Asking questions on Facebook is a great way to get followers involved.
Make your questions easy, something that everyone can relate to and has an opinion on. Be specific.
Born Again asked several different questions recently:
* What’s one thing for your household that you absolutely will not scrimp on because it just doesn’t pay to buy the generic?
* What are you doing to make your budget work (besides shopping resale)? Share your best tip!
You can give a prize, but you don’t have to.
Selective Seconds used a “fill in the blank” format:
Last chance to win! Fill in the blank… My favorite thing about Selective Seconds is _____________. We will randomly draw two entries for $10 giftcertificates later today!
A home furnishings shop gave away a %-off coupon for the person who guessed closest to the asking price of a spectacular hutch.
Of course, you don’t have to use Facebook.
I asked Tell us your favorite outfit of all time on my blog a while back and got over 2 dozen replies… have fun reading the replies and imagining yours!
If you make your question a little offbeat, amusing, even shocking, you can increase word-of-mouth and visibility for your business. How about something controversial (Are New Jersey drivers the worst, or those New Yorkers?) or strongly opinion-oriented (What’s the worst flavor of ice-cream you ever tasted and where were you when you tasted it?)?
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
[…] Yes. Participate in conversations in a gracious and professional way. You’ve all seen my not-no-Little-Miss-Sunshine posts on bad conversations. Like the shop which posts a curt “No” when her customers, folks who are already inclined to shop there, ask a question. I’d love to see resalers develop answers like this one. Heck, prepare them ahead of time when you’re feeling all warm and cuddly, so when your last nerve is fraying… no one would guess. Nothing much to say? Start a conversation. […]
[…] Ask questions on Facebook to get them involved […]
I’ve tried this on both Facebook & Twitter & received a mixed bag of responses on Facebook. On Twitter nothing. We are still working on our Twitter following so I wasn’t too surprised by not getting any responses there.
I’m not convinced, Lourdes, that our marketplace completely “gets” Twitter…. but then, I am not sure I do either… doesn’t seem to be the ideal place to get a conversation going. Twitter seems very one-way to me. FB is friendlier in that respect, if the participants can understand who is “eavesdropping” on them and how their transactions disappear into the ether awfully quickly.