It’s time someone told you the TRUTH: You don’t own your Facebook page . . . or your Instagram for that matter. You don’t own your followers. And you definitely don’t own their contact information.
And if you don’t believe me, here’s a quick story . . .
Just last week we had a client have their page taken down.
No warning.
No specific reason why.
Just this lame alert from our friends over at Meta when we logged on after a fabulous Fourth of July weekend.
You know when your heart drops down to your gut? It was THAT kind of feeling.
Now, our team is taking every action possible to have this reversed. Luckily, we’re an advertising/agency partner and have direct contact with support at Meta.
Most people DON’T have this kind of access, especially those just getting their business started.
So, it got me thinking . . .
Small biz owners invest HOURS and HUNDREDS (if not THOUSANDS) of dollars into content creation and advertisements and growing their following, yet they wake up one day to a notification like this . . .
If you don’t have a way to communicate with the people who engage with your content or follow your pages OUTSIDE of these platforms, your business will suffer.
You have got to capture your follower’s information and build a list that YOU own.
Not META.
It makes moments like the above turn from panic to . . . .
–– Let’s alert our customers via email—no biggie!
–– How about we send a text about our sale while we figure out our social media?
–– We can just call our customers to book appointments; they won’t mind.
Doesn’t that sound nice?
So how do you take your followers from Facebook and Instagram to an email list? Here are three FREE steps to get started . . .
#1 CREATE A FREE MAILCHIMP ACCOUNT AND LANDING PAGE.
Did you know Mailchimp is 100% FREE until you reach 2,000 contacts? Create an account and customize your landing page to capture leads. It’s our favorite email marketing tool because of its user-friendly experience.
Want to take things to the next level?
Add in an automated email when someone joins your list with some sort of exclusive offer—10% off purchase, a free PDF, etc.
#2 ADD A CALL TO ACTION AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH FACEBOOK POST.
Some content is just for fun, like a silly GIF on your Facebook page, while other content is educational. No matter what, you can have a simple call to action at the bottom with a link in your post to the Mailchimp form.
#3 CREATE A LINKTREE.
As the influencers say, “Link in Bio!”
Create a LinkTree (FREE) for your Instagram page. Add your LinkTree to your bio and include a link to join the mailing list here among other calls to action and offers for your customers.
Okay, okay! I’ll get off my virtual soapbox now.
Have a great week!
Hannah Balliet (Acosta)
Social Media Manager––Ugly Mug Marketing
