5 ways to Facebook Your Business

First off...

I'm not a fan of Facebook.

I don't agree with this article from Drew.

I am on Facebook, but I use it as a communication tool, not as a business site.

I am also on Twitter and LinkedIn as communication tools.

I believe that you should really have your own website or blog, and then post links to your site on Facebook.

As a matter of fact, one of these days I will be doing a local presentation called Beyond Facebook, Creating a Brand on Social Media.

But for those who wish to just use Facebook, here are tips from Drew:

5 ways to build a sticky Facebook fan page

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 09:33 AM PDT

… The McLellan Marketing Group’s page

With well over 600 million people on Facebook, it’s no wonder that businesses are flocking there to create a fan page for their organization. But what should that page contain? How should you use it to connect with your customers?

Here are 5 tips for creating a Facebook page that people won’t ignore.

Connected: Be sure you use your Facebook page as a launching point for learning more about your product or service. Link it to your website, a testimonials page or a third-party site that sells your product.

Good example: Ace Hardware offers us special FB discounts, links to their retail locations and you can even view your own local ad flier.

Be the resource: Know your audience well enough to anticipate what else they might want to know. If you sell business training, link to other HR and employee related sites or tools. Think beyond what you specifically sell and build a more well rounded resource center.

Good example: Arbor Springs shares their expertise in dementia by offering a free ebook and other links to resources valuable to families facing this disease. (disclosure — they’re a client and we built the page)

Let them talk: Don’t make the mistake of treating your Facebook page like a one way broadcast tool. One of the best elements of Facebook is that you can actually talk to your customers and prospects. Don’t turn off their ability to comment on your page.

Good example: Check out the questions we get asked on our FB fan page. We might start the question/discussion but sometimes people pop on and ask us something out of the blue. We love that. (disclosure…duh, it’s us)

Let the games begin: No matter how old we are chronologically, we like to play games. One great way to get Facebook page fans or to get them to keep coming back is to create contests and games that hook your audience and keep them coming back for more. Or, have a regular contest –like a weekly trivia game.

Good example: Northwest Savings Bank offers contests and giveaways to their customers.

Serve with a smile: Use your Facebook page as your customer service portal. Let customers ask questions, post problems or give you feedback about your product or service.

Good example: Check out how Scrapbooking for Less customers ask questions about products and classes.

Facebook is a very powerful tool. But just jumping on board and slapping up a page without a strategy will leave you and your page getting chilled from a lack of attention.

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