by Loic Jeanjean
Facebook continues to establish itself as a valuable business platform. If you're stuck in the mindset that Facebook can only be used as a social mechanism to connect with friends, it may be time to reconsider. Advisers increasingly understand the business value of Facebook and are using the social networking site to achieve their goals. Chances are you can benefit from it, too.
If you haven't listed your organization on Facebook and created a business page (also called a fan page), here are a few facts that might make you reconsider:
- 750 million people are now members of Facebook. Never in history have so many people joined one website.
- More than 146 million Americans use Facebook. That's 71.2 percent of the U.S. Internet user population.
- 830,000 new people join every day. To put things in perspective, imagine every single man, woman and child in San Francisco joining Facebook each day. This is a significant number.
- More than 1.5 million organizations have a business page.
- Every day, 20 million people become fans of Facebook business pages. They tie their personal identity and online affinity to a brand; that's powerful.
After you have a business page, you are probably wondering how you can attract more "fans" without spamming your contacts. Here are five tips to increase your Facebook fan base:
1. Add a Call to Action
Facebook provides multiple social plugins to allow people to share your content across the web, show that they like your business page or simply leave comments. View a list of these applications on Facebook's developers website (developers.facebook.com/plugins). They are free to use, simple to implement and well recognized in the online community.
Once you've selected the plugin(s) you wish to use, add it to your website (in the footer or on secondary pages), to your blog (at the beginning or the end of every post) and to your email signature (add a simple link to your business page).
I recommend you add a title or a brief description encouraging people to click the "Like" button above the plugin box. For example: "Follow our team on Facebook" or "Join our Facebook community."
2. Invite Your Newsletter Subscribers
It is also a good idea to send an invitation to all your subscribers-clients and prospects who opted to receive your marketing messages-encouraging them to join your Facebook business page. Briefly explain what they can expect to see and read on your page and maybe provide a little incentive.
Because you will be sending the invite by email or as part of your newsletter, it's a good idea to use a cool-looking graphic instead of the usual plain text link. Ask your creative team to design a small yet attractive badge. If you don't have access to a designer, SociableBlog.com has a few graphics that are free to use (www.twitterbuttons.sociableblog.com/facebook-badges.html).
3. Add a Welcome Video
People are really receptive to video, and it is a good idea to create a compelling welcome video to add to your business page. You can create a custom landing page (also called a canvas page) where you can upload the video and explain what the business page is all about to your visitors.
The beauty of Facebook videos is that they are extremely easy to embed on your website or blog and can be easily shared across the web by your fans, allowing you and your visitors to spread your message to thousands of prospects. A good example can be seen on the Financial Social Media's Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/FSMfanpage.
These landing pages can be tricky to implement, so enlist the help of your marketing person to set up your new welcome page.
4. Use Facebook Ads
Facebook allows users to create small ad campaigns to help boost fan count. The ad campaigns can be extremely well targeted and very simple to implement. A set of analytical tools is provided to all advertisers to allow them to measure their campaign performance and track ROI.
Look for the "advertising" link at the bottom of your Facebook page to get started. An intuitive wizard will give you a great idea of how big your Facebook users target market actually is. After your campaign is created, it will be displayed on the targeted users' pages. From there, they can simply click on your ad and become a fan. To learn more about Facebook ads, search for articles by Amy McIlwain on Advisor Websites' blog (advisorwebsites.com/blog).
5. Incorporate Into Your Marketing Materials
Lastly, don't forget to add your Facebook page on every print marketing material you use in your business. For instance, you could include your Facebook business page URL on your business cards, letterhead, print newsletters, brochures and magazine/newspaper ads. When you meet clients and prospects and give them your business card, mention your Facebook page and offer a 15-second elevator speech on why they should become a fan.
Loic Jeanjean is the director of web marketing and sales at Advisor Websites(www.advisorwebsites.com). Connect with Loic on Twitter @jjloic or email him at loic@advisorwebsites.com.
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