With Facebook now having more than 500 million users worldwide every business should have a presence there. In this article I am going to tell you how to create your Facebook presence with tips on how to get followers and keep them coming back.
If you want to start the “social networking” adventure you need first to create a page. Pages were previously known as Fan pages and users had to be fans of a certain product or service or business. Facebook renamed Fan Pages to just “Pages” and users can now “like” the page instead of becoming a fan.
Create a Facebook Page
In order to create a page click on “Ads and Pages” currently in the left sidebar, then click on the “+ Create Page” button.
You can create a Facebook page for a company, or for a specific brand or product offered by the business. You can also set up a page for an artist, band, or public figure, or use a page to promote a cause.
Select the type of page and give it a name. Check the box indicating that you have the authority to represent the person, business, brand, or product you are setting a page up for, click on “Create Official Page”, and you’re done.
Now you need to configure and customize your page. Add a logo or photo or even a long banner, and basic information about the business, product, or brand you want to promote.
Get people to like your Page
The next step is to get other Facebook users to “like” your page and start to build an audience. You can start first by inviting all of your Facebook friends to “like” your new page but this isn’t enough since your friends are probably already familiar with your company and what you do. Another method is to use the Facebook widgets (like the fan box) and include them on your website or your blog to promote your page on Facebook. You can also send emails with links to the page to people subscribed to your newsletter or following your blog and invite them to join your page on. You can add also the link to the Facebook page to your e-mail signature. If you have a budget you can purchase a Facebook ad to promote the existence of the page as well.
Feed Page with content
After creating your page and getting people to like it now you should get them visit the page and interact with your posts. You want to provide a reason for people to revisit your page and see what is new by adding content frequently (at least daily). Posting valuable content to your page is also very important: visitors will visit your page daily to get valuable content that they won’t find elsewhere; they wouldn’t visit to see only sales pitches. You shouldn’t be marketing your products and services all the time but talk about them when relevant.
You can post news or stories related to your business. You can also use the Facebook page to provide tips, tricks, or information content. Ask questions and try to get comments and feedback from the members, this will create a virtual community for your business.
If you have a twitter account for your business it will be a good idea to connect your Facebook page to that account. You can do it easily by visiting the following page http://www.facebook.com/twitter/ . By doing so you will have posts on your page automatically tweeted for your twitter followers
Facebook represents a huge opportunity to market your business and promote your products and services. Make sure you take advantage of the massive audience it has to offer.
Do you have already a Facebook Page already? This is an opportunity for you to share with us its address and your experience with social media marketing.