Over the years I have found that many developers have a hard time trying to figure out how to use Facebook to engage the users of their apps. It’s not enough these days just simply to have a Facebook page for your app where people can like your page, there has to be a reason for them to do it and a reason for them to go to that page. These days people are spending much more time browsing Facebook and other social media sites then they are surfing the web like they used to several years ago. This gives you a unique advantage to engage the users of your apps on Facebook if you go about it right.
In this post I want to give you a couple of ideas on how to get users to your Facebook page and get them to talk. Beyond that, I want to help you get them to talk about your app on their own Facebook profile which in turn will drive traffic to your Facebook page which will hopefully convert two more downloads of your app. Whether you have thousands of active users or even just 50, if you engage your users correctly you should be able to use Facebook to grow your user base in numbers and in strength.
Step 1: Create a Facebook Page
The first step is to have a Facebook page. If you’re not too sure on how to do this or what the best practices are for setting up a Facebook page, I’ve provided a link below to a online course that I produced last year they will get you started. In the provided areas of the Facebook page where you can include graphics, make sure to brand your Facebook page so that it matches the branding of your app. You don’t want there to be any confusion over whether or not they are on the correct page. Upload photos of your app, screenshots of different parts of your app, and videos if your app being used so there is content therefore your viewers to look at when they come visit your page.
Free Course: Introduction to Facebook Pages by Jerad Hill
Step 2: Make It Easy To Reply and Keep Your Page Up To Date
It is really easy to find other things to do then post to your Facebook page. To make it easy to keep your page up to date make sure you have your computer and other devices set up so that it is easy to get and make updates and move on to your next tasks. Use the Facebook pages app that is available for iPhone and android so you can quickly get into your Facebook page to post updates and reply to comments other people have left. Use tools such as Hootsuite which allow you to schedule posts to be released in advance so you could maximize your time and not spend all day writing posts for your Facebook page. With the ability to schedule posts you can sit down at the beginning of the week and write several posts and schedule them to be released throughout the week. These could be questions or comments about different parts of your app that people can respond to. Then you can use the Facebook pages app to reply to these messages or comments as people post them throughout the week.
Step 3: Ask Questions and Challenge People
People like to be asked for their opinion and they also like a good challenge. From time to time you could put out questions for your users that don’t even necessarily have to be related to your app specifically. Put yourself in the shoes of the user and think to yourself, what are the kind of things that my users would like to be asked? If you have a general idea that a lot of your users are baseball fans, perhaps from time to time you can post questions about baseball teams or anything else baseball related for that matter. Of course you want to keep it relatively on-topic for the most part, but there’s nothing wrong with talking to your users the same way you would talk to them one-on-one if you had the chance to get to know them. It’s all about keeping the users engaged on your Facebook page.
Occasionally post a challenge. If your app is a game, have people post their scores or even share something about the app that they were able to achieve. This gets people talking about how good they are at the app or the challenges that they faced inside your app. If your app is a productivity app, challenge people to use your app to plan their next party or event. Whatever you think people could be using your app four, engage them in this and help them through the process. If there is a professional in the industry that your app services, have them stop by your Facebook page and be available to answer some questions.
Step 4: Avoid Being Annoying
The one thing you don’t want to do on Facebook is constantly invite people to download your app. Most of the people that will like your Facebook page have probably already heard of your app one way or another, which means they probably have downloaded it or at least tried it. If you link to Facebook inside of your app, don’t be overwhelming with this. You want to invite people to the Facebook page so that you can have them be a part of a community of people that use your app. You don’t want to come across as a person just trying to promote the entire time. Think of your Facebook page as a user forum that has the potential user base of millions because it is connected to Facebook directly.
Step 5: Be Creative
Continuously think of fun ways to engage your users. Be creative and have fun with it. Remember not to take it too seriously because your users are most likely average people that like to have fun and enjoy their lives. Because of this, keep it light and make it easy for people to stop and be a part of the conversation and drop out at any time. Everybody is busy, and online these days their attention is very short. The easier they can drop in to post a quick reply to one of your comments or click like on your latest behind the scenes update build photo, the better. People like to be a part of the things they enjoy. Invite them into the process and welcome their suggestions. Allow them to vote on new features, and give them a look at what you’re working on behind-the-scenes. You will be surprised at the kind of feedback and engagement you get it.
Your users are most likely already spending a great deal of time on Facebook just seeing what their friends are up to and liking other businesses that they have a connection with. When people decide to integrate an app into their life whether it be a utility or game, it becomes much easier to engage them in conversations. People like to know that they’re not the only one out there using your app. We love communities, and that is why Facebook is became so popular in the first place. Use Facebook to connect with your users, provide added value to their experience and the only thing that can happen from there is that they share your app with their friends.
