Facebook is a tremendous marketing opportunity for solo entrepreneurs, and Facebook Fan Pages take that opportunity to a whole new level.
A fan page on Facebook is like a mini-site for your business. It’s different from a Facebook profile, which represents you as a person while your fan page represents your business.
There are many reasons for creating a Facebook Page. It’s a great way to communicate with your target market, and create a sense of community. You can use your Facebook Page to post updates, add videos, and promote events. And it’s a real SEO boost, as Facebook is the second most popular site on the Web.A Fan Page can be found by search engines (unlike a profile), and when someone joins a Fan Page, it’s published in their newsfeed for all their friends to see.
Once you have your Facebook Fan Page in place, it’s time to start promoting it. Here are some ways to promote your Facebook Page.
1. Invite your friends and contacts. Let your friends on Facebook know about your Fan Page and invite them to join. You can also send an email to your friends and your opt-in list inviting them to join your Page. Also, include an invitation to join your Page in your email signature file.
2. Leverage Twitter. Tweet about your Facebook Page. You can also link your Page to your Twitter account by simply clicking this link. That will allow you to share status updates, links and events with your Twitter followers directly from your Facebook Page.
3. Put a Button on your blog. You can create a Facebook Fan Page button and put it on your website or blog. The Facebook Fan Box Widget easily allows you to add a button to your blog or website.
4. Keep your Page fresh. Keep the content fresh and relevant for your target market. Provide incentives to visit your page in the form of valuable content and thoughtful discussions.
5. Create a sense of community. The discussion area is a great way for Fans to network with one another and create a sense of community. Start a thread on your Discussion Board that allows your Fans to promote their sites or share Twitter IDs.
6. Interact with your Fans. When someone new becomes a Fan of your Page, you can send them a message to say hello. If they use Twitter, you can follow them there. And when they leave a comment on your Page, write a comment on their wall.
7. Create an incentive to join. Give people a reason to join your Page. For instance, you can hold a contest and offer a prize to the Fan who contributes the best discussion question or video. Prizes might include a free product or service, or perhaps free admission to a paid event in which you are participating.
8. Use Facebook ads. Facebook’s advertising program allows you to promote your Page to a very targeted audience. And since you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, it’s actually quite inexpensive.
Do you have other ideas on how to promote your Facebook Page? Please add your comments below for all to see! And be sure to visit my Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/groups/marketingwithheart If you liked this post, I’d love it if you would help me spread the word by clicking on the Facebook and/or Twitter icons above. Thank you!
Hi Cindy, I love your articles. They are really helpful and well written.
Here are some more details you could write about: HOW do you let your friends on Facebook know about your Fan Page and invite them to join? The friends from your profile page? How do they find your Fan page? With a link? You said, “You can also send an email to your friends and your opt-in list inviting them to join your Page”. Again, how do they find your fan page.
Thanks, you obviously have this DOWN!
Thank you Nina – I really appreciate that.
You ask some great questions. The easiest way to find your page is to go to the search bar at the top and type in your name (or the name of the Facebook Page you created) and you will see it appear in the dropdown menu. By the way, I just joined your Page. You have well over 25 fans, so you can now get a custom URL. To do that, just go to http://www.facebook.com/username
You can use that link in your email signature. You can also create a profile badge that you can put on your blog or site. And you can send out a message to all the friends on your Facebook profile. To do that, look on the top left hand side of your Facebook Page and you will see a link for “suggest to friends”.
I hope that helps. Thanks Nina!
Cindy
I was on the Renegade webinar with your power point slides and I thought you did a fabulous job. Really clearly presented and full of informative value. As a business coach, how do you think I would benefit from joining Renegade U?
Thanks !!! Nina Cherry
Hi Nina – thank you! I really appreciate that. To answer your question, Renegade Professional provides click-by-click video training to help you market your business online. Everything from social media to article marketing, video marketing, bookmarking, SEO, creating information products, blogging, lead capture pages, autoresponders…. the list goes on and on.
It also provides a community of support where you can learn from other members. I have formed valuable friendships and joint venture partnerships through the Renegade Community.
Here is a a great resource for you to learn more about Renegade.
Keep in mind that it’s a monthly membership so you can try it and see how you like it without making any big commitment.
I hope that helps. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any further questions.
Warm wishes,
Cindy
Thanks, Cindy!
This article is just what the doctor ordered!
That’s great Leni. I remember seeing your question on the Coaching Yahoo group. I’m glad that helps:)
Excellent article i am sure that i will come back here soon
I like your site design. What template did you use ?
Thanks Bingo – I used the Thesis template.
Just have bookmarked your website, and waiting for the next interesting post
Great website , love the template. Seriously considering migrating to this blog platform now!
Good work, keep us posting, you are good writer.