When someone comes to me and asks, “How do I get more Facebook likes?” I usually ask them, “Are these likes for business or pleasure?” How you go about increasing the number of likes on Facebook depends greatly on whether you are trying to start a business, promote an existing brick and mortar business, or just trying to increase your social popularity. This article is meant for people who mean business – so if you are in the social-ego-trip category then you have come to the wrong page. Otherwise, let’s talk business, Facebook, and sticky marketing.

What Facebook Means for Business

Unless you have been under a rock somewhere, you know that Facebook is where the vast majority of people on the planet spend their online free (and in some cases work) time. Like any other media where people with time and money on their hands gather, advertising opportunities abound. Competition for revenue these days is only growing more fierce as the economy slowly recovers from the terrible downturn of 2009. Business owners and web marketers alike know that in order to stay competitive a presence on Facebook is a must. After all, a basic page and account are free – so there are no barriers for competitors to climb. So I’m hoping you at least have a Facebook business page setup already (if not, please click here) so we can begin the process of promoting your page to get long term results for cheap money.

How to Promote Your Business on Facebook with Little Money and Few Hassles

Ok so Facebook obviously wants you to spend a lot of time and money on their site – so they’re going to make every effort to try to force you to buy advertising. There are definitely situations where advertising is well worth the time and investment but I propose we go after the easier, cheaper, low-hanging fruit first: attracting Facebook fans with ongoing sticky offers and discounts that they simply can’t refuse.

Make an Offer They Can’t Refuse: Turning Coupons into Facebook Fans

A long-standing tradition in the marketing world is to offer enticing discounts and coupons in an effort to draw in customers. In the print media world this is done with coupons and purchased media advertising. The success rate of such promotions are relatively small and the impact is limited to the length of time your prospective client holds on to the weekly circular you sent out.

In the online world, and in particular Facebook, it is entirely possible to turn what would be a throwaway coupon in the print media world into a permanent fan / follower on Facebook. This is done by tying access to the desired coupon to a specific action (liking your Facebook or other web page). See an example of how this looks below. The clicked link produces a screen image as seen below overlaying your web (or Facebook) page. In order to collect the coupon the user MUST click Like. Not only have you gained a follower, but you have instantly promoted your coupon because it is now visible on the user’s timeline and (some) friend’s newsfeeds! WINNING!

Visitors click a coupon link and don’t get the coupon unless they like your page first! Click image to start using this powerful and inexpensive tool.

Get Started Promoting Your Facebook Page and Business

A simple coupon link like the one seen above costs all of $30 and lasts forever. Exactly how far would you expect to get buying direct advertising from Facebook on a (one-time) budget of $30? Not very I think. Using clever coupon promotions to entice Facebook viewers to click on your coupon link forces them to like your page – further promoting your business (to whoever sees their activity in the newsfeed or on their page) – regardless of whether that initial Facebook user ever actually patronizes your business. You get the permanent like on your site or Facebook page thereby increasing your status on Facebook. Forever. For $30. Really. Click here to start.