Wondering how some people rise above the noise and get a high following on their social media accounts? Let me show you how I grew Gavin Lira’s account from 12 followers to 18,000 using the “Facebook for a Dollar a Day strategy.”
How did I do it?
I used the Dollar-a-Day strategy to boost his best tweets. I boosted any tweet that I felt had a lot of value for his core audience for $1 a day, just to generate engagement.
He was in Pakistan speaking at a conference, so I boosted his video to the attendees there. On Twitter, people follow what’s popular. So, I shared crowds following him plus shots with well-known people.
When you start to go viral, you can rely just on organic growth. But to get the initial conversations going, I had to spend $70 to boost 10 tweets for $7 each over a week. I boosted 10 tweets because I wanted to let the algorithm tell me which ones are winners since we are always wrong as humans.
Your audience wants to relive highlights, so boost those.
Who would have thought that this picture with @darrylleeisaacs would get a lot of personal injury attorneys following him?
How do you know you have a winner?
Tweets that got over 20% engagement are winners— meaning 2 in 10 people clicked on it, viewed his profile, commented, etc. Normally, he got 2-3% engagement, which is why I needed to tweet 100 times to find approximately 10 winners.
This is his best post, getting penny engagements, and 5% of people who saw it followed him. @sunnyaliEC is the most loved entrepreneur in Pakistan.
I’ll bet you have dozens of pictures on your phone with someone well-known, where you can honor them with gratitude. The most connected people in any industry are the conference organizers— honor them!
The Misconception
Some people think Twitter is only text. But his videos often get over 50% of people stopping to watch. And then when I boost, my cost-per-view is fractions of a penny.
I literally grab pictures and videos straight from my camera roll. For example, this book was given to him by @kfreberg–the #1 PR professor in the US. I tagged her and boosted it to her followers- super relevant for both of them.
It’s just as hard to go from 10 followers to 100 followers as it is to go from 1,000 to 10,000. Use $1 a day to speed up the beginning of that curve. Promote a friend’s company like @blusharkdigital so they share your posts.
Watching the magic of the Dollar a Day strategy unfold
A week later, he hit 15,000 followers and also got a blue check. This increased his engagement rate by 30%–more trust. If a post would have gotten 100 likes, he’d get 130 likes.
Unlike other networks, no extra cost to post a pic.
I also found content that worked elsewhere and repurposed it into Twitter. Reddit is my favorite source, followed by blog posts he’s written, snappy things I overhear friends say, and Facebook. Build threads like this to stack engagement.
Dollar-a-Day works wonders!
I invented the Dollar-a-Day strategy 15 years ago and works on all social networks.
You might say it’s like “throwing raw meat to the dogs,” which is partly true. Yes, I’ve shared posts that received a lot of attention (for example, 1,000 likes on a post honoring freelancer friends in Pakistan), but if I didn’t also tie these posts to his expertise, his followers would be low-quality and random.
I used high-engagement posts to break through the noise, allowing people to see that his expertise is worth looking at and listening to.
It is a relationship-building strategy called FGF— Find, Give, Friend.
You may be posting really good tweets, but when you have no followers, nobody will see your stuff!
Unfortunately, he failed to take care of what I had built for him because of unacceptable business practices. If you’d like to know more about that, read the two articles below.
If you are a local service business or sell through relationships, but don’t have a Facebook public figure page, you’re missing a CRITICAL component.
Why a Public Figure Facebook Page?
Your personal brand is your most valuable asset. If people begin to see you as an authority in your field, you won’t have to reach out to get customers; they’ll come to you.
One of the best tools for growing your personal brand is a Facebook public figure page. In addition to looking more official, a public figure page offers these advantages over a personal profile:
Earn page likes to provide proof of authority.
Get detailed insights on how your page is performing.
Run ads to promote your content.
Remember, personal branding comes from expertise in your field. If you don’t have something to teach, you won’t get engagement.
To effectively use a public figure page for personal branding, you need to specialize in something. It’s fine if you don’t know everything about your chosen topic now; just make sure you’re willing to learn and that your specialty relates to your overall goal.
To successfully build your personal brand with a public figure page, you need a specialty such as live video.
If you’re wondering what to sell on your public figure page, the answer is, well, nothing. You don’t need to have a product ready; you just need to have content to deliver and a personal brand to grow. Build your brand now so when you do have a product to sell, people will trust you enough to buy.
Do I Need a Facebook Public Figure Page if I Already Have a Business Page or Personal Profile?
A business page promotes what you sell, while a public figure page shows who you are. Most people in business should have both types of pages; exceptions may be realtors, freelancers, or artists who use their individual name as a professional title and already have a business page associated with that name. For example:
If you already have a business page in your name, you likely don’t need to create a public figure page too.
Use a public figure page (which differs from your personal profile) to share professional stories that help people get to know you as a businessperson, not as a friend. For example, you might share 1-minute “why” videos (discussed later in the article) about events that have shaped you, what you believe in, etc.
How Do I Use a Public Figure Page in Concert With My Business Page?
From your public figure page, boost 1-minute videos that align with the mission of your business and help people understand your why. Viewers who buy into your mission or why are likely to consume more personal stories, customer interviews, articles, and blog posts that demonstrate your expertise.
Provided you have your custom audiences set up correctly, you can then remarket to those viewers via ads from your business page that promote your products and services.
Now let’s look at how to set up and use a public figure page to build your brand.
#1: Create Your Public Figure Page
To create your page, go to Facebook’s page creator and select Artist, Band, or Public Figure.
Select Artist, Band, or Public Figure as the Facebook page type.
Next, select Public Figure from the Category drop-down menu, type in your name, and click Get Started.
Select Public Figure for the category and enter a name for your page.
Your new public figure page then appears.
Your newly created public figure page will look like this.
In the upper-left corner of the page, click Add a Picture to upload a professional-looking headshot. You want to choose a high-quality image to represent who you are online, so consider hiring a professional photographer to take your photo. You can use this photo as your profile picture across all of your platforms.
Use a professional headshot for your Facebook public figure page.
#2: Connect Your Page and Ad Account to Business Manager
Follow these steps to claim your page in Business Manager (and set up a corresponding ad account) so you can start boosting posts and running ads.
Create a Business Manager Account
You need a Business Manager account, so create one if you don’t have one already. Log into the Facebook account you used to make your public figure page and go to https://business.facebook.com.
Next, click Create Account and enter your business name.
Enter your business name to set up your business account.
Then type in the name you want to usefor Business Manager and your business email for notifications. Click Finish to create your account.
Enter your name and work email to finish setting up your Facebook Business Manager account.
Claim Your Page
Now you need to claim the public figure page you just created. Log into Business Manager and click Business Settings.
To claim your Facebook page, open Business Manager and click Business Settings.
On the People and Assets tab, click Pages in the left menu.
Select Pages on the People and Assets tab of your Business Settings.
Click Add New Pages and choose Add a Page from the drop-down menu.
Choose the option to add a page to your Business Manager account.
Type in the name of your page or URL, and click Add Page.
Type in the name of the Facebook page you want to claim.
Great! You’ve claimed your page.
After you claim your page in Business Manager, you’ll see it under Pages.
Set Up an Ad Account
Next, you need to create an ad account to start running ads. In your Business Settings, click Ad Accounts on the People and Assets tab.
To set up an ad account in Business Manager, go to Business Settings and select Ad Accounts.
If this is your first ad account, you’ll see a page that prompts you to claim, request access, or create an ad account. Click Create a New Ad Account.
Select the option to create a new ad account in Business Manager.
Enter your information and click Create Ad Account.
Fill in the details to set up your Facebook ad account.
After you create your ad account, go to Business Manager and you should be able to access both your ad account and claimed page.
After you claim your public figure page and set up your ad account, you can access them in Business Manager.
#3: Install the Facebook Pixel on Your Website
The Facebook pixel is a piece of code that you install on your website so you can track audience activity and ad results.
To set up the Facebook pixel, open Ads Manager and select Pixels.
On the next page, click Create a Pixel. Enter a name for your pixel and click Next.
Enter a name for your Facebook pixel.
Now choose how you want to install your pixel code. You can either use a tag manager tool that supports a Facebook integration, or copy and paste the code to your website.
Choose which method you want to use to install the Facebook pixel.
If you’re manually installing the pixel, the next screen lets you copy the required code. Just click in the code box to copy it. From here, insert the code in the header tags of your website.
Copy the Facebook pixel code and install it on your website.
Once you’ve set up the pixel, it will track activity from your website or app so you can retarget website visitors. You can also determine if your Facebook ads are driving conversions.
#4: Build Credibility With Your Content
Now that you have your public figure page set up, it’s time to start publishing content that demonstrates your expertise.
Produce a “Why” Video
Create a “why” video that explains your mission and what experiences led you to it. If people know what you stand for, they’ll be more likely to follow you.
You don’t need fancy editing software or a high-quality camera to record your video. Just take out your smartphone and start recording. If you need help finding your “why,” check out these examples or look at Simon Sinek’s TED talk.
Collect Endorsements
If people say something positive about you online, ask if you can quote them. Use these endorsements as testimonials on your website and landing pages.
Collect customer endorsements and accolades.
Interview Thought Leaders
Ask thought leaders and influencers in your industry for quotes that you can use in your content to build authority. If you’re a frequent commenter and good community member, influencers will usually say yes to a quote.
#5: Amplify Your Reach With Paid Ads
Now that you have content that’s working, show it off! You can use a variety of methods to boost your posts and help you reach your goals (attract an audience, increase engagement, or drive conversions).
Dollar-a-Day Ads
When you have a post that’s getting tons of likes, engagement, etc., boost that post for a dollar a day. This lets you see what content can scale without breaking the bank.
In the Ads Manager, click Create Campaign and choose the objective for your campaign.
Select the objective for your Facebook campaign.
Follow the prompts to choose an audience, placement, budget, and schedule.
When you get to the ad itself, choose Use Existing Post and select the post you want to boost.
Select the post you want to boost on Facebook.
Remarket to Custom Audiences
Use custom audiences to retarget people who have visited your website or engaged with your post. Because this is a warm audience, it won’t take much to get people to take action. Keep in mind you’ll need to have the pixel installed on your website.
To create a custom audience, go the Audiences section of the Ads Manager. Then choose Custom Audience from the Create Audience drop-down list.
Go to the Audiences section and select the option to create a Facebook custom audience.
Next, choose how you want to create your custom audience. If you want to create a custom audience based on website activity, for example, choose Website Traffic.
Select Website Traffic to create a custom audience based on people who have visited your website.
Then fill in the details for your custom audience and click Create Audience.
Fill in the fields to create your Website Traffic custom audience.
Cross-Post Videos to Multiple Pages to Extend Your Reach
Cross-posting allows you to post or repost your videos to multiple Facebook pages without re-uploading. This allows you to retain all of your video views, likes, and comments when reposting.
To enable this feature, go to your page, click Settings, and select Crossposting in the left column. Then enter the URL of the page for which you want to establish a cross-posting relationship.
Enter the name of the page for which you want to set up a cross-posting relationship.
The other page will also need to follow these same steps to allow the cross-posting relationship.
After you establish the cross-posting relationship, you can allow the other page to cross-post your videos. When you upload a video to a new post, click the Crossposting tab and select the options to allow the other page to cross-post the video.
Select the Facebook pages you want to allow to cross-post your video.
You can also go to your video library in Publishing Tools to choose which videos to allow cross-posting.
You’ll be able to see insights for all of the posts in which your video has been used. Other pages that cross-post your video can see insights only for the video post on their page.
Conclusion
A public figure page is a great way to grow your personal brand and offers many benefits over a personal profile, including the ability to run ads and collect leads. Remember, with a personal branding page, you don’t need to have a product to sell but you do need to publish good content.
What do you think? Do you have a public figure Facebook page? How do you promote your personal brand on Facebook? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Some people might say that $135 to generate just one click was a big waste of money.
Others might note that I reached 14,000 people works out to a $9 CPM– $9 to reach 1,000 people, which is about average on Facebook, boosted post or not.
And still some will say that the 10,700 interactions works out to just over a penny per engagement– potentially good.
The real answer is that you don’t really know until you can map it all the down to the business result– the call, store visit, or sale.
Use diagnostic metrics to troubleshoot why you did or didn’t hit the business metric.
But START with the business metric first, then tree down to secondary diagnostic metrics– not the other way around, like most people do.
