Like us on Facebook

Late November last year my partner and I chose to buy the Cinema Unlimited deal which, as the name implies, invites us to see as many films as we can fit into our spare time and, inevitably, means we see rather a lot of our local Cineworld. On every visit, since joining, I encounter their “ticker message” with the words “Like us on Facebook” and on every trip, I have an internal conversation with myself asking …” why should I”?

To this day I have not “liked” Cineworld on Facebook because why should I? They have given me no good reason! Will I find competitions? Probably. Will I find film listings? Perhaps. Will I find film reviews? Now there’s a really good reason to like their page but I’m left in the dark, literally in the winter months, and almost told or instructed to “Like us on Facebook”. There are two key learnings for businesses using social media here.

Are you giving your audience a reason to ‘like’ your Facebook page?

Give people reasons to “Like” you

Firstly, remember that all social media, including Facebook, should be part of any overall communication strategy and not simply be an “add on” without any thought or planning; therefore, Cineworld, should be inviting their cinema visitors to engage via Facebook providing good reasons to “Like” them on Facebook.

Make it easy to find you

Secondly, make it easy for your audience to find your organisation on all social media at all times. Use distinct logos of the individual social networks where you have a presence and tell people where you are, with Twitter it’s easy as you have your Twitter handle like @CariadMarketing; other social media networks offer you “vanity urls”, for example, you can find us on Facebook here www.facebook.com/CariadMarketing  If you have not claimed a Facebook URL for your business you can follow the instructions here.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes

When you are encouraging people to connect via social media, always remember that there’s so much more to social networks than “likes”, “follows” and “connections” and it’s simply too easy to say “we’re on Facebook” or “we do social media”. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and identify all the different touch points you have with your clients, and potential clients, as part of your overall communication strategy; then ensure that you’re providing the right messages and content in the right places at the right time.

As for film reviews – I might be the right person to ask! After 40 films in four months the Cineworld Unlimited deal has certainly paid for itself already; but they’ve not persuaded me to “like” them on Facebook yet!

If you’d like to discuss the social media needs for your business or organisation, or invest in a social media management package, please get in touch with us at welcome@cariadmarketing.com or call 01992 582 824.