, answering questions, information that people who are interested in your niche / product will find of value ……
Then my suggestion would be to look at the other opportunities you have to make people find you by including your Social Profile links in the following areas
Email Signatures
Forum Signatures (check the rules of the forum first, as many vary and may now allow it)
In other Social profile descriptions – for example on each of my profiles I have links to all my others – example – Pinterest has my website, my Facebook link, Twitter name, and Linkedin link.
Skype profile (yes there is sections to add this data)
Business Cards (yes I mean the printed hard copy ones!!!)
If you have a personal profile on Facebook – make sure you post links to other social sites, and also invite your friends to like your Facebook page. Friends like to help, and will be supportive of what you are doing – so don’t be scared or embarrassed to share it with them (I know some people can be – be PROUD of what you are doing and want to show the world!)
And lastly but not least YOUR WEBSITE / BLOG – you NEED to have widgets / plugins / buttons to make it easy for people to find you. I appreciate that when you are learning the ins and outs of Social Media, Internet Marketing and building online presence and web stuff there is a lot to take in – but the developer sites for the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest have Social Plugins that are SO simple to use and install on your websites, that you really need to focus on optimising if you are serious about Social Media with your business.
Are you building your Social Presence successfully and have some tips you want to share with others that are working for you with building engagement and a following? Feel free (as always) to post your comments below this article so everyone can benefit from it!
Have a great afternoon
Clair 
Excellent post Clair, it is amazing how many people still expect things to suddenly happen when they do not put any work in or have their pages/sites exposed to the world.
You do not need to spend a fortune on PPC to be seen, simply adding your page/site details and links to emails, forums or by simply chatting to folk gets you seen for free and can start the ball rolling.
Think outside the box and create something people want and need to share then people will come.
I think you’ve made a really important point there Andi – In the beginning money is always a crucial part of what decisions we make.
Once you are established, and have money coming in each month, the possibilities for paid advertising to widen your name is often a great option, but in the beginning we are all working on free sources and methods to get our network growing – some very simple steps that people often overlook can have a really great impact (as we only know too well!)
Thanks for your comments as always!
It always surprises me to see people not promote their social profiles on their own site. It should really be one of the first things to set up. They spend all that time working on their posts, they don’t realize that they are harming themselves by not making it easy for people to connect with them.
Also, great tip about placing your links in email signatures. I think a lot of people overlook email as not being that important, but they are arguably the most effective communication relay that we all use. It’s the equivalent of getting post, they are addressed to individuals that require their full attention. Placing links here can be very effective!
Great post Clair!
Thanks Matt!
Yes valid points indeed – people work so hard, and hit SEO rankings well – and then often let themselves down with their lack of ‘visibility’ with regard to their social networking sites. Something that a lot of people are guilty of – without realising what such a little tweak could do for them!
I’m all about getting my links / profiles seen so any opportunity to include it anywhere I do …. Email signatures being a MASSIVE one of course Matt like you say, its almost the equivalent of post.
Thanks for the comments
Clair
Excellent post Clair!
This has come at a much needed time as my Facebook page has just been born! I will be studying and using your tips…..
Best Regards,
John
P.S – Thanks for the email reply! I will be in touch…..
Thanks for the comments John!
If you need any help just give me a shout and I’ll be more than happy to help you!
Clair
Hi Clair
Thank you for this post, so very true.
I think it comes down to being proud of what you do and shouting about it from the roof tops.
We all need a system that ensures we broadcast our Name/message at every opportunity. Whenever we write a new post have minor variations that we can post on all social media sites, hub pages, squidoo, ezine articles etc.
As you rightly say no body is actually looking for us, we have to find them and if you have valuable information that can help people you are duty bound to get it out there.
Thank you for your post.
Best wishes
Steve
Hi Steve,
Thanks for such a great comment
I think you hit the nail on the head perfectly with being “Loud & Proud” about what your business is. We kind of need to be all up in their faces (in THE most subtle way as possible of course) and my reasoning for this post was to help out with that in some way – but without wanting to share your work / business with the world in the first place my words here don’t have much meaning!
Clair