So you amassed a ton of fans (or likes) on Facebook? That’s a goal of many companies. Congrats. Now you’re wondering why those fans are not driving profits for your business. You had the right strategy to get fans, you just aren’t quite sure what to do with them.

Here are five reasons they might not be buying:

  1. You don’t sell to them. Don’t assume that these fans will magically visit your website and purchase something. Message them with links to new products. Create offers specifically for Facebook fans. You’re not done marketing to them just because they decided to like you.
  2. All you do is sell to them. This will turn any group off. Social media is a great tool to communicate with consumers. But if it’s a one way communication, where all you do is blast them with sales and calls to action, you may be creating angry fans.
  3. You’re not involved in the community. Like reason #2 above, if you’re not active in the community, you’re less likely to attract customers from it. People may be asking questions and expecting a response. When you don’t respond or comment, you’re seen as an absent brand. And an absent brand is not necessarily one you want to do business with.
  4. You got them by some other means. Too often a strategy to get fans only works to get fans, but does nothing to ensure that these are the “right” fans. Maybe they liked your page because you offered them something, or you were giving something away. It’s easy for anyone to go around liking pages just to get freebies, and it doesn’t mean they ever planned on purchasing from you.
  5. They’re not really your FANS. Like reason #4 above, some “fans” of your page are not really fans. They may have liked the page long ago but your messages have been removed or filtered from their news feed. In other words, their name is on your list but they will never hear from you. The number of likes you have is just that, a number.

As always, if you have your own tips, please include them in the comments below.