How Fan Gates can Help Build your Facebook Fanbase


The “like” button is everywhere these days, but you’d be surprised how difficult it is to entice people to like your Facebook page. A Facebook fan gate is one very effective way to provide people with a call to action to like your page. It acts as a welcome screen for a Facebook page that encourages non-fans to like the page in order to access exclusive content.

It is important that your fan gate has a very clear call to action. Simply asking somebody to like your page is the easiest and one of the most effective ways to get somebody to like your page. A phrase such as “Click like” should be present within the fan gate. Some sort of teaser of the kind of content available to fans should also be present within the fan gate so that potential fans are encouraged to press “like.”

You should consider what happens after somebody clicks the “like” button. The content behind the fan gate is of course more important than the gate itself. Offering content that is relevant to your brand is essential to getting the most out of your fan gate. For example, if you’re a beauty company offering a chance to win an iPod ,then people may only be clicking to win and not to learn more about your brand. Instead try offering a store discount, downloadable content, or behind-the-scenes information.

When done correctly, a fan gate can help increase your fan base as well as fan activity by a surprising amount. Below are some examples of companies that are successfully using fan gates.

Nars
Cosmetics company NARS‘ fan gate has an element of mystery that draws people in to click “like.” Once you click the “like” button, you are taken to their current contest and are given access to useful make up tutorials in addition to product information and behind the scenes photos and interviews. All of the content is relevant to the brand and regularly updated to keep fans interested after pressing “like.”

 

Hermes
High-end fashion house Hermes utilizes a quirky fan gate on their Facebook page that teases some of the content available within their Facebook page. Clicking on any of the images prompts a pop-up containing a call to action to “like” the page. Once you click like, clicking on any of the images will then take you directly to the content being teased at in the image. This content includes desktop backgrounds, a branded online tangram game, access to videos, and an adorable download of a papercraft Hermes bag that you can decorate yourself.

 

MSLK
After seeing the value in having a fan gate, MSLK decided to create a new Facebook landing page. Now, if you go to our page (and aren’t already a fan) you will see this screen with a clear call to action prompting you to click “like.” Once you like our page, you’ll have access to exclusive content such as downloadable surprise gifts that you will be able to use over and over. We won’t give too much away here 🙂