Not using Facebook for business yet? Wondering where to start? Already on Facebook, but not sure if youve done everything right? Well look no further. Bookmark this article. It will be your comprehensive guide to using Facebook.
By the way, youre not alone. There are still many business owners and marketers who dont quite know where to startthey struggle to gain momentum and achieve measurable results from their efforts.
To get a sense of whats possible for your own Facebook page, look at a variety of examples in your own industry and related industries. Here is Facebooks own Directory of Pages; see also this fun site called Facebakers.
And, here is a great slidedeck with ten examples of business-to-business Facebook pages: 10 examples of B2B Facebook pages
First, be clear on what your primary purpose is for your Facebook page. Examples include raising brand awareness, enhancing customer service, building your email list, driving traffic back to your blog, building community, etc. You may have multiple objectives, and thats fine; be sure to prioritize your objectives. Mike Stelzner and the team at Social Media Examiner have a great editorial guide for their Facebook page; you can view an excerpt in this post. [/one_third] [one_third]
Once youre clear on the objective(s) of your Facebook page, the design needs to reflect that. Say your primary objective is to build your email list. Youll need to feature at least one opt-in box. For instructions on how to add custom content to your page, see this post. Go to Social Media Examiners Facebook Page to see a sample opt-in box.
Ideally, youll have an editorial guide which includes a plan for publishing a mix of updates, photos, videos, and links. For a sample content matrix, see this Google doc. Use a platform like HootSuite to pre-schedule your content. Depending on the nature of your business and your overall objective, for the most part, its best to publish a mix of your own content and what I call OPC (other peoples content). Sources of quality OPC include Guy Kawasakis AllTop, Technorati, Listorious (a directory of Twitter Lists), along with your favorite blogs (subscribe in Google Reader or via email). Plus, remember your own Facebook Friend Lists!
Now youve built it and need to ensure they come! There are many ways to promote your Facebook page inside Facebook, outside Facebook and offline. See this post for ideas: 21 Creative Ways To Increase Your Facebook Fanbase.
Now youre starting to gain traction! But youll need to allocate resources to ensure your Facebook page is being monitored and moderatedif not always by you, then by your team. If one of your objectives is to enhance customer service, youll want tobe prompt in responding to fans comments and use a personal, approachable tone. BestBuy does a great job of this. See these two posts for ideas on enhancing engagement: How to Better Engage Facebook Fan Page Fans and 13 Ways to Move Your Facebook Fans to Action.
I usually find the tipping point in social media is between 500-1,000 fans/followers/friends/email subscribers. Youll start to see measurable results with this size group. Youll be building trust and loyalty among your fanbase with consistently good content and reliable responses. Now you must have a strategy in place to convert your fanbase to paying clients or customers. Perhaps youll offer a special event (live or virtual), coupons, discounts and other incentives to give your fans a strong call to action. The bottom line is to let your fans know exactly what you want them to do. And pace your offers. If youre hosting live/virtual events, be sure to also use the Facebook Events feature. See this post for ideas: 10 Tips for Creating Buzz With Facebook Events. [/one_third_last]
By the way, just as soon as you have your first 25 fans, be sure to register your own unique username (sometimes called a vanity URL) for your Facebook page a thttps://facebook.com/username.
Thats it! Thats all you need for now(1) a profile with a strategy and settings youre happy with, plus (2) the makings of a robust, active Facebook page.
I trust this has been of use if youve been a bit stuck on how to really gain traction with your Facebook optimization. Did I miss something? What else would you like to see covered here? Got ideas of your own for whats working well on Facebook? Let us know in the comments below!
Original content from Social Media Examiner