Develop a Successful Facebook Page
Below is an exceprt of “How to Develop a Successful Facebook Page” written by Mark Ivey for Marketing Profs. The article was orginally written in July of 2009 – and while some of the specifics might be outdated – the overall ideas presented are still relevant. In dealing with small businesses on regular basis, it’s been my experience that a large number of small business owners don’t understand social media marketing. This article will help to give beginners a grasp about why using a Facebook page is important to your company’s virtual identity and how to plan for success using Facebook to market your business.
A summary of the key points to the article is listed below. For a list of resources associated with the article including Facebook’s Step-by-Step Guide , read the entire article at MarketingProfs.com
Keypoints
1. Define Your Audience
Good advice for any marketing project. Be specific about who you are trying to communicate with and determine the things that appeal to them.
2. Create Goals, Objectives & a Strategy For Your Page
Is the goal of your page to drive traffic to your website? If so, is there a specific product or service that you’d like to create awareness about? Should your audience be directed to a specific page on your site? Are you planning on using your Facebook page in conjunction with a blog about your products and services? These are items that should be determined so that your efforts are organized and your response can be measured.
3. Settings
Your Facebook Page’s settings allow you to define how users can interact with your page. Whether they can post on your wall, upload photos, etc. The settings also allow you to determine whether new visitors are taken to a specific “tab” on your page during their first visit. This can be helpful if you’d like to offer new visitors a landing page that resembles you company’s website. Note: In order to create a custom landing tab, you will have to learn about FBML and have some background in web design or graphic design.
4. Create a Compelling Page
Your page’s wall is where you will be posting compelling content. The article explains that this area is vital for creating the potential for a viral response to your messaging. When a user interacts with your wall, there is the potential that this interaction will show up in that user’s News Feed – which is visible to their friends. This is by far the most important aspect of your page. By creating content that your users want to interact with…you’re encouraging them to show their friends that they like. Some of the author’s ideas for rich content include behind the scenes videos of your business, interviews with employees, or even creating a free guide that solves some problem for your prospect.
For a great example of a business providing rich content on their Facebook page, check out Dogfish Head Beer’s Facebook Page.
Without giving too much away – I know…too late – Here’s the first couple paragraphs of the article…
How to Develop a Succesful Facebook Page
By Mark Ivey
Businesses have begun to flock to Facebook Pages in the past year—and no wonder. With a Facebook Page (essentially, a mini website on Facebook), you can post company news, announce events, offer tutorials, highlight videos, conduct polls, and create community with discussion boards.
Facebook Pages are good for building your brand and creating conversations, allowing users to get more deeply connected with your business.
Recent changes to Facebook Pages mean they’re now more like personal profiles, with a real-time news stream and the ability to create your own specialized tabs. Facebook Pages are also searchable from outside Facebook, and they’re easy to set up.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!