Want to throw the best Facebook party EVER? Read this and do that!
Every consultant wants to throw amazing Facebook Parties that have everyone talking. With these simple tips and proper party etiquette YOU will be racking up the sales AND growing your business, so let’s get started!
You wouldn’t drive someone to a house and lead them inside without first letting them know that they’re going to a party, and the same courtesy should apply to virtual events. You can throw parties in an event or a group – the choice is yours. But do NOT add anyone to any group, ever! There are a couple reasons I say this: the worst is, that you could be reported as abusive (I’m nice, I never do this, I just leave – but others may not be so understanding and then Facebook can block you aka throw you in “Facebook Jail”); also, it might feel like you have a ton of people attending when you actually have very few. How are you to know who is really there when no one has to “join”?
So that is why inviting people by giving them the link to your party is the way to go. You send them a private message (not a mass group message, that’s super spammy), they choose if they’d like to attend, you know no one will report you because you aren’t “harassing” anyone, and you’ll have a head count that’s pretty on point. Plus, it’s nice to know that your guests actually want to be there!
Here is how to start:
Create your Facebook party from your timeline, your business page, or within your group. Or create a new group from your newsfeed. You can either have the party last a week, a few days, an hour, or even 30 minutes. It’s totally up to you! What is great about CinchShare is that you can schedule all your posts in advance to your groups so you aren’t scrambling during the actual live portion – especially for the one hour or 30 minute mini parties. With our single increments you can space your posts out accordingly without breaking a sweat and have ample time to answer questions and truly interact with your guests and make sure everyone is happy and having a good time.
When you create your party you’ll have some decisions to make:
Privacy Settings: For events on your personal timeline, you will have the option of setting it to Public, Open Invite, Guests and Friends or Invite Only. An initial reaction may be to make it Public or Open so you can get as many guests (aka potential sales) as possible but we prefer to use the Guest and Friends or Invite Only selections. Why? Think back to an original house party, it’s intimate, everyone knows someone, and you didn’t have to worry about anyone crashing the party. It’s the same feeling for an online virtual event – you want your guests to feel valued and you don’t want to get overwhelmed yourself. Plus, the whole being reported as abusive thing is way less likely to happen if the guest is invited from someone they know. Less is more. 30-50 guests is a great amount for a successful party! For groups you want to make them closed for the same reason as the event. If you have your event on your Facebook business page, it will automatically be public which means that it has the possibility of being found in a Google search (which is a good thing and could lead more business your way), but you still have the ability to keep your party intimate and among your host’s guests.
Cover Photo: Make it personal! You can easily create a captivating image to portray the personality of your party by using a photo editing software. Our personal favorite is Canva and we’ve integrated it right into CinchShare so you can easily create your own images right inside your CinchShare account! It will be more memorable and inviting with the title of the party on the image along with your host’s name. Have her take a selfie and send it to you to design the cover, or use your own – have fun with it!
Get the Party Started: Before adding guests, schedule a couple posts to go out pre-launch so guests have a few things to read when they join the party. These posts serve as the hors d’ourves – little snacks to sample before the main entree posts. Your online guests will appreciate the prepping and stick around when they first “arrive” to see what the party is all about. Remember to post one or two pre-posts a day leading up to the party and ask them questions as ice breakers to get everyone “talking” before the live portion of the party.
Play a Game: Increase guest activity with a game and if you can, offer a prize to the winner. This will keep people’s interest and also create more interaction. Check with your company and see if there are images you can use or design a few with the Canva button in CinchShare.
Offer Promotions/Discounts: If possible, offer a special discount for your guests only. Perhaps you can do a rebate if your company is currently running a promotion. This will make them feel special and can increase sales because everyone loves a good deal!
Honor the Host: She is the one who either everyone (if set to Invite Only) or mostly everyone (if set to Guest and Friends) knows personally and guests need to be reminded that she is the one having the party. Schedule a couple posts where she is mentioned and perhaps ask her a question about what her favorite product is that you are selling and why. Personalize posts with her and people will want to comment and ask her questions – this is where you can jump in and answer to help if she needs it!
Post Links to Order: This may sound silly, but it happens more often than you think – if someone wants to order and they can’t find your link then you could potentially lose a sale. Use TextClips in CinchShare to quickly add your host’s ordering link on every product post and even the game and question posts. It’s never a bad thing to show people in a quick sentence how to get their hands on your products!
And most importantly, remember to have fun and keep things upbeat – it is a party after all!