I don’t need to tell you that “the money’s in the list”. But what you may not know is that the #1 social network on the planet — Facebook — is an untapped source of emails to add to your list.
In this post you’ll see how you can easily integrate a 3rd party email marketing service like Aweber or GetResponse into your Facebook marketing campaigns so that you can collect new leads for you directly from your Facebook page.
I will also discuss the secrets to using Facebook Live to grow your email list even further.
Let’s get started.
1. List building with a Facebook page
First I’m going to show you how you can build your email list from your Facebook page.
Your first step is to actually install the app that allows you to do this.
I’m assuming for this post that you’re using AWeber.
Even if you’re using a different email service provider, the steps are pretty much the same.
Your first step is a search for ‘AWeber Facebook opt-in’, ‘Mail Chimp Facebook opt-in’, or ‘Get Response Facebook opt-in’, whatever email service provider you happen use.
Next, scroll down to the first step and look for this link that says Add the AWeber app, and click on that, and then click on Add App to Page.
Choose the Facebook page that you want the app added to. Once it has a little checkmark next to it, you know that that’s the page that it’s going to add it to, then click on Add Page Tab.
Then when you head back to your Facebook page, you’ll notice a new app that’ll show the logo of your email service provider, and it’ll say something like ‘Email signup’. Obviously, this isn’t very attractive and it’s actually not functional yet, so what you want to do is click on this so you can configure it. Then click on the Configure button, and then click on Allow Access.
Next, it’s time to choose the list from your AWeber account that you want to collect emails on.
You can do that easily by choosing the list using the dropdown menu, or you can actually create a list just for Facebook, if for example, in your auto-responder you want to include a message that says something like, ‘Thank you for signing up for my list on Facebook.’ If not, you can just choose one from the dropdown menu, or you can create one by clicking on Create and Manage lists. Once it’s created, it’ll appear here in the dropdown menu.
Next, you want to select a web form. Depending on the list that you chose, you’ll have different options depending on the web forms you’ve already setup with that list.
If you want to make sure that it looks okay before you actually incorporate it into your Facebook page, just click the Preview button, and you get to see what your opt-in form will look like on your Facebook page. Obviously, this is default AWeber opt-in; it doesn’t look very attractive.
You want to customize this so it looks good for your Facebook page.
To do that, log in to your AWeber account, click on Signup Forms, and then click on Create Your First Signup Form. You can choose from templates and customize, you can basically create one that looks really nice if you don’t already have one already in your list. If you do, you can just choose that one from the dropdown menu.
Once that’s all setup, click on Save Changes and you’re almost ready to rock.
The last thing that you need to do is make sure that that little app box on your Facebook page looks good and it compels people to click through it.
To do that, head back to your Facebook page, scroll down, and where it says Email Signup, like I said earlier, you don’t actually want that to have this logo and say ‘Email signup’. Click on this little arrow next to it, and then hover over the icon and click the little pencil button, and then click on Edit Settings.
What you want to do is under Custom Tab Image, click Change, click on Edit, and then choose an image. You can upload an image that says ‘Free Updates’ or you could include just an icon, or something like that; something that’s going to compel people to actually click through.
The next thing you’ll want to do is give it a new custom tab name; something that will compel people to actually click through, and then sign up, something like ‘Free e-book’. Click on Save, then click on OK. You’ll have a unique icon and a unique name. Once you have that, you’re pretty much all set.
The last thing that you might want to do is generate some more traffic to your Facebook page using a Facebook ad.
To do that, head back to your Facebook page, scroll all the way to the bottom, and click on Create Ad.
Under “what kind of results do you want for your ad?” you will have a few different options:
You can choose Page Post-Engagement, which exposes your Facebook posts to more people. Page Likes, which encourages more people to like your page, and then those people who like your page might see the app that you added, and then add their email to your opt-in form. Clicks to Website and drive people to a squeeze page on your site or to your Facebook page.
That’s all there is to collecting emails on a Facebook page.
As you can see, the most important thing is creating an app that really stands out on your Facebook page and encourages people to click through, and then creating an attractive opt-in form that people can use to enter their email.
Let’s now move on to Facebook Live which is another powerful list building tool that you should be using.
2. List building using Facebook Live
How often do you use Facebook Live video streaming?
If your answer is never or not very often, you need to change that.
You can use Facebook Live for various marketing campaigns.
It can also help you add subscribers to your email list.
Leveraging your live video streaming skills the right way can help you multitask.
Obviously, you want to promote your brand, products, and services.
And you want to add more people to your email list.
Facebook Live allows you to do all of these things simultaneously.
One of the best parts of this live-streaming platform is the quality.
You won’t have to worry about lag time or stability.
During the 2016 Presidential debates, Facebook Live had the lowest delay time of all viewing platforms.
That was with nearly 300,000 people watching the debates on Facebook at the same time.
Those are impressive numbers.
Concerns about video quality or lag are no excuse for you to be avoiding Facebook Live.
In this post, I’ll explain how you can use this marketing tool to grow your email list.
Give an in-depth explanation of different subjects
Facebook allows you to stream live videos for long periods of time.
However, there is a 4-hour time limit for each live stream.
Do you need to go live for 4 hours?
Not necessarily.
But longer videos generate more views than shorter ones.
In fact, last year, four of the top five most viewed Facebook Live videos were over 3 hours long.
There’s no magic number you need to reach that says you’ve been on long enough.
Generally speaking, long videos give you more time to attract a large audience.
Ask your followers to receive a notification whenever you go live.
Just have them click the “Follow” button in the bottom right corner of your stream:
This will help ensure you get more viewers during the video.
Facebook Live streams get watched 3 times longer than regular videos on Facebook.
What should you do with all this time?
Take advantage of it.
If you’re trying to grow your email list, give your viewers a pitch for why they should subscribe.
What kind of value are you offering your subscribers?
They won’t just join your email list because you tell them to.
If you’re planning to be on Facebook Live for several hours, understand that your audience will change throughout this time frame.
Just because you plugged your email list during the first 10 minutes of the stream doesn’t mean you can’t do it again later.
Look, I’m not saying you should sound like a broken record. You don’t need to bring it up every five minutes.
But make a conscious effort to direct the viewers to sign up for your emails a couple of times through your broadcast.
Promote your products
Let’s piggyback on that last topic.
You’ve got lots of time to spend in front of your audience.
Use that time wisely.
Pitch your brand, products, and services.
Consumers would much rather watch a video about your product than read about it.
Here’s a great opportunity for you to kill two birds with one stone.
The birds are:
- product sales
- email list growth.
Ultimately, you’re trying to add email subscribers so you can increase sales and conversions, right?
It’s not often you have a chance to add subscribers while promoting your product at the same time.
This is how you can do it.
Tell your Facebook Live audience about your product.
Now, tell them you have exclusive discounts and promotions for the members of your email subscription list.
It’s easy to accomplish this with Facebook Live.
As we already established, consumers would rather see your products in a video than read about them.
You’re giving customers exactly what they want.
This is a great way to create effective customer service.
Amazing customer service can help you double your revenue.
Pitch your products, and direct your viewers to sign up for emails so they can receive a discount.
Trust me, it will work.
Establish a personal connection with your viewers
Live video-streaming is the perfect opportunity for you to show off your personality.
Be funny.
Show the audience you’re a real person, not a nameless and faceless brand.
It will help you develop a longer relationship with your customers.
Facebook Live is the perfect platform to enhance the customer experience.
What happens when you establish a personal relationship with your customers?
They are willing to spend more money.
Let’s take a step back to analyze this.
If a customer is willing to spend more money based on a personal connection with your brand, what else would they be willing to do?
Surely, they will join your email subscription list.
Just ask.
It’s free, so they should be on board with this.
Remember to bring up your email subscriptions during your live streams.
If you’ve got a good personality, your viewers will want to hear from you.
This is a perfect chance to promote your blog.
Establishing a personal connection is one of the reasons why every business should have a blog.
During your Facebook Live stream, you can say: “Unfortunately, I can’t be streaming live 24/7.”
If your viewers want more exclusive content, tell them: “Sign up for my email list, and you’ll get notified every time I release a new post.”
This will keep your viewers, readers, and customers interested in your brand.
It’s also a simple way to help you add subscribers to your email list via Facebook Live.
Use interactivity tactics
Get your viewers interacting with you during the live stream.
How? Through:
- likes
- shares
- comments.
Facebook Live videos are native, meaning they play within your feed instead of linking to another site.
Native videos on Facebook have a 1055% higher share rate than videos with an outbound link.
What does this mean?
Viewers are already more inclined to share your video and interact with you while you’re streaming. Encourage them to do more.
Let’s say you’re running a contest.
Randomly select a viewer who liked or shared the stream.
You can even run a contest within the comment section of the live video.
Encourage comments by saying you’re going to pick the most creative or funniest comment.
Here’s how you can translate these interactions into growing your email list.
After you select a winner and give away a prize, announce you’ll be running another online giveaway for the subscribers on your email list.
The viewers just saw you’re giving stuff away, so this gives them an added incentive to subscribe to your email list.
Facebook Live is the most popular live streaming application.
Encouraging interactivity here is your best shot at attracting the most viewers.
If you have more viewers, you’ll have a greater chance of adding people to your email subscription list.
Dedicate a specific time each week to go live
Think of Facebook Live like of your own television show.
What’s your favorite program on TV? It doesn’t just come on randomly, right?
The show plays at a specific time each day or each week. That’s how it builds an audience.
You can apply the same concept to your live streaming.
You just learned that a larger audience increases the chances of getting more email subscribers, so make sure you go live on a regular basis.
What’s the best time to go live?
Based on the graph above, the middle of the week is the best time for you to broadcast a live video.
Try to schedule your stream on Wednesdays if it works for your agenda.
The time of day when you go live matters too.
Going live late at night increases the average number of total engagements.
Take both of these graphs into consideration when scheduling your live streams.
Based on the data from this study, late Wednesday night is the best time for you to go live.
You’ll increase your chances of getting a larger audience that’s more actively engaged.
It’s the perfect time to promote your email subscriptions and build your list.
Just make sure your content is fresh.
Media publications use Facebook Live the most.
That’s because they tend to have breaking news stories on hot topics.
Don’t go through the same script every week.
Mix it up to keep the audience entertained and wanting to come back for more.
Use different platforms to drive traffic to your live stream
Promote your live videos.
Facebook has 2 billion active monthly users.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t promote your live stream on other platforms.
Tell your current email subscribers about your live video schedule.
They may forward that email to a friend or tell people directly.
Promote your live videos on:
- Snapchat
- your website
- blogs
Use all your resources to drive traffic to these videos.
It’s worth it because your videos will yield a high return on your investment.
It won’t cost you much money to broadcast a live video.
Sure, it will take some time out of your day, and maybe you’ll give away some products.
But both of these are marginal costs compared to other marketing campaigns you’re running.
This is especially true if you can convert your live video viewers into email subscribers.
The ROI for email marketing is extremely lucrative as well. On average, companies can expect to earn $44 for every $1 spent on email marketing.
This return is up to four times greater than returns on other marketing tactics.
It’s worth your efforts to promote your Facebook Live videos on other channels.
More viewers means more email subscribers and a high return on your investment.
Add captions to your videos
We know that 85% of Facebook Live videos get watched without sound.
Adding captions to your videos can increase the average viewing time by 12%.
This is important to know.
It’s likely that the majority of your viewers will be watching you on mute.
You can’t rely solely on your words.
Have some props and other visuals ready when you’re broadcasting.
Get some professionally made signs and posters with information about your brand.
You can hold these up periodically, depending on what you’re talking about.
I’d also recommend having some signs fixed in the background of your stream if you don’t plan on moving around too much.
Use a third party closed caption service, like Telestream or Ai-Media, to enable live captions.
This way, everything you say will be transcribed on the screen for your viewers to read.
Since the majority of these people won’t be watching with the sound on, it’s a great way to increase viewer retention.
This will make it much easier for you to add subscribers to your email list.
Conclusion
Facebook isn’t going anywhere and Facebook Groups are a great way to build your list if used properly.
Using Facebook Live is another avenue for list building.
Since this platform lets you stream for up to 4 hours at a time, it gives you a chance to go in-depth about certain topics.
Tell your audience to “follow” you, so they receive a notification every time you go live.
Promote your products during a live stream and in your groups. Run contests and giveaways.
You can use these promotions as an incentive for people to join your email list.
Show off your personality, and establish a connection with your audience. Customers are likely to spend more money with brands they trust.
Whether you use Facebook Groups or Facebook Live (or both) the tips above will help you build your email list in no time.
