How to get maximum engagement in your Facebook Parties for the ultimate results!
Hello? Is anybody out there? If you’re posting in your Facebook party and wishing for the best but hearing crickets, this is the blog post for you! Engagement in your party can make it or break it and we want to ensure that you know exactly what you need to do in order to have a rockin’ party with super active guests that will end with the ultimate results – sales, bookings and new recruits!
Getting down to the basics
We’ve blogged plenty about how to set up your FB party and what to put in it but this particular post is about HOW to achieve that extremely important engagement that is crucial to your party’s success. Just like a home party, you have to be the “host with most” whether you have an actual party host or not! Of course you want to coach your host so that she/he knows that you two are working as a team, but ultimately it IS up to you as the consultant to keep the engagement going from beginning to end. Here are a few tips that have worked wonders for us in our weekly Facebook party style trainings and they’ll do the same for you in your parties:
Tip #1
Use Call-To-Actions
Party guests need some coaxing when it comes to participation and having a Call-To-Action in your post messages will give them exactly that! It’s not being bossy or pushy, on the contrary, using a CTA simply gives them a reason to engage with you and answer a question that you’re asking. This is a great strategy to gather information in pre-posts so you know what the guests would be interested in for the live portion of the party, and it’s also a way to have on-going activity throughout the duration of the party, all the way to the final after party post! So what do you want them to do after they read the post message? Do you want them to answer a question? Vote on something? Make sure that every.single.post has a CTA on it.
Tip #2
Pretend you’re face to face
Always put yourself in the shoes of a guest that would be attending a party in your host’s actual home – because a Facebook party is her “virtual home” – you want to treat each guest as if you were meeting her in person. Post a fun video introduction of yourself or a Welcome post that explains who you are and how you know the host but be sure to ask the guest how she knows the host as well. Connecting with her on a personal level is the name of the game here, so it’s important to begin the party with pre-posts that are fun, laid-back and of value to everyone attending as well as yourself. Be yourself and show off your personality – don’t worry about having the perfect video because people relate best to reality, so bloopers are a plus!
Tip #3
Chat them up
Engagement works both ways. When someone takes the time to comment on a post, no matter if it’s a simple yes or no answer, be sure to reply and include another question if possible so that the guest feels inclined to answer again, thus striking up a conversation. The host will be helpful here, as the guests will know her personally, so be sure to have her chime in and tag a few people she knows will answer to start the comment ball rolling. It’s really imperative to build a relationship with your guests by asking them questions because you genuinely care and want to get to know them. They’ll vibe off that and before you know it you’ll be discussing family pets and favorite colors! We have all gotten very lazy in clicking that LIKE button on Facebook, do your best to truly engage back with the guests, when in doubt use different reactions (other than LIKE) or comment with emojis or gifs. Repeat after us, “LIKE is lazy”!
Tip #4
Keep your content interesting
This kind of goes without saying, but if you are only posting about products and not incorporating any fun games, a contest, your own personal images – well, then you most likely won’t have any activity. Your guests can go to your website to see product photos and to be honest, they’re kinda boring to look at. Pretty? Yes. But captivating enough to comment on? Nah. Instead of using company graphics that can be seen all over Facebook, take the time to use your own images/graphics/product selfies and even customer testimonials that really share the benefits of using the products. People want the behind the scenes type of info – looking professional isn’t what’s important, it’s being real and relatable. Using themes is a fantastic way to get everyone involved because they are super fun and entertaining!
Tip #5
Stay on top of your posts
Posting in your parties is only the beginning of the party process. As we mentioned in the previous tips, you really need to treat your guests as if you are all physically in a room together. They are real, live human beings who might start off as wallflowers because perhaps they really are shy offline, but if you interact on your own posts and comment and ask questions, they will see that you’re in there making an effort and they will warm up to you! There’s no rule that says you can’t comment on your own posts first. We do it all the time when we post to share an extra tip or personal experience! The more you are active on your posts and show off your personality and that you are a warm, friendly, person, the more likely your guests will engage with you.
The overall message here is to be proactive with your party. Definitely do NOT set it and forget it and expect your host and guests to do all the work. Make sure your content is of value to them and act like you’re all hanging out in person and you’ll see that the party will begin to take on a life of its own!
