Ease of a Facebook Fan Page
One easy way for a small business to get some presence on the web is by creating a Facebook Fan Page. Can you fill out an online form? Then you can create a fan page. Here are two small hurdles for you to overcome in creating the page:
- Where do I create the page? Answer: Create a Page.
- What kind of avatar do I need for the page? Answer: a vertical one (or a square) – size can be up to 600px in height – maximum size is 200px by 600px.
Use Keywords on Your Facebook Page
When you create your page, if you are a local business serving a geographical area, be sure to put keywords describing the area in your description if it is not already in your name. So, for example, if you are in New Jersey, and you expect people will use the search term “New Jersey” to look for a business like yours, be sure to use New Jersey. Put keywords into Google and see where (or if) your page shows up with those keywords.
Update the Page
Update your page frequently, but not so much to be annoying. Provide a service in your updates!
A. Harrington Limousine Services is one example of a small business with frequent updates related to travel, snow, spring, supplies and local charities. Note also the creative use of the professionals in the photo welcoming you to their limousines. You can use your logo, but if it’s longer in width than in height, it’s going to get cropped, so be prepared to experiment with the avatar that you use for the page.
Interact with the Customers
Use the opportunity to interact with your customers! In this example, a restaurant called Fiddleheads in Jamesburg, New Jersey writes a comment back to an enthused customer:
Shorten Your URL
It used to be that you had to wait until you had 100 fans before you could shorten your Facebook Fan Page URL. No more: see
Create a Facebook Fan Page URL in 2 Minutes or Less. So what are you waiting for? Make it is easier for customers to find you.
Get Fancy: Learn FBML
Facebook even has its own mini language for manipulating your fan page. If you are a small business, you can probably do a lot without many of the bells and whistles of FBML. Know it’s available so if you want your page to have an extra special zing, FBML might have a way to do it. FBML can help you add video, change the look of your fan page, or add more boxes to your page. See more on FBML in the “Learn More” section below.
Learn More
For more information:
- How to Create the Perfect Facebook Fan Page by Jesse Stay
- 3 Really Simple Ways To Spruce Up Your FaceBook Fan Page by Donna Maria
- Why Doesn’t Your Organization Have a Facebook Fan Page? by Ryan Hanley
- 26 Facebook Fan Page tips for business users. Or the Fan Page cheat sheet. by Jimmy Gilmore
- 13 Ways to Move Your Facebook Fans to Action
- Tutorial: Customize Facebook Pages with “Static FBML” application
- Add Multiple Boxes on Facebook Fan Page Using FBML
Do you have a favorite Facebook fan page, your own or someone else’s? Feel free to leave the link in the comments, and I may feature the page in a future post.
Feel free to follow this blog on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/websitesforsmallbiz
I welcome you and your input.
Popularity: 43% [?]
Themocracy
Good point about using keywords. I think I left that off my list. And thanks for the links to FBML info – really good stuff.
Jimmy Gilmore´s last blog ..Shattered. It’s time to re-imagine.
Jimmy, coming from a background of building websites, I think and dream keywords (sometimes). Yes, you can do fun things with FBML! Look forward to reading more of your posts.
Not all business finds time to interact with their customers. That’s precisely the downfall of these companies. They should always remember that a single customer’s feedback is very important in their product or service improvement.
The example was a restaurant. Seems like it *crucial* for a restaurant to respond. Probably for all these companies, as you say. Or someone else will learn to please the customer instead.
I have one: Facebook.com/cookingmanager. Love it.
Thanks, Hannah. And your facebook page (http://facebook.com/cookingmanager) is a great example of interaction and discussion. I remember fondly the sourdough starter discussions (which I eventually threw out when my kitchen started to smell).
my facebook fan page needs help…..http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aliyah-Lift-Shipping/329301785573?ref=ts
i’m not sure how to get interaction.
Could partially be the topic – maybe people aren’t thinking about the details of Aliyah all the time, the way they think about cooking or which restaurant to visit.
My suggestion is ask easy questions. Perhaps, why did you fan this page? Did you make Aliyah already? Are you thinking about it?
If you ask one or two friends behind the scenes to answer the questions, that might help get the discussion going.
yep keywords are a big thing on facebook…nice post
Antonio´s last blog ..Welcome Message
Also, I hear that with Facebook Fan pages the links to your website can benefit your website for SEO purposes, which is not true of links on most other Facebook pages. Is this true?
K. Smith´s last blog ..The American Dream – Can You Reach it on Your Own?
thnks this post
I see you have a site that teaches about FBML code. You might want to improve the legibility of the page by making the text black on white background. Would be much easier to read.
Thanks for dropping a note on this site.
Interesting indeed. Facebook nowadays can be used for various activities. Marketing is one of the best. Thanks for the article. Cheers
Using your Facebook fan page just like your website is highly recommended. Right from SEO to updates with good content. Nice post.
Kim´s last blog ..Cho Yung Tea User Reviews
Hey Leora, I’m completely new to FaceBook. Can I ask you a couple of question before I create a fan page?
- Are links on the FaceBook fan page nofollow or dofollow?
- I’ve heard a lot of negative things regarding privacy on FaceBook. Do I have to modify some settings to make the fan page completely public?
Besides that, it’s a great tip! FaceBook is becoming really mainstream these days. It seems that all companies like to use it. I’ll definitely have to check it out.
Good questions!
“Are links on the FaceBook fan page nofollow or dofollow?” – nofollow
“Do I have to modify some settings to make the fan page completely public?” – business pages by default are public. You would have to modify the settings if you wanted only some people to read them.
I added your questions to http://www.facebook.com/websitesforsmallbiz – hope you’ll join in and ask more.
You can get a dofollow link on your profile homepage.
Download the app profilebox
when tyou insert your link do the following:
(Some anchor text)
I get the idea … you are saying there is a way to make FB links dofollow.
sorry as the following
(a href=”somesite.com” rel=”nofollow”)some anchor text(/a)
replace ( & ) with you know what
sorry again “rel=dofollow”
So I looked this up… making Facebook links into dofollow links… and according to the bottom of this post, it’s no longer possible to do so.
http://ninoholic.com/how-to-get-dofollow-backlink-from-facebook.html
I suggest putting one’s energy elsewhere.
great post , hope to catch your next one soon.if you like recipes, just click my name.