What Makes a Likeable Business?
The question that a consumer will ask regarding your business on Facebook is this: Will this company care more about making a profit than my well-being?
Translation: Do they even care about me enough to talk to me and respond to me?
Great products and services help influence people to like a business, but it’s the people behind the business that really make the business likeable. Not a logo, or a cool product—although these are important, too.
Many businesses lead the market and are quite popular, yet customers don’t really like them. Why is that? For one thing, there may not be enough competent competitors in the market that offer the same products and services.
Think about the financial sector. Do people really like banks and insurance companies? I’ve never met anyone who truly likes these kind of companies. People generally utilize such companies as a necessity. They may go to them because that’s what their parents did and what everyone else seems to do.
Depending on the type of business you work for, you may be in one of these situations. Ultimately, you want to step ahead of this curve and do the things that make people really enjoy doing business with you.
 | WATCH OUT |
Social media marketing has opened the gates to a more social world online. Consumers are able to reach businesses and have conversations with them 24/7 now in a form where everyone can see the conversation.
If people representing the company are unpleasant or even mean-spirited, everyone sees this and it hurts the likeability of the brand.
When we think about the businesses we like the most, we think about people within the businesses that are completely selfless, who give help at a moment’s notice, and who go above and beyond their normal duty.
It’s the attendant at the ice cream parlor who gives me an extra large scoop of mint chocolate chip, the waiter who brings my little girl a balloon, or the bartender that knows what I like to drink and hands me my favorite beer as I sit down.
You can do the same nice gestures on Facebook, such as these:
• You can congratulate fans for any successes.
• You can supply fans with a short answer to their questions as well as a link to a page on your website, blog, or video that talks more in-depth about the topic they asked about.
• You can feature a fan of the month based on the amount of interaction on your Facebook page.
• If a fan has posted a question, and you don’t know the answer, you can ask all of your fans the same question to see if they know.
• You can encourage your fans to network with each other by asking them to all introduce themselves.
By developing relationships with your fans, you will get to know them and that will make the difference in loyal fans versus just another metric. And you’ll have a picture of that fan to help you remember who they are and what they look like.
Giving
At the heart of the social web is a giving community. It’s people talking to people about the things in their lives that matter. For many, communities might be a local church, a group of close friends, or a charity. Businesses embrace these things as well. Their employees can take part in charity runs for AIDS patients, breast cancer survivors, and children with disabilities.
People are giving back to their social communities in time and money to make the community thrive as a whole, not because of outward appearance, but because it is the right thing to do.
When giving is authentic, people know—and that is an incredible Like factor.
 | FEEDBACK |
Three quarters of small business said they donate a percentage of their profits to charity each year, with 5 percent of firms donating more than 10 percent of their profits.
You can share these kinds of charitable activities with your communities on Facebook. They will help to put a face to your business. People will then really get to know you. And that is when they can really start to like you.
 | FRIENDLY ADVICE |
Facebook has a section called Causes that allows nonprofits and charities to receive donations from Facebook users. As an individual, you can make a donation to a Cause, and share the cause with your network of friends. Participating in Causes can have a positive influence on your Facebook friends and fans.
You can learn more about Causes at www.facebook.com/causes.
When you keep it real on Facebook, you’re being authentic. Always strive to be in this frame of mind when you are talking to people on your Fan page. No one likes to be treated in a patronizing or pretentious manner, no matter the brand. We bring this up because we see this happen on Facebook a lot.
The voice of your business on Facebook is one that people will follow and see every day. Too many times, businesses will respond to comments on Facebook in too dry and monotone of a voice. Encourage your employees to show some personality. Give them the freedom to connect and bond to that individual who just reported she was having a problem.
Let’s say a customer is having a rough time:
Customer: “I’m having a really crappy day. Your site sucks. I haven’t been able to access my account all day long and no one has gotten back to me since 9 A.M. this morning. It’s now 5 P.M. I hate your company. —Ms. Alotta Whining”
Now a typical bureaucratic response would be something like this:
You: “Ms. Whining. I’m sorry to hear that you are having an issue with your account. Are you sure you are typing in the right password? Please call our customer care center at 1-800-555-1212 where we’ll be happy to get to the bottom of your issue. Hours are M–F, 9–5 P.M.”
Can you see how impersonal this message is?
Here’s how we recommend responding:
You: “Alotta: I understand crappy days, it’s been a crappy day here too with the site going down. Message me your phone number and I’ll call you right now. I’ll personally handle this for you and make sure you get squared away. —Your Name”
Can you see the difference? The first one is very canned and corporate and the other is very personal. With just a few modifications, you can go from canned and robotic to personal and caring.
It’s important to relate to your fans with empathy. You need to remember that your Facebook Fan page isn’t for you at all. It’s for the fans who Like the page. Sure, you might own the page and can control what’s posted on it, but the purpose of the page is so fans can communicate with a community of users who are interested in your business.
 | DEFINITION |
Empathy denotes a deep emotional understanding of another person’s feelings or problems.
Put yourself in their place when you think about the messages you post, and how you interact with them on a daily basis.
Here are some ways to get focused on fan empathy:
• Listen to fans when they express their feelings.
Example: If a fan posts that the picture of the unicorn you shared on your Fan page Wall reminds them of a simpler time when the world was carefree …
Wrong response: “Unicorns are fairy tales.”
Right response: “I remember when life was carefree as a child, too.”
• Let them know what you can do to help.
Example: A fan posts that the toy they just bought their child was on a recall website.
Wrong response: “Which website?”
Right response: “I’m sorry to hear that. Let’s connect and I’ll get this resolved for you and anyone else that might have the same issue.”
• Don’t get angry.
Example: A fan posts that your company is irresponsible for making this world a dangerous place by selling weapons.
Wrong response: “Touché.”
Right response: “I’m sorry you feel that way. Even as someone who accepts weapons, I too get intimidated by weapons sometimes. I wish everyone used them only for defense.”
You can communicate by replying on the Fan page itself, or by messaging them directly. In some instances, you may want to tell the user that you will message them off the Wall for a personal conversation. In your message, you can find out how you can resolve their issue privately.
Many of the messages that get on Facebook may be product- or service-related questions. Address each one as soon as you can to maintain a good standing with your fans.