Facebook Page Likes vs Leads: Which Matters The Most?

Before I get started with this post, let me just say that this is not intended to bash anyone, but purely to suggest a different take on things, when it comes to running your business via Facebook.

I've come across several posts regarding pages likes, boosted posts, and post reach within the Facebook groups I'm a member of.

These 3 aspects are often the core subjects of discussion, but if we could take a step back and evaluate things a bit, I reckon we'd find out that they are not that big of a deal, as we make them out to be, if we measure them in line with our desired results.

"What would those results be?" Well, I believe that as business owners, we want sales (both from new and existing clients/customers). For that to happen on Facebook, it's necessary to create value based content, run well planned ads, engage, and potentially invite people to check out what we do.

The idea of having a great number of page likes is often appealing. Social media managers (and 'gurus') sell it well, and business owners buy it like it's popcorn on a movie night 

Let's look at things closely...

Page likes (i.e. fans):

These individuals have hit the 'like' button, and they're gone (some may stick around for a bit). The chances of them coming back to the page after that first day is slim (zero in most cases), and if they happen to see the posts from the page they liked on their newsfeed, then that's great... they'll engage. Based on that engagement, they may be seeing more posts from that page.

If you're relying on that medium of engagement alone, then it's going to be a far cry to hitting your desired results. Does that mean we should abandon our pages? Not at all... keep creating and posting relevant content on it, and then share within the groups that allow it.

Your page is needed, if you're running ads on Facebook. If you're just looking for awareness and a few likes, then a boosted post might be ideal. But if you want more than just likes, then it's best to consider using the Power Editor within the ads manager to run effective ads to a landing page on your website (you might even consider "lead ads").

Leads:

These individuals are interested enough to leave Facebook to your website (or landing page). There's something you've done that has triggered their response, and the more you keep doing what you're doing (maybe with a few tweaks here and there), the more you're likely to attract more people to your website/landing page.

List building is nothing new when it comes to online marketing, but some business owners are hardly making the most of it. When you are able to get people subscribed to your mailing list, then you're able to build more direct rapport with them via email (email is not "dead" as some would suggest). These people will often be more responsive to your blogs and social media updates, when you let them know about it via email.

I've been able to grow my list by sharing value based contents on Facebook groups, as opposed to my pages (I do post on my pages as often as I can). An effective content marketing strategy within the groups you belong to can go a long way. Most of the organic social media traffic to my website comes from Facebook (Pinterest is a close second).

To wrap this up!

• Do business owners get sales from their pages? Yes, absolutely!
• Do business owners get engagement on their pages? Yes they do
• Do business owners get leads from their pages? Again.. yes!
• Are pages good for customer services? Yes, yes, and yes!

What's my point?

Pages are still effective, however, their power is limited, if one is looking to get leads and sales via Facebook. I follow a lot of big names in my industry (these are people who have 50K+ followers), and what I've noticed about them is that they are now more focused on running sponsored ads for their fans, in the bid to send them to their webinar, blog post, or lead magnet.

People have had their Facebook accounts shutdown, and if some of them were not building their list, they would have lost out big time (I know this because I'm on the list of a few of them, and they opened up to us about the situation... some had theirs restored, some didn't).

This may not apply to everyone, but it's something worth considering. 
I hope this was helpful? Share your thoughts on the comment section below.

To your success!

Otoabasi Umonting

P.S. if you'd like to know how to get leads/clients organically from Facebook, then click the image below to get a copy of my eBook today for only £7...