10 Steps To Make Your Facebook Fan Page Shine

fblogo At this point it is very clear that you need to run 2 power tools around your branding, your site or business: Twitter and Facebook Fan Pages, but when it comes to the later you have to dig a little deeper to get familiar with the possibilities.

The main difference is that you will be working more on Facebook itself while with Twitter you’re relying mostly on 3rd-party apps. I created a list of 10 steps to help you get some blood pumping into your Fan Page. Here we go:

1. Insights (Your In-House Analytics)

If you are already running a Fan Page, the first step will be to start paying attention to your analytics. Yep, Insights doesn’t include an incredible amount of analysis and reports but it sure provides enough data to get to know your audience a little better. So make that your first stop, see the genders, age groups and other available data before you start designing a strategy. In case you haven’t seen it, it’s located on the left sidebar of your page.

insights

2. Vanity URL

In order to do this you need to first have a minimum of 100 fans. This pretty much takes your URL from http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/socialmouths/180746308742 to http://www.facebook.com/socialmouths. Hurry up if you don’t have your 100 25 fans yet and reserve your username, after all this is only the #2 most popular website in the planet.

3. Big Profile Pic (Banner Style)

There is not much to do with Facebook in terms of customization and don’t get me wrong, this is a good thing or the site could be looking more like MySpace… but that means we have to leverage from any real estate available on the page and that is your profile picture. The width of the image is limited but you can use a vertical image that covers most of the left sidebar.

profilepic

4. Invitations & Bulk Messages

One of the main differences between a Profile and a Fan Page is that you can send bulk messages to all your fans. Also, and one of the first steps you should take is sending an invitation to join to all your friends with the “Suggest To Friends” feature right under the profile picture.

Obviously this a feature that you need to use wisely and be careful not to annoy your audience.

5. Facebook Widgets On Your Blog

So you are promoting your content on your Fan Page, now promote the other way. Bring your Fan Page to your blog or site by adding the Fan Box to encourage visitors to join the page. Facebook provides you with the necessary code to take care of the integration.

Along with the Fan Box, there are many other tools available to make your blog very Facebook friendly.

6. Twitter Integration

You can’t ignore Twitter. Again, both ways, you can now sync your Fan Page to update your Twitter status. The other way will be to bring a Twitter feed into your Fan Page, you can do this with applications that let you do this in a few clicks and add it as tab.

fbtwitter

7. Blog Promotion

You should always post links to the wall but if you are looking into taking it to the next level, add your blog to the tabs. Blogging networks such as NetworkedBlogs or Blogged allow you to integrate a feed and give your fans a little taste of your blog. At the same time, your blog is now part of a network and that can translate in some additional traffic and followers.

blog

8. FBML Landing Page

So this one requires of some coding skills and the installation of the FBML application to be able to integrate, but it is great way to welcome new visitors and turn them into fans. First time visitors usually land on the wall, which really doesn’t say much of what you’re all about. This pretty much allows you to do whatever you want with all the real estate on the content area. If you don’t have the design and coding skills, consider hiring somebody to do it for you, it is definitely not rocket science and it adds a lot of value to your Fan Page.

landingpage

9. Facebook Ads

Those little ads you see on your profile sidebar are a great way to increase your fan base, mostly to kick it off at the beginning. Facebook advertising is really very affordable, you can setup campaigns of any sizes by controlling your budget and they are highly targeted. We usually assume that advertising is expensive, don’t let that scare you and give it a try.

10. Facebook Apps

There are many applications you can integrate to Fan Pages that will help you promote user interaction. Some of them, like the Video app, are already a default on your page, but I suggest you browse through them and you will most likely find something great for your industry or business. Don’t be affraid to test different ones, you can always remove them.

So To Wrap This Up…

If you are an entrepreneur or a blogger, you can’t afford to ignore this power tool. Just like any other social media platforms, you need to be creative and find ways to provide value and engage your tribe.

Having a clear goal of what you want to achieve is always good, then test and adjust.

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  • Wonderful site, valuable resource, you've found a new subscriber in me.

    I came here exploring Twitter, and now needing to make changes at Facebook, you've inspired me and given me the tools.

    Thanks a bunch!
  • Followed this, but still only have around 500 fans. :\ Any programs or anything that can help with this, that anyone knows of?
  • You had said all the tips about facebook fanpage .....

    Use javascript:fs.select_all(); code to invite all of your friends to your fan page :D


    -- Sudharsan @ Technoskillonline
  • Great information that I got from the Artists Helping Artists web site. I made some great changes to my fan page and joined Blogged! Thank you!
  • Ilene
    Every time I try uploading a vertical "skyscraper" image, Facebook tells me that it won't allow it and to post something that is more square shaped. How do I get around this?
  • Ilene
    I understand. That's precisely the problem. I tried a 200x600 image. Then I tried a bit smaller and making it square-r. The last one I tried was 115 x 300. It still doesn't work and tells me the image isn't the right size.
  • I'll be happy to check it out if you want, email me at francisco@socialmouths.com
  • Thanks for the question Ilene, the size for the avatar on a Facebook Page is 200 x 600 pixels, you shouldn't have a problem if you stick with those dimensions.

    Let me know how it goes.
  • Ilene
    Even when posting an image 115x350 it says "Your picture is too tall or too wide. Try to pick something closer to a square."
  • What a FANTASTIC summary! Thank you!
  • Great post Francisco! And great blog! I loved your 20 Social Media Diva's as well...that is how I found your blog. I have subscribed now and am following you on Twitter.
    This blog is a 'must read' for everyone. Keep up the good work Francisco - I appreciate what you do!
    All the Best,
    @KimberlySellnow
  • Thanks a lot Kimberly, just my 2 cents... following you on Twitter now!

    Best,
    Francisco
  • Commenting on other blogs with your facebook page link could also be a way. What do the others say?
  • Hello Arihant, you mean leaving a signature with your link on a comment? Ok, good idea. Thanks for stopping by.
  • Very relevant info. I'm just a beginner in the social media world but I'm learning fast!
    Thank you.
  • Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again.
  • I'm a little late on this - but one thing I'd like to learn how to do is to only reveal a promo code when ppl become fans. Do you know how to do this?
  • Hey Jenny, I'd love to help you but can you elaborate a little, perhaps is better to connect via email: francisco[at]socialmouths.com

    Thanks for stopping by.
  • karinamueller
    Hello Francisco,

    I know I'm quite late with my question but maybe you will find the time to answer it anyway. I'm quite new to the Social Media circus and I just finished creating our first Facebook page.

    I tried to install the Twitter tab to the page and I can not bring it to work.

    Maybe you can help. I would be very grateful.

    This post helped me a lot with the creation of my page. Thanks for that!!!

    Bye
    Karina
  • Hello Karina,

    Thanks for stopping by and for your comments, I will send you an email in a little while.
  • discounttires
    Very helpful. We are just getting started with Facebook.
  • Thank you Todd, I hopes it helps a little...
  • Great article! Shared with other members of the EtsyTwitter Team and our followers, How does one do #3? Thanks!


    http://www.facebook.com/foxygknits
    http://foxygknits.com
    http://foxygknits.etsy.com
  • Thank you Foxy! #3 is very easy, you just need to make your picture 200px width and 600px height and upload it to your fan page exactly as you do with the picture on your personal profile.

    Let me know if you need help, I mean it.
  • StrategicGen
    Francisco, this is an excellent post. The only addition I would add is in the Vanity URL section. If a company does not have 100 fans they can easily use a redirect from their main web URL. For example, we don’t have 100 fans for our Fan Page so we use the following URL – http://www.StrategicGeneration.com/fb

    We also assist clients with the development of their FMBL Landing Page. Our services are on our Fan page and website. http://www.StrategicGeneration.com
    Great Job
    Cheers,
    Nnamdi
  • Thank you Nnamdi, you are right, although that was really the way to go around it when vanity URLs were not available, now with the minimum requirement of 25 fans there's really no need for this.

    Just followed you on Twitter. Happy new year
  • Wow a very helpful post. I am new to blogging and these tips really helped me out. Thanks again
  • Excellent tips. I referenced your article on our blog. www.vitalfire.com
  • Check out some interesting stuff you can do on your Facebook Fan page.
    Steps & code provided.
    Click on "Fan Page Utilities" tab and become a fan to check out the contents of the page.

    If you have seen some interesting features been implemented please do share it with us.

    http://www.facebook.com/webwhispers?v=app_6009294086

  • Ruth - Rutic handmade cuties
    Eexcellent tips!!!
    Thank you

    Happy new year

    Ruth
    rutik.etsy.com
  • Thanks for stopping by Ruth and happy new year to you too.
  • janinelibbey
    Thanks for this great information. I tried to reserve the vanity URL of our fan page ( P & L Translations) but wasn't able to because we don't have 25 fans yet (if anyone wants to become a fan, I'll return the favor!). Does anyone know how I can reserve our business's name?
  • Hey Janine, just joined your page, you only need 6 more.

    To get your business name as URL (once you have 25 fans...), you need to go to http://www.facebook.com/username
  • janinelibbey
    Thanks, Francisco! I just joined your page as well.
  • This is very generous of you, Francisco. All the information here will be useful to me as I twitch FB fan and web pages.
    MariSmith, I appreciate the additional info on avatar size, which I had been looking for.

    Wishing all of you beautiful celebrations and joy for the end of year.
  • Hello Lussea, great that you find the post useful and good luck with your Fan Page! Let me know if you have any questions during the process.

    Happy New Year to you too!

    Francisco
  • How do you do Point 2. Vanity URL. I've done it before with personal profiles, but never with a Page?
  • Just found out you have to register your personal profile 'vanity' url first, before you are allowed to give your Page(s) 'vanity' urls. http://www.facebook.com/username/
  • I created an FBML landing page a few weeks ago and set it to my default view as recommended in #8. I've also been running ads on FB to build my fan base (around 560 now) and it's been interesting to see the change in conversion rates vs. just sending them to my wall.

    The unfortunate thing is that generally speaking, the conversion rates have gone down since making this change.

    Conversion rates were around 50% previously (click > become fan) while pointing to the Wall and are now closer to 20%. Why has this happened? It could be I have a crummy fan page (take a look: http://www.facebook.com/fightidtheft) or it could be that people judge a page based on quality of posts and interaction.

    Thoughts?
  • Web analytics always keep things interesting...

    My original results were poor, but I'm now getting excellent results and have not changed anything. Here are my conversion results from the past week:

    Date Imp. Clicks CTR (%) Actions AR (%) Avg. CPC ($) Avg. CPM ($) Spent ($)
    01/01/2010 30,538 12 0.04 9 0.03 0.42 0.16 5.00
    12/31/2009 40,230 13 0.03 8 0.02 0.38 0.12 5.00
    12/30/2009 33,058 12 0.04 14 0.04 0.42 0.15 5.00
    12/29/2009 44,572 15 0.03 6 0.01 0.33 0.11 5.00
    12/28/2009 18,131 9 0.05 11 0.06 0.56 0.28 5.00

    That's probably a bit hard to read, but you'll notice I'm getting more sign-ups than clicks in some cases. I don't know if FB is just giving me extra clicks that they're not showing or if the additional sign-ups generated though my FBML fan page are showing up. In any case, it's an excellent result and I'm really pleased.

    By combining your ideas here (FBML fan page + FB advertising) I end up adding Fans at a cost of around .52 cents per fan. It's really lower than that, since new fan sign-ups can have a cascading effect, but still reasonable in my book. I limit the spend to $5 per day.

    In all, I've gone from around 200 fans to 625 fans in the past 2 months. Not bad...
  • Hey Dave,

    Thanks for sharing this info, it really adds value to the conversation. Just a quick visit to join you page and I liked it but will take the time later to take a closer look.

    Also, I'll add that what you're doing is exactly what you should do, experiment, track and then go with what gives you a higher conversion.

    Stay connected!
  • I love this guide. I have spent a week figuring out how to do everything listed in the article. Thank you for summarizes it into one place. Cool.
  • I'm glad it was useful Stephany, thanks for the comment.
  • Hi Francisco, great article! I'm a big advocate on utilizing the custom landing page to to attract new fans and build a better presence on Facebook. For those who know HTML, you want the Static FBML app. It gives you a lot of flexibility to get creative. Also I wanted to mention for #2, the vanity URL, users can get their user name at http://www.facebook.com/username.

    You rock,
    @madalynsklar
  • Thank you Madalyn. We should also mention that the new minimum required to get your vanity URL is 25, not 100.

    Just connected with you Fb and will spend some time this afternoon visiting your site.
  • Great stuff -- thanks, dude!

    good news: I believe we only need 25 fans to get a Vanity URL on FB, not 100. I only have 81 fans, but have had the vanity since 25. http://Facebook.com/NewDirectionsWorkshop



    What I loved was suggestion #3. Big Profile Pic (Banner Style). I will definitely make that happen -- totally LIVENs up the page -- great tip & example.
  • You are absolutely right Matt, now it's only 25. Thanks for the correction
  • Mati
    Love the clean layout of your blog.
    Thanks for the basic reminders plus new one for me #3. Was wondering how Mari scored a big picture.
    Mari thanks for exact dimensions.
  • Thanks for the feedback Mati, I'm glad you like it.

    As Mari says in her comment to this post, you can use as much as 200px by 600px for your avatar.
  • davekerpen
    Some good tips here. FYI, you only need25 fans now for a vanity URL.
  • Great ideas. I will definitely use these tools.
  • Woweee, Francisco - thank you so much for using a screenshot of my Facebook fan page for your #3.
    Btw, from Facebook's horses mouth directly, the optimal size for avatars is 200px by 600px which mine is. :)

    These are all excellent tips!!!

    An alternative to the Suggest to Friends feature you have in #4 (which you wisely suggest to use wisely!) is using the "Share" button and posting your fan page to your profile periodically, inviting friends to come join. ;)

    I love your blog, have subscribed and am now following you on Twitter too.

    Btw, I found you via Adam Vincenzini's awesome 99 social media posts! :)

    Cheers
    @marismith
  • Thank you Mari, and thanks for subscribing!

    Definitely a great addition to the post, both on the size of the avatar (which I really didn't know...) and the "Share" button.

    Have a great day!
    Francisco
  • Wonderful tips that people will enjoy reading. I have a burning question I can't find online so maybe you know: is there any way to synchronize Facebook Connect which I see on so many blogs and websites to update my page, not the profile?
  • Hey Ari, thanks for stopping by. I'll contact you via email to get some more details.
  • Thanks for the great suggestions. As the person behind several business SM accounts, I really enjoy reading your blog. And just a heads up on the vanity URL, you now only need a minimum of 25 fans to reserve one!
  • Thank you Angela, it really means a lot. Also, thanks for the correction...
  • TheCommunityManager
    Great, I bookmarked :)
  • Nice! Thank you.
  • I won't really ignore your advice! Thanks for sharing me some of your tips, I need to embrace change by being creative thus helping me to encourage readers.
  • Glad to be of help, love your site by the way... do you have a Twitter account?
  • Thanks for the great tips. We are working to build up our own fan page and find your ideas most helpful!
  • Thank you Stephen, I'm glad you like it. Let me know if I can help in any way... and let me know when your fan page is ready to join.
  • Thanks Francisco - the Fan page is up at www.facebook.com/twitterfools we need, simply, to explore and leverage the fbml/html functions to present a nicer landing page.
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