So you've decided on the type of Facebook
fan page you want and have set it up. Now you need people to notice it. Creating
a large and active community for your Facebook page isn't an easy task and
usually takes quite a while to build. Here's a few tips to get people to notice
your page:
- Personalise
your page for a professional look. Add a Timeline
cover image, make sure your description is filled out in the 'About'
box and add page tabs with personalised images.
- Post
everyday if you can.
- Post content
that is likely to go viral. The more people share your posts the more
people will find out about your page. Images are content gold! Post some
pictures for high impact. Quotes tend to go down well too. Just make sure
you stay on topic. All content must be relevant to the page.
- Share the
page link everywhere you can. Post it to your website and other social
media profiles encouraging people to drop by.
- Interlink
your social media profiles. If you have a blog, set it to automatically
post to your page and then link your page to your twitter account so it
posts there too. If your twitter account is also feed to other networks
like LinkedIn, Myspace etc... each one then feeds back to the others
helping increase traffic. This one thing saves loads of time as you just
need to update your blog for it to post to all your accounts.
- Use the'
invite' feature to let your contacts know about your page and ask for a
like.
- Interact
with people on your page. Encourage them to post to your wall and ask
questions.
- Highlight a
fan of the week to show appreciation to active page users.
How are you getting people
to notice your Facebook Page?
Probably the most overlooked way to drive traffic from Facebook to your
website is to link to your website or blog in the "About" box on your
Facebook page.
In the
"About" box on the top left-hand side of your Facebook page you can
add a short, one or two line description. Space is limited and a lot of people
make the mistake of either not including a link or adding it after their
description (so that it’s buried, and visible only to fans who click
“more”).
With the new Timeline cover you have plenty of space to show what your page/business is about. You can also add a description to the "info" section of your page.
For best results keep the information in this valuable area simple, short and to-the-point. A quick call-to-action will suffice, like “Visit us at LINK” or “Get more great tips at LINK.”
Facebook is going through some big changes. You can now express yourself with a big banner behind your profile picture. Facebook call it 'Timeline cover'.
Timeline has been available for profiles for a while now but as of today it is now also available for pages. Pages will officially move over to the Timeline format on 30th March but you can get ahead of the masses and personalize yours now (I've already started editing the Writers and Authors page).
If you want to get creative with your page there are several online gadgets that can help. My favorite is Timeline Cover Maker.
The editor features are: No visible watermark on the final image (others have this and it doesn't look as good and distracts from your design), you can blend your profile picture seamlessly with your timeline cover background, you can draw or add text and you can add tons of graphics or emoticons.
When setting up your Timeline Cover art be careful to stick to the rules. No mention of your website URL or calls to action. Not to worry though. You can include your website information under 'About' and pin a call to action to the top of your page.
Have you experimented with Timeline yet? What do you think about the new format?
