How to Grow a Facebook Page from Scratch

With more than 3 billion users, Facebook is the world’s largest social media platform. It is used by billions of people and brands across the world. And anyone who’s mastered how to grow a Facebook page from scratch can also leverage the platform to double their reach.

I am saying this because it works. When we first started out, our first ever business client came from a pos we shared on Facebook.  The first few projects we had for our portfolio also came from people I met on Facebook.

And I’m not alone. Facebook has helped a lot of other brands to connect with their customers, gain visibility and make sales before they could even leverage their websites.

In this guide, I’ll be sharing with you practical strategies and insights that’s worked for us and many other brands out there. And the steps you can use these ideas to grow your page on Facebook even if you’re a beginner.

Get your Growth Goal

One of the things I’ve noticed about some brands that reach out to us is that most people want to grow their page but they are not exactly sure about the specific numbers they are looking at or the timeline.

If you want to grow a Facebook page, you have to be very specific about what you’re looking at. Have a target range of followers you’re looking to gain, the duration or timeline you expect to have that number.

Doing that gets you all set. It gives you an idea on what you’re expected to achieve over a specified time. And with this all sorted out, you’ll be able to build strategies and a marketing plan that can actually deliver on that.

Outside this, having a growth goal also keeps you on track as it gives you something to work with throughout your growth marketing campaign.

Know your Audience

If you want to grow your followers on a social media platform like Facebook, you have to know exactly who you want to attract to your brand.

Most new Facebook page owners often expect that their target audience is the generality of people on social media.

Actually, every user is not your target audience. If you want to grow a Facebook page and actually use it to drive ROI for your business then you have to strategically position to attract people that will be interested in your brand, the content you post and your business generally.

To know your audience on Facebook you can consider the following;

• Consider your Goals: Find out precisely what you want to achieve with your brand on Facebook. Are you there because you’re into Digital Marketing and you want to attract people that are also interested in Digital Marketing?
• Find your Audience: When you figure out what your brand is all about, it’s time to go find people interested in that. Let’s assume your brand is about digital marketing, in that case, your next step is to find people interested in digital marketing
• Check out Similar Brands: If you’re not too sure about who these people are or what they expect from you, check out other existing brands similar to yours. Find out what they are posting, how their audiences are reacting to their content etc. this gives you an idea on where to start.
• Use Facebook Tools; Facebook has a number of tools that can give you further insights into your audience, including their demographics, preferences and other details. You can use the Facebook audience insights tool for this.

Avoid trying to attract the whole of Facebook. This is one of the issues that leads to low engagement in content and your page.

Create a Growth Strategy

A content strategy is a plan for the creation, distribution and management of content in order to achieve a specific purpose. You need a solid content strategy if you plan to grow a Facebook page fast.

When we started, we didn’t have one. So, it was more of a hit and run. Some days we were lucky to get a lot of engagement from posts. On other days we did not. You don’t have to operate this way.

Having a content strategy gives you a guideline on what to do based on you goals, how to do it, when to do it and the possible outcomes you’re expected to achieve after you do it.

It’s more of a go-to guide that will regulate your content creation and page growth campaign. And you should see it as such.

You can update your content strategy at intervals to reflect the changes in algorithms and trends, and also the changes in your goals when you have them.

Post Attention Grabbing Content

All content are not the same. Content creation is not all about creating just any kind of content so you can make a post. It is a very strategic process, aimed at achieving a specific goal. This is what a number of new brands have failed to understand.

With today’s social media algorithm, if you want to grow a Facebook page from scratch, you have to post captivating content that will grab the attention of your target audience without fail.

Use storytelling and copywriting skills to boost engagement with your content.

As a beginner, I used to believe that content creation is all about posting what is right to you. Or the kind of content you feel like posting. Over the years, I learned that both the social media users and by extension the algorithm all have their preferences.

And if you want to gain a decent number of engagements with your post then you have to create and post content that aligns with those preferences.

If you’re really concerned about posting content you personally prefer, you can do that as your page grows not at the very early days.

PS: Be consistent. Nothing messes up the algorithm more than failing to show up with content consistently. While you do not have to post every day you need to have a consistent timeline you should stick to.

Engage & Spend Time on Facebook

This is one of the most ignored Facebook growth strategies but it works. As someone that wants to grow their Facebook Page, don’t just drop your content and leave, engage, spend time on Facebook.

The algorithm rewards time spent on Facebook. But that does not mean you should spend time scrolling endlessly. Be strategic with your time on the platform.

Instead of scrolling on and on, engage strategically with other posts. Like, share, drop meaningful comments that can add to the conversation.

When you engage with other posts, your page becomes visible to a larger audience outside your existing followers. It also influences the algorithm positively.

For your own posts, engage with your audience as well. Like their comment and reply to it. This gives a positive boost and more visibility to your posts.

Share your Content

During the early days when you’re just getting your page all started, you may not have a decent number of followers so even if you post, you may not gain a decent visibility. This is where sharing comes in.

You want to share your content after posting them. If done right, some posts shared on other platforms, pages and groups do attract a lot of engagement compared to the original page it was shared on.

But for you to use this idea to promote a Facebook page, you have to be very strategic. For instance, instead of posting to just about any page or group, share on groups and pages that are relevant to your content.

Additionally, do not share too much content one single group so it does not become spammy. While you want to be consistent at it, allow some time and space before sharing.

Jump on Trending Content

Social media thrives on trends. From trending reels, to conversations, music, memes etc. there are a lot of things driving conversations on a daily basis, you have to find and post this as it will drive your visibility and increase your chances at going viral.

In most cases, your brand is not going to appeal to trending content but you can always find a point of view, an angle or a specific area that can align with your audience. And when you do, post it from that angle.

Outside having the possibility of getting you viral, trends are always conversation starters over a specific time, with high interest and searches. Getting in on trends in a smart way can be very useful as you get to grow your Facebook Page organically.

To be successful in this, you have to be active and very much aware of ongoing conversations on the social media. The earlier you can jump on trending topics before it goes too viral, the better your chances at getting more eyes on your content for that trend.

Promote your Page & Content

A large number of followers can encourage other people to follow your page. In those early days where it is still difficult to get followers, you can use paid advertising to attract followers while maintaining your other strategies.

Good thing there are budgets for different kind of purposes. Also, paid advertising allows you to target a specific kind of audience from scratch. Doing this helps you in streamlining your followers.

As your page continues to grow to a certain extent, you can eventually decide to switch to organic promotional strategies.

The thing with paid advertising is that it can generate results much faster than organic promotion however, it can be expensive if you have a zero-budget marketing.

Notwithstanding, it is a great strategy that can be used to grow a Facebook page from scratch, alongside organic marketing. And if you do not want to promote the entire page, you can boost a single post at intervals.

Measure your Outcomes

You need a solid knowledge of what is working if you really want to grow a Facebook page. So, at intervals you are going to analyze your results to find out if they are delivering on your expected outcomes as laid out in step one.

At this stage, you want to study your output, insights etc. this gives you an idea on your performance and a possible outlook for the future.

Where your performance is below expectations, you have to find out what is wrong and strategize. Where it is above normal, then double up and get an even better performance.

PS: Measuring and analyzing your outcomes also means checking out your content performance, audience engagement, overall page growth and other brand growth indicators. And this should be done periodically.

Final Words

There are many reasons why you’d would want to grow a Facebook page but sometimes actually growing your page from scratch can be very difficult especially if you just created a new account.

These strategies have worked for me and many other brands. And using them can get your page right on track to gain new followers and explosive growth but you must keep in mind that algorithm and trends change very fast.

What this means is that you must keep your eyes open to changes on Facebook. Align your strategies to fit with what’s evolving and working, keep showing up with your content, engaging strategically and of course, learning.

Reach out to Victor Winners Digital here, for more strategies on how to grow your Facebook and social media platforms. Let’s mentor and guide you.

Now it’s your turn. What are your most significant challenges when it comes to growing your page on Facebook? Drop your comments below.