In the beginning of the social media boom, I found Facebook and Twitter extremely intimidating.  I’ve always known I can be a little shy, but I love sharing.  I think most of it, was that I had a hard time putting thoughts and information together and throwing it out into cyberspace, not knowing what kind of response would come back at me, or the company I’m working for.  I think a lot of clients are shy, unsure, or intimidated by these mediums as well.  There isn’t a real plan, nor guides to “follow steps a-z and see results.”  So some of us stand still and just start to post the old standards;  specials, promotions, company information or worse…. building a page and posting nothing at all!

Being “social” should be easy and fun! We need to stop overthinking every post and be light and conversational!

Here are a few tips to gain courage and social momentum to grow your fan base and keep them engaged.

Posting - Don’t bore your fans! So often, one person does all the posting for a specific page.  Try to get more personalities in the mix.  If this isn’t possible try engaging your fans even more by asking questions and letting their personality shine on your page.

Create Excitement - Start a dialogue!  Create a fun, simple contest.  Have your fans vote.  It can be as simple as “from this album, which picture should we frame for the office?” Start the post by asking users “choose what photo you like best, if we frame it, you win a $5 coffee card! Have fans private message their email address for the contest entry, that way you have their information for the next promo!

Use Your Website - Last but not least.  Drive people to your website with your Facebook post! Use content that is on your site, write a short post about it and link your fans to that page.  The content is there, it can be a testimonial, a blog post, remembering and highlighting a past event, use your imagination! don’t be shy, be social!