Top Rope Pro Wrestling launched its Facebook page in October. It now has more than 4,700 fans and counting.
(The and counting part is important. Depending on when you read this.)
What does that number mean for the business? Everything. The company’s next show is scheduled for April 13, at this writing still more than two months into the future. And already, Top Rope has sold more than 60 percent of its floor seats and generated $5,000 in revenues.
Without a single bit of mass-media advertising. Without one poster. Tickets aren’t even on sale at ticket locations for another month.
How do we do it?
– Have fun. On a daily basis, we engage our fans in something fun. Sometimes it’s us asking, What wrestling legend would you like to see at our next show? Some of those posts generate comments in the dozens. Others poll fans on which wrestler is going to win one of the already announced matches at the next show. Those tend to get people going back and forth. The genius to that approach is that it gets people talking to us and with us, and in the process gives them a sense of ownership in the company, in terms of who gets booked on the cards that we’re putting together.
– Sell, sell, sell. On a regular basis, we make it a point to add a link to our Buy Tickets page to our posts. As much fun as we want people to have with us on Facebook, ultimately we are still a business, and we need to make money to get to the next day.
– Post regularly. One thing that I hear from clients over and over is that they’re afraid to use Facebook or email newsletters too much. It’s not a goose laying a golden egg. Keep in mind that about 5 percent of your fans see your average Facebook post, and on a good day 10 percent will open up an email newsletter. If you’re only using Facebook and email once a week (or less), you might as well not be using them at all.
– Think timing. For our Augusta Free Press Facebook page, we focus on posting business-focused news blurbs during the day, thinking that our business audience is more engaged to be thinking about web design, graphic design, social media, public relations, etc., during the business day. On the Top Rope Pro Wrestling page, the emphasis is on the evening and night hours, because we’re selling tickets to entertainment events, and we assume that people are thinking about being entertained more outside the business day.
Chris Graham is the president of Augusta Free Press LLC and Top Rope Promotions LLC. Have a question for Chris? Contact him at [email protected].
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