Well, I think the title pretty much sums up how I feel about this one. Although the more I check out the Facebook girls to the right, the more I reconsi… Oh nevermind.
I really wish there was a way to disable peoples ability to “invite” me to become a fan of their page. Recently, after the 13th invite that I declined, I decided it was time to unfriend the perpetrator (one of many). But, it got me thinking… There’s got to be a better way. A better way to get people to acknowledge the value that your fan page provides (it does provide value, right?) and become a “fan” voluntarily.
There is hope though.
Take Dale Chumbley for example. The guy has pretty much started a movement. Now it seems everyone and their mom is wanting to start a “365 things to do…” fan page. The thing about Dale’s “365 Things To Do in Vancouver, WA” fan page that caught me off guard was that I had never heard of it when I finally stumbled across it. Had Dale forgotten to invite me to be a fan? I mean, there were already over 6,000 fans. I felt a little left out. But upon further inspection, I could tell there was something different about what was going on here. Dale was getting a TON of interaction from fans. He was responding to questions, and probing for further interactions. All of which promotes organic, viral growth on Facebook. When I spoke to Dale about this, he confirmed my suspicion in that he had not sent a single “invite” out. 100% organic growth. Genius!
Now let’s get something straight here. I predict most people don’t have what it takes to pull this off. Dale does. I mean, the guy has taken like 600+ daily mugshots. That’s dedication!
Provide value on your fan page, and people will come. You can’t force it upon people. Sure you may get a couple hundred fans by sending out invites, but we’re seeing much better results in a short amount of time, using the same strategy Dale has employed.
Or, just get some hot chicks to wear skimpy shirts with your fan page URL. That works too!
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I came across Dale’s site a few weeks ago and I gotta tell ya, I dig it! Seriously, the interaction that he has with the community that he’s built there is pretty damn amazing. I’m pretty sure that it’s safe to say that I’ve rarely seen that level of interaction on a fan page.
Thanks Jeff! I really appreciate your kind words and assessment of what I’ve been doing. It means a ton.
I also am driven crazy by all the invites I get. I wish people would stop and think before hitting “submit” to invite the entire world. Do I really need to be part of a mommy group in Arkansas? Home Inspectors of Wisconsin? Really? Come on people. Please think before you invite!
I am thoroughly enjoying the conversation that’s happening on “365 Things”. Just yesterday I took a photo of a slab of concrete in town. To date, over 60 locals have interacted and had some amazing conversation revolving around this slab. When I was a kid it was a local swimming pool that was in business for a few decades. We are reminiscing about “the olden days in Vancouver”. ;?)
The key is to only invite *relevant* people. When I setup a page for my photography business, I only sent invites to those who I knew were interested in my photo work. When I setup a page for a website I run, I only invited my contacts for whom the website would be professionally relevant.
The “invite all of my friends” option is NEVER appropriate.
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all these fan page invites… at first I didn’t like the new phenom as I had been keeping a blog and had been posting regularly the past nine years but then I saw that there was networking that I was missing… for example friends from high school that I had lost contact with over the years (quite a few years) and lost relatives connecting again and then finding new like minded friends who I didn’t know already and a way to network and find what others in my field are doing… the fan pages… I don’t mind getting invites to fan pages from those that are on my friends list. I can ignore them without hurting any feelings. It’s so much better than the spam that I get in my USPS mailbox and calls on the phone from everyone from real estate agents wanting to sell my home to folks wanting to clean the air in my home. If I want their business, I’ll look them up and contact them. Back when I worked in the real estate business (also many years ago) I would go door to door but had reason to be there, giving out something of (tangible) value or with a small newsletter telling about their neighborhood history and news of the neighborhood. The important thing about any type of business contact is that it provide real value to the customer or contact as perceived by the contact. A fan page with no posts does not and the owner should do some ground work before inviting everyone to come visit.
Peace
I’m inviting both you and Dale to my new page: The only thing worse than Oregon drivers is Washington Drivers.
See, I see value in that fan page and would totally join.
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He stole the idea. He is a fraud. The original one is the Austin site created and run by Kristy Owen. You can simply see by the dates of the original posts that it was her idea. Not only was it her idea but her site is far superior than any of the others. She has the largest fan base and the is constantly paving the way on the next way to evolve the idea. Her facebook page alone has over 146,000 followers and she was the first to take the idea mobile with an iphone app. She is a true visionary in the social media world. I am not trying to discredit his work that he has done in his community but simply try to make sure that credit is given where credit is earned.