What are some suggestions for creating a Facebook Fan Page for a business that will stand out?
Anyone can create a fan page for their business, what are some of the applications, content and features that turns a fan page into an effective method of engaging customers about your brand?
Good Answers (1)
Howard Y.
Chief of Innovation and Experience at Kokua Technologies
Best Answers in: Web Development (2), Internet Marketing (1), Business Development (1), Blogging (1), E-Commerce (1), Wireless (1)
It isn't so much about the features. Instead it is about the engagement with customers. Many users do not want to install additional applications so if your fan page requires this, it may potentially turn off users.
Post content that your audience wants and can engage with. Be there and respond to questions and feedback from customers. Make sure to balance the number of posts and updates so you don't annoy your audience and send them away.
Finally, if you have created a really great piece of content (video, article, etc.), encourage your audience to share the content to their own networks. Remember that a Fan page isn't about broadcast; it is about stimulating natural conversation.
More Answers (11)
I am managing a couple of fan pages on FB. What seems to have worked for me is not to push the business or products. It's ideal to engage a dialogue with the community. You could discuss solutions for issues that addresses the need of the community & your business and encourage feedback. Also, it would help avoid posting too many posts in a day. When mailing fans, ideal way is to keep it once a month or something as opposed to announcing every bit of news or information. Always, find a reason to get the audience to interact and communicate back on the pages.
Focus on why someone would want to be a "fan" in the first place. Do you have anything worth saying on a regular basis that is of value? Is your expertise unique/special/different? If not, can you make it so? Spend more time solving users problems than your own and always ask "Why should someone spend time on my page vs. some other activity?"
Erica F.
Social Media Optimizer, Publisher at ALC Publishing, President of Yuricon
Best Answers in: Blogging (48), Using LinkedIn (37), Internet Marketing (32), Business Development (20), Web Development (8), Small Business (7), Writing and Editing (6), Advertising (5), Viral Marketing (5), Search Marketing (5), Change Management (5), Professional Networking (5), Staffing and Recruiting (4), Branding (4), Career Management (4), Job Search (3), Mobile Marketing (3), Public Relations (3), Customer Relationship Management (3), Positioning (3), Communication and Public Speaking (3), Compensation and Benefits (2), Work-life Balance (2), Direct Marketing (2), Organizational Development (2), Starting Up (2), Computers and Software (2), Customer Service (1), Facilities Management (1), Purchasing (1), Freelancing and Contracting (1), Mentoring (1), Event Marketing and Promotions (1), Government Contracts (1), Personnel Policies (1), Internationalization and Localization (1), Lead Generation (1), Sales Techniques (1), Business Analytics (1), Labor Relations (1), Planning (1), Derivatives Markets (1), Product Design (1), Professional Books and Resources (1), Professional Organizations (1), Ethics (1), Incorporation (1), E-Commerce (1), Enterprise Software (1), Computer Networking (1), Telecommunications (1)
Talking with the fans. Making them part of the team. No widget can beat that, and few companies have even barely scratched the surface with this basic, cheap, yet immensely powerful technique.
Cheers,
Erica Friedman
Yurikon LLC
Social Media Without Delusion
http://socialoptimized.blogspot.com
http://www.visualcv.com/elfriedman
I follow a podcast by Aliza Sherman "Quick & Dirty tips: The digital marketer". Recently she discussed some ways to trick out your Facebook page to enhance customer interaction. The link to her website is below. Find this episode below the fold entitled "How to enhance your Facebook page" Episode 73, October 8, 2009
Links:
David N.
Social Media Manager at Prime Visibility
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (1), Business Development (1)
I like social RSS if you're using any sort of RSS feeds (specifically blogs). Content wise, it's always good to get your fans engaged. Implement some sort of weekly poll, quiz, or something along those lines to entice people to come back on a repeated basis.
If you're offering some sort of tangible good, a Facebook specific coupon code might also be beneficial when tracking ROI.
Anthony D.
SaaS Account Executive - New York Territory at NexTraq
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (1)
From my experience, video has seen the most dramatic results. Obviously updating important information pertinent to your business. If you become an advisor, the sales will come. Use it more like a educational and personality profile of your business.
John M.
Happy is a choice, professionally and personally.
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (1), Business Development (1)
I recently ran across Safeway's fan page. I was surprised at how engaging it is for being such a large company with so many different locations. What I don't know is how well they are promoting the page via other media channels (I don't live in one of their markets).
Links:
Nicole F.
Digital marketing and media maven, with experience in technology, media, and healthcare industries.
Keep it real, and make it about helping out, informing, or entertaining the FANS. A great resource on an approach to this and other forms of online marketing is Mitch Joel's book Six Pixels of Separation.
Links:
Marcus C.
Experienced in International and Online Marketing, Recently Returned to US after 3 Years Working Abroad
If you'd like, check out our fan page as a sort of case study. We just started a couple of months ago and have been playing with different options to see what works and what doesn't. It's been touch and go but engaging in a conversation with fans of the page seems to be the most important and has really started to show results in the last few weeks.
Links:
Sam B.
Internet Marketing Manager at Dennis Kirk
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (2), Search Marketing (2), Advertising (1), E-Commerce (1)
Remember to make the most of the SEO factor when creating your fan page. A FB fan page is yet another free channel to load with SEO content and help increase your search engine visbility. First off you need to research your industry and competitors to determine the best keywords to optimize for (you may have already done this with your main website). I like to use the Google Keyword selector tool for this (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal). With this list you can lace your FB fan page with optimal content to help increase your visibility online. The same steps can be taken for other networks such as Twitter, YouTube etc etc. Let me know if you have any questions.
