The greatest thing about using a Facebook fanpage for your business is that it’s free. While it shouldn’t be the primary method in which you get your business online (you should still have a regular website), a business fanpage on Facebook can do wonders for traffic and business as well as branding.
It’s a great way to keep in touch and quickly message all your fans while leverage the power of social media to obtain feedback and participate in open discussions about your products, services and the market in which you live and breathe.
Without gilding the lily at all, let’s take a lot at some proven marketing techniques that can be applied to your Facebook fanpage. These tactics will take your page from newbie marketing entrant to Wow in short order.
1. Advertise that you have a page
Kind of common sense, I know. But this is one of those times when “if you build it they will come” doesn’t apply. Search within Facebook is a little different than the traditional Google search. The odds of people randomly liking you are slim. If you want people to know about you then you have to tell them. Use ads and other traditional methods like blog posts, badges, banners and other methods to get your page in front of people.
2. Fire off a direct invitation
Who needs to be subtle. There’s really no reason to be shy. If you want people to like you and become “fans” as they were once called then simply tell people that you’d love for them to join you. Some might consider that to be too pushy, but if you don’t ask then the answer is always “No.”
3. Build your Facebook brand
Your Facebook fanpage is just like everything else you want to bring traffic to or make popular. If you want to spread news then you use all the means available to you. This goes beyond just advertising, however. You need to generate a reason for people to remember you.
4. Share lots of company information
Every Facebook fanpage has an info tab where you can provide additional information. Make sure that is completely filled out, including a company overview, info about products and services, etc. Just don’t settle for filling in the minimum info. Find way to get more creative about the content on your fanpage and go from there.
For example, in your company overview you can list links to specific pages on your website, your newsletter sign-up form, other social media, etc.
5. Create a landing page with a call to action
You can let people land on your Facebook page that’s filled with random posts and comments OR you can direct them to a landing page that gives a clear message about who you are and with you do with a clear call to action.
In the App directory on Facebook, they provide a special app called Static FBML (Facebook Markup Language) that lets you use basic web markup to render pretty much any page you like in a tab.
Install the app, insert your code and adjust your settings so people hit that tab instead of your wall. With a clear call to action, you can double or triple the number of fans you take in.
6. Bold Your Web Address
Your info tab has a spot to post your site link, but you’d be surprised how many people dislike digging for a link. You can make life a lot easier for everyone by posting your link within the image you use for your logo. A company logo is great, but do yourself a favor and plaster a URL into it that’s easy to read. It might not be clickable, but it’s a great way to brand yourself if you have a simple URL.
7. Add plenty of content
The more info and chances for interaction you provide, the better your page will perform. You’ll increase opportunities for educating, entertaining, converting and retaining the customers that access your fan page.
You should make at least one post a day, but up to three would be better. Adjust your settings to open up posting from customers and fans so they can post comments, photos, links and more. Your notes tab has an option to add an RSS feed, which is a great way to integrate your blog posts and the discussion tab can be used to simulate a micro-forum. Remember to engage your followers, they’re there for a reason.
8. Push offers, events, and more
The Static FBML can be used for a lot more than just a standard landing page. With it, you can add pages that give special offers and promotions, contests, rewards, job postings, event announcements and a lot more. Facebook really is an extension of your own site that allows you to operate within social media. You should be using it to leverage the content that’s on that website.
9. Do some “direct marketing”
Facebook groups limit you to 5,000 members (blah, I know) however the Business/Fan page gives you the ability to connect to and communicate with an unlimited number of fans. Direct messages you send show up in their facebook inbox and if they have notifications turned on in their personal email, then they will receive a message stating that they’ve received a new contact from you. Use this feature to draw attention to new posts, announcements, events, changes to your business, etc. Just exercise some common sense and don’t spam people.
10. Solicit email subscribers
A smart marketer has an opt in form on their site for gathering contact info and leads, often by giving away bonus offers with a subscription. Again, using the FBML, you can place that same type of opt-in form and offer on your Facebook fanpage to generate a sidebar signup or standalone tab.
Here we go with Static FBML again. You’ll find it’s the most powerful tool Facebook provides. And if you have an email list, Facebook gives you one more venue for signing up subscribers. Just put the code for your subscription form in FBML to create a tab or sidebar box, or both.
11. Research your competition
If you’re willing to spend time researching your competition everywhere else, then you should do it on Facebook as well. Find out what they’re doing on their Facebook fanpages in order to drive traffic, draw people in, generate buzz and conversation, loyalty, etc. There are some extremely intelligent business people leveraging social media. Learn from them.
Facebook is overflowing with tools for covering a lot of different functions. It’s purpose is to act as a social hub for the web. Tools for sharing videos, blogs, events, polls, starting convos, etc. all make this possible. There are hundreds of ways to interact with your fans through your Facebook fanpage.
Take the time to research what’s available to you and decide what will work best for your own business needs on Facebook.
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Joerg Weishaupt is a 48 year old entrepreneur, software architect, search engine optimization and social media expert. Joerg has been building a lot of profitable Internet businesses since he put his first website online in 1995. He is also one of the founders and partners of Social Media Science LLC, where he launched a content syndication network called SYNND.
Joerg resides in a small, quiet community about 100 miles outside of Munich, Germany. If you ever seek to find him, look for where the cows gather.
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