What it is
A Facebook networking ladder is a tool for those who have facebook pages. Essentially it's a like per like exchange. We are all business people, and know how hard it can be to build a following. Exchanging like per like is a fast way to grow your fan count...but that's not all you are doing.
It is the first step in building a network referral engine for your company or organization. Connecting! From there you can build relationships. Then you can start exchanging referrals with each other to build your business!
How to do it
My first hosted ladder will be on my page "Whimsical Mai' but for example purposes, I used another page in my possession: all about playgroups.
Step One
Find the host page.
Go to the host page, and be sure to like it, so you can participate in the ladder.
Step Two
Find the Ladder, and share it.
Find the actual Ladder. It will be a post by the host (All About Playgroups, in this case) on their timeline. It will be titled, and list the rules/steps to participate.
Now here's a few notes.: Most ladders require you to network from your personal profile- this is the place facebook takes you when you are first signed in, and there are good reasons why.. see FAQs.
Also, most networking ladders ask that you share the ladder some insist your share it on your personal profile, while others insist you share it on your fanpage wall. I forgot to include this on the rules for the example.. but in all honesty, I don't care which one you share it on. But for arguments sake, if you are participating in the networking ladder on July 25th, please share it on whichever has more local spokane people on it. Why? Because we are trying to reach local business owners to continue growing our network. The fact is, you may not realize how many of your friends or fans have a fanpage of their own. I still find myself finding out this friend or that friend of mine has their own side business. Others have a non-profit or a cause with a fanpage.You just never know who could benefit from networking.
To share it via your facebook fan page through your personal profile. Click 'share'. A pop up box will appear. In the upper left corner, there will be a drop box "On your timeline" or "On your wall". Click on the box for the drop down menu, and you should find "On your page". Then it will prompt you to select your page, if you have more than one. Do so by typing in the name of your page, and then share! Thank you for helping our ladder grow! :0)
Step Three
Tag Your Business
Just as you would tag a friend, tag your business at the bottom of the ladder post, where you can comment. This can be accomplished by typing an @ symbol and then your page's name. A pop up box should appear and you can click on the page you are tagging. The link should highlight in blue.
It is helpful, when you tag your page, to write you number of fans beside your tag. This way you can see how many new fans you gained in 24 hours.
Like the other pages listed on the comment thread.
It's really easy, but if you miss this tip, it will take forever to like all the pages.
Simply hover your cursor over each blue link. A pop up box will appear. If you have already liked the page it will say "Liked" in the bottom right corner. If you haven't liked the page yet, it will say "like". Click on it, and then move on to the next one.
Step Five
Come back tomorrow
After 24 hours, no more comments will be accepted. but our work is not done yet! we still have to come back and finish liking the pages that came after us-- it's only fair...they liked you! :0)
You're done!
Well, you're done with the ladder, but now the real work begins! Start networking. Comment on other business fanpage posts. REALLY be interested their business, and be sincere. This will get the attention returned, and hopefully; referrals!
Still have questions? Here is come FAQ
Why do I have to use my personal profile to network?
There are a couple of reasons. The main reason is we want you to see the number of your fanpage increase. If everyone liked you in their fanpage mode, they would not show up in your fan count. So this way it's easy for you to see, and us to monitor. Another reason is it gives you a double connection. We are not always in our fanpage mode, so we might miss posts from our network businesses if we didn't have a second connection. Other businesses might not see your posts, as well.
Can I do this on my smartphone?
Sadly, facebook has not granted fanpage tagging capabilities from smartphones yet. Also, the pop up boxes will not appear, and some smartphones do not allow you to share statuses. However, you can still participate, just kindly ask admin to tag your page. Then go to each link one by one, like the page, and then go back. It takes much longer this way, but it's your prerogative to do so.
I only gained "X" likes!! There were many people participating, shouldn't I have more?
Several things could be happening here. First, if it has not been 24 hours, the people at the top of the thread may not have come back to finish liking the latecomers. So please give it 24 hours. Second, it may be that many of these participants were already 'fans'. This is something that commonly happens when a ladder is routine, or you are a strong networker already. I will do my best to make sure everyone is being honest and returning the likes, but for the most part, that usually isn't the problem.
Do I really have to like all the pages?
Please do. Remember this is about networking, not 'likeability'. I do understand that there are some pages that you absolutely cannot follow for personal reasons, so I've asked that each participant like 99% of the other pages. We want this to be fair for you, and everyone else.
If you are a local Spokane area business. THANK YOU. Thank you for reading this, thank you for participating, and thank you for your support. Please share the event with businesses owners you know so we can be even more successful. Looking forward to networking with you!
