26 Things You Should Be Doing On Your Facebook Business Page

Facebook has more than 350 million users. It also features more than 1.4 million business pages. And, according to Facebook, about 10-million people become “fans” of these business pages each day!

So y0u’ve heard that EVERYONE was doing it…and you set up your own Facebook page for your business or organization. Now what? Here are 26 things you should be doing with your page:

1. Use it! – Perhaps that seems obvious, but a quick survey of Facebook business pages shows that a lot of companies, large and small, believe that creating the page is all they need to do. You might as well just create another static website. Do something with it. Update it every day, even if it’s just a status change.
2. Engage – Find ways to get your “fans” talking. And when they comment, you should respond as quickly as you can. Ask questions. Thank them. Find incentives for getting them to comment on your page. Open up a real dialogue so that they know there’s a real person on the other side. And this is very important: on your Wall settings, make sure you have it set up so that comments from you and your fans show up on the same wall. And don’t ever turn fan comments off. Otherwise you have no reason to even have a fan page. There is also a built in “discussion boards” tab you can use like an online forum.
3. Be personal and informal – Your Facebook page is not your website. It isn’t ad copy. When you post updates, write the way you speak. You don’t want to be sloppy, but be conversational. Speak to your fans in the same way you would in person.
4. Be transparent – Let your fans know what is going on. If you can’t answer a question, there is nothing wrong with saying, “I don’t know, but let me find out for you.” Let your fans feel like they are insiders, as if perhaps they might be the first to get important information that they can share with their friends.
5. Share it – Find and use both the “share” and “suggest to friends” function. Have all of your employees do the same. This allows you to tap into the viral nature of Facebook. And as you build your fan base, encourage your fans to spread the word for you.
6. Integrate – Your Facebook page doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It should be part of your overall marketing plan. Your page should direct people to your other online properties: website, Twitter, blog, etc. While Facebook tends to be more informal and conversational, the messaging should be the same.
7. Link – As with integration, link them all together. Use the customizable Facebook Fan box widget on your website. If you write a new blog entry, use the Networked Blogs app to have it automatically posted to your page. People can even subscribe to your blog via Facebook. You can even link your Facebook posts to your Twitter account. It’s all very simple and helps you save time, while maximizing effort.
8. Events – Create Facebook events and don’t forget to “invite” people, and have your “fans” do the same. These can be for “in real life” events or online events.
9. Notes – Use the “Notes” function to get information out to your fans. The beauty of notes is that they have a built in “share” function, allowing your fans to share the info with others. Again, think viral.
10. Updates – Facebook has somewhat neutered these because most of the time you don’t even know when you get an “update,” but feel free to use them anyway. At least some of your fans will see them. Though it is probably best not to use an “update” for highly time-sensitive material.
11. Multimedia – Create and post videos and photos. These are great ways to draw people in. If you already have a YouTube channel and Flickr account, great. You can tie them in. But if not, post them directly to Facebook. Oh, and as best as possible, “tag” people in the photos and videos to the best of your ability. This is just one more way of notifying people that they should come take a look.
12. Encourage participation – Set your privacy settings so that your fans can add links, photos, and videos. Encourage them to upload their own user-generated content related to your business, product, or industry. Maybe have them submit photos of themselves wearing your t-shirt or holding your product at various places around the world. Sure there is a bit of a risk here, but I think you should start with openness, and then pull back a bit if people start abusing the privilege.
13. Provide real information – Don’t just print one or two sentences of fluff. Attach links to articles that relate to you, your business, and your industry. If you’re a realtor, post articles from newspapers and online sources about local, statewide, or national trends in home-buying. Perhaps articles about mortgage rates. Even articles or blog posts from industry related publications. If it interests you, it very well interest your fans.
14. Contests and Promotions – Facebook recently clarified some rather strict rules about what you can and cannot do in terms of contests and promotions on Facebook. But, if you have the time and budget, there are still ways to do some rather effective contests.
15. Experiment – The beauty of a Facebook page is that you can play around and change things much more quickly than you can on a website. Try different things with the layout and settings. You probably don’t want to make any drastic layout changes because too much change can be disconcerting. And be willing to try different approaches to online marketing. If something doesn’t work, move on to something else. In most cases you have nothing to lose.
16. Support a Cause – Do you have a favorite non-profit cause that your business supports? Maybe you’re page is for a non-profit cause. Add the Causes app to your page and you can enlist support for the cause and even take donations on their behalf. Not only will you be helping someone out, but this can also help build good will.
17. Have Goals – Don’t just create a Facebook page for the sake of having one. Have clear and realistic goals as to what you are trying to accomplish. Are you trying to drive traffic to your website? Introduce new products? You can have multiple goals…just have them.
18. Check Insights – Did you know that your page gives you statistics? Use them to see who is coming to your page and how they are interacting with it. Especially keep an eye on spikes in new and removed fans. This will give you an idea of what is working…and what isn’t!
19. Collaborate – Are there any other interesting fan pages out there that would be of interest to your fans? Add them to your “Favorite Pages” section. Perhaps they are from your community, or industry. This is a great way to share the love. And get involved in communities other than your own.
20. Special Offers – Why not create a tab with printable coupons just for your Facebook fans? This is a great way to build traffic, a fan base, and loyalty. Facebook-only offers also give you another type of measurement specific to social media.
21. FBML – This is Facebook’s version of HTML. You can use it to create new tabs that look more like traditional web-sites. I’m not completely sold on this yet because I’m not sure Facebook users want Facebook pages to look like anything other than Facebook. But, it allows you the chance to be creative.
22. Use applications – Click on the “Edit Page” function and nose around a bit. There are a lot of features there, and new ones are being added all the time. And there are thousands of interesting apps you can add to your page. Polls, games, and more. See what works for you. One word of caution: not too many! Part of the beauty of Facebook is its “clean” look. You don’t want too much clutter.
23. Get your URL – When you create a Facebook page you are assigned a long and ugly URL that isn’t user friendly at all. Once you hit 100 fans (I believe that’s the current number) you can get the URL of your choice. Go to Facebook’s username page, click on “Set a username for your page” and you get to choose a short and easy username, such as the name of your business.
24. Buy an Ad – You know those little ads in the upper right hand corner when you first log in to Facebook? You can do that for your page rather inexpensively. The “Promote with an Ad” function is easy to use, and you can create a highly targeted ad which won’t cost you much. You control everything!
25. Go Mobile – Don’t be tied to your computer. You can publish status updates, photos, and videos to your page from your cell phone while you’re on the road. This is especially handy if you are at a business or industry event, or somewhere of interest to your fans.
26. Promote it – Promote not just online, but elsewhere. Do you create print material? Use a Facebook badge along with the URL to your page on business cards, brochures, print ads, etc. to let your customers know they can find you on Facebook. Every little thing you can do to spread the word helps. Perhaps even a sign in your store or office. Add the words “Find us on Facebook” to your radio and TV ad copy. Just make sure you follow Facebook’s Promotion Guidelines.

Don’t be overwhelmed. Pick a few to try and keep building. No need to rush and implement all of them today. And feel free to check out my Facebook page for Inkling Media. Still in the growth stages, but I try to do all of the above in some way, shape, or form.

Are there any other tips you have that we would find useful?

Tagged as: facebook, Marketing, Social Media