Two common questions from small business owners when it comes to Facebook are: 1) is there a way I can separate my personal information from my professional and 2) what is the best way bring attention to my business and engage others?
You can cover both by having a Facebook “Fan Page.”
A Fan Page is just a public profile that allows you to share information about your services or products with other Facebook users.
What are the biggest benefits of having a Fan Page?
Driving Traffic. Most of the information on Facebook requires a login for you to access it. However, Pages are public and therefore visible to the search engines. This means people are able to find your business listed, and it is likely to be ranked highly because Facebook itself is. Because of this, you should use relevant keywords in your Page title as well. For example, the title of Facebook expert Mari Smith’s Page is Mari Smith – Relationship and Buzz Marketing Specialist.
Of course, once people visit your Page, they will also have a way to click through to your main website which you will have listed.
Promoting Discussion. Pages are excellent for communicating with potential clients and customers. You now have an opportunity to watch, listen and provide answers and solutions when needed. People will notice when you take time to help others and add to the discussions. Send updates periodically and focus on building relationships and being a part of the conversation.
Spreading Awareness. By using the wall for discussions, adding pictures, importing your blog posts, providing links and more, you are making it very convenient to connect with you. This will help turn people into fans as well as encourage others to come visit your Page and interact with you. When others become fans it will show in their mini-feed as well as on their profile. When your fans interact with your Page, this activity is visible to their friends via the News Feed. This is great for word-of-mouth and for exposing your business to an ever-increasing circle of Facebook users.
Some Tips:
*To access your Page from your personal profile, click on “Applications” at the bottom left and click “Ads and Pages.”
*You will need to click on the link that says “publish this page” in order for your page to become public. This is nice–you can have your Page set up and complete before you start to promote it.
*By clicking “Edit Page” you can add applications such as reviews, events, discussion boards and more.
*People can become “fans” of your Page. Click the link that says “suggest to friends” under your picture to encourage this. Also, if you click on “Share” on the left side under “create a page” then you can post a message about your Page to your personal profile or send a message to your friends.
If you have a business, have you created a Page yet? What questions do you have about them?
(Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for my free social media e-course.)
