Want your Facebook page to be a thriving community? Here is part 1 of a series of tips with how to welcome your fans when they like your page.

Depending on your settings, you will get an email when someone new (personal page or business page) likes your business page. Or you can check your Admin Panel daily by clicking See All in the Notifications section.
 

To welcome your new fans and make them feel at home so that you start building a connection with them, you can use the tips below:

Like back

If you know the business page name of the liker, go ahead and like them back. You may not see right now if their services or information would be useful to you, however it’s great to connect so that you get to know them better and learn more about them. I like to use both my personal and business account to like back a new fan, because this way I know I have their updates on my news feed no matter which page I happen to be on.

Say hi

If the new fan liked you with both their personal and business page, or just with the business page welcome them by posting a message on your wall, where you tag their business name. I also like to include the link to their Facebook page so that it adds a nice thumbnail picture and a brief description of their business. See how below:

1. Enter business page URL from the browser:

2. Delete URL from the top part and enter welcome text, tagging the business with @. Select the business name:

3. The business page name appears as a grey shaded link. Click Post.

With these steps, they get notified of your message and also this message gets posted onto their business page, giving you more exposure to their business fans.

What if tagging does not work?

Sometimes tagging does not work and so in step 2 you cannot find the business name that you want to tag. In this case, you can go ahead and post an update on the fan’s business page thanking them for liking you page.

What if fans do not have a business page?

Still sometimes a new fan does not have a business page or you cannot find out their page and like it. In this case, you can still welcome them with an update on your wall. Though they are not notified of these updates, new fans who want to interact with you and be part of your community will be coming back and check your page and may notice your post

Your turn!

Try these steps with every new fan and you’ll notice an increase in your exposure and more people liking your page, liking your posts, and commenting. What are some of your tips? Please share by leaving a comment.