Five Days, Five Easy Tips for Increasing Your Facebook Fanpage Likes This Week

Welcome to the Facebook Era - where being "liked" has never been so important, especially for businesses. What can you do if your Facebook fanpage isn't garnering the coveted likes that mean you're expanding your audience? Counter fanpage envy with these five quick tips to expand and engage your Facebook audience this business week:

MONDAY - Post a photo

The old cliche is true, and on Facebook where a thousand words are quick to turn off visitors, photos do quite the opposite by pulling viewers in without the technical glitches that can come with video. Look through your company's archives or walk around the office with your smartphone and snap some interesting shots.

TUESDAY - Get personal

By now we should all know that Facebook isn't a place to sell, sell, sell, but what it is for then? Mainly, it's a place to connect and one of the best ways to do that is by sharing the personal side of your business. Have a company picnic planned for this week? Supporting a worthy local charity? Hosting business partners from Omaha? Share it on Facebook!

WEDNESDAY - Ask a question

Keep the conversation two sided and let fans talk about what is likely their favorite topic - themselves! Post a question and then monitor and respond to the replies. It could be as simple as "what's for lunch?" or designed to gather unique information to help your business.

THURSDAY - Pay it forward

As a fanpage administrator, you can "like" other fanpages. Search Facebook for vendors and business partners and then pay it forward by liking their pages. This will benefit your page since you'll now be able to see and share their latest news on your newsfeed and you can use the @ symbol to mention them in posts. Additionally, for PR people, liking publications/stations/reporters you hope to pitch helps you to quickly see what they are covering and share information with them.

FRIDAY - Commit to next week

One of the keys to building your fanpage is posting regularly, so now is the time to start thinking about next week. How often can you commit to posting a week? What news will you have to share? I recommend creating a loose schedule to keep yourself accountable and organized. Then, if you won't be posting on the weekend, say "TGIF" to your fans, remind them that you'll be back next week and leave the office with the knowledge that you're expanding your audience!

Aimee Cirucci is web communications specialist for a local toy company. She has been an adjunct instructor in strategic communication at Temple University, is a faculty candidate in communication at the University of Phoenix, and can be reached at www.cirucci.com.