Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to an enthusiastic crowd at the monthly networking event “Coffee & Spiels” sponsored by the Colleyville Chamber of Commerce and hosted by DBU Hurst-Colleyville campus. In summarizing my presentation yesterday, here are “5 Ways to Engage & Interact with Your Facebook Fan Page”:
- Magnetic Attraction – your Fan Page is a mini-website in and of itself, but it’s not enough. Linking it to your hub of activity, which is your website, ensures that while you make “touch points” with customers and prospects on your Fan Page, you will find greater success in directing that attraction to your website. Because so many people are immersed in the Facebook culture, it makes sense to, first, draw their attraction to your Fan Page because it operates within the same environment (they don’t have to leave Facebook to connect with you). Then you offer a compelling reason (or multiple reasons) to go out of Facebook to your website.
- Free Billboard Space for You and Your Fans – who couldn’t use a few more ambassadors, evangelists and sales people – and without having to pay them! Because setting up a Fan Page is free, you have no financial barrier in doing so. Facebook is a word of mouth playground – referrals and shout-outs are happening all the time. For the same reason as mentioned above about keeping people engaged without having to leave Facebook, your Fans as well need an outlet to point their friends to that stays within the social networking site. Plus, maximize the shareability (is that a word?) that comes with Facebook. When someone clicks on “Become a Fan” (at least as it is worded now), all of their friends see it in their personal profile feed. Or if you post a link to an article or some photos of an event on your Fan Page (not a status update though), your fans see it in their personal feed with an option to “Share” it on their profile for all their friends to see. All that publicity is free.
- Free Showcase for Your Products and Services – by putting product photos on your Fan Page, or adding videos of you describing your unique services, you are like a brief commercial for all that you have to offer. This is tantalizing and tempting for your fans who will be compelled to “see a larger gallery of work” or “learn more about the details of this service” on your website.
- Get Your Fans to Do Something Besides Just Become a Fan – so what that someone clicks on the “Become a Fan” button when their first come to your Fan Page? Once they do that, they are most likely directed to the Wall tab, and then left to fend for themselves on how much investigating they do on your Page (hint: most people just click away because they are not that motivated to do the tour unless guided!) Don’t settle for DEFAULT – differentiate your Fan Page by directing your customers and fans to specific places on your Page. When we customize our clients’ Fan Pages, we encourage them to have a unique “Welcome” tab that also encourages the new fan to do more than just “Become a Fan” – they could watch a video, download a free report, donate, or link to your main website (see our gallery for examples of what I’m talking about)
- Participate and Promote Your Fan Page – one more obvious point: make sure that you actually engage with your fans! There’s nothing worse (oops, we’ve been guilty a time or two early on) than when a fan makes a comment on your Page but they are left with no response from you. Creating a Fan Page is like opening up a satellite office – you’ve got to man it or it will appear to be nothing more than a facade. Post regularly to your Wall (but don’t overdo it; your fans may not be as interested as you are). Don’t overly self-promote, either (see my article from last year on how to be less narcissistic on social media). Also be sure and promote your Fan Page with a link on your website and in your email signature.