If you’ve recently graduated from college, it’s hard to imagine your college life apart from Facebook. Catching the latest gossip, becoming friends with that college superstar who has never heard of you and staying up-to-date on the latest happenings. And of course, everyone knows it’s not official until it’s on Facebook! However, Facebook is no longer just for college students. Many people reading this may have parents and even grandparents with an account now. Time Magazine even went as far as to publish an article recently called “Why Facebook is for Old Fogies“.
Facebook has not only become a place for young people to connect and network, but it has also become another avenue for businesses and organizations to connect, network and promote their organization. The main way to network on Facebook is of course by creating a profile or even a group, which can be a little more professional then just a profile. However, if you really want to network and promote yourself, business or organization, then creating a Facebook Fan Page is the best way to do this.
To create a Facebook page navigate to this page and click the big green button.It can be a little difficult finding on Facebook where to begin a fan page, so you’ll have to go to the main page for creating a fan page. When beginning a fan page, you’re given the basics, which make it look like a glorified profile page. A raw fan page includes a wall, feed, photos, videos and list of fans. Although this can suffice, if you really want to attract fans who don’t justconsist of your circle of friends, you’ll want to make some upgrades to your page.
Making your fan page interactive and graphically appealing are two of the most important ways to attract new fans. Making it interactive can easily be done with Facebook’s Application Directory that has a wide-range of applications that can be added to your page with a couple clicks. If you have the resources (web developer/designer), or have some experience there yourself, it’s not too hard to develop a Facebook application. The advantage of this is that you can put your brand on the application and personalize it the way you want. I’ve seen people develop a facebook application in as quick as a few days. Putting interactive applications on your page gives users a reason to not just become fans, but to continually visit and interact on your page.
Along with making your fan page interactive, it’s important to give it some personality by making it look attractive. Facebook allows you to upload a logo or photo for your fan page, but that just isn’t enough. Give your page some flare. Put a sharp graphic linking to your website or a flashy banner along the side bar that promotes a contest. Doing something like this offers fans and potential fans a reason to not only visit your fan page often, but to also visit your company’s website or blog. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve visited a website, just to immediately leave because there was little effort put into the design of the site.
Take a stab at creating a Facebook fan page; it doesn’t cost anything and you can reap the benefits for yourself or business. Build off your page, keeping it fresh and new, so that your fans have a reason to come back to it.
Do you have a Facebook page? What apps are using to make it better?
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