U! Happy Events now ranks 11th among non-government organizations (NGOs) in the Philippineswith the most number of Facebook fans. Surveyed NGOs, or non-profit organizations as they are called in other countries, total to about 500, which represent all kinds of advocacies – from environment, social enterprise and youth.
“Every Facebook fan is your ambassador — someone who represents your organization. So it’s important we get more of them,” says Harvard Uy de Baron, founder and CEO of U! Happy Events. They provide support and teach values to marginalized children through volunteer-driven events that match beneficiaries and sponsors. He put up their page on May 2011 which, as of May 22, 2014, has 21,509 fans. He is currently the administrator of the page.
He shares his top 10 ways to increase fans on your Facebook page.
1. Have an awesome product or service. This is the most natural way of making people like a page. Let’s start here.
2. Advertise your page online and offline. It is essential that people know you have a fan page. You have to consistently communicate this to your audience. Get your team to help you send the word out.
3. Get your existing fans to advertise you too. They are the best reasons why other people should add or follow you as well. Every existing fan is a potential fan maker.
4. Provide relevant and interesting content. Make sure all posts connect to your identity. Material should also be new, dynamic and appealing to your target audience.
5. Post consistently and post at the right time. As there are so many Facebook users, you want more people to see your posts. Post at least once or up to four times a day everyday when your audience are checking Facebook the most. Since our target audience are young professionals, they would usually be on breaks at 12nn, 3pm, 7pm, 8pm on weekdays, 10am, 12nn, 3pm and 7pm on weekends. We have seen this trend so we stick to these timings.
6. Make sure there is interaction on your page. Get a dedicated admin to reply on questions and queries right away. Create engaging posts that ask questions and not just invite.
7. Variety of posts. Besides the usual photos, you can have quotes, videos and links as well.
8. Quality over quantity. Photos should be in “perfect” condition. Videos shoud be short, clear and sweet. And yes, correct grammar on your chosen medium is a must.
9. Invest in Facebook Ads. If you want to bring fresh fans in, you have to seek FB’s tools. Just early this year, they lowered down visibility of fan pages posts to the users news feed by 30%. They did this so you can post ads. To do this, simply click managed ads. We do this on seasons. We spend around $1 day to get 15-40 fans.
10. Love your page like no other. Ultimately, when you love something you will continually learn on how to improve it.
Have a look at our Facebook page, and don’t forget to like it too: www.facebook.com/uhappyevents. As part of a community that helps communities, we are glad to be able to provide you with ideas to grow your fanbase as well! 🙂
