How to set up a Facebook fan page that works

I’ve been talking to several people recently about setting up a Facebook fan page, how to get more fans, and how to use Facebook effectively.

Full disclosure: Yes, I have a Facebook page, but it’s private. I use Twitter and LinkedIn for business, but I haven’t set up a page for my copywriting business.

However, I DO run a Facebook page for the same nonprofit that I mentioned in a recent post on email marketing. It’s performing well, averaging 50 new fans a day.

The first thing people ask me is what type of account is best? A group or a fan page? For me, that’s simple. A fan page. Why? A post on Mashable about the difference between Facebook pages and groups lays out the differences nicely. Here’s a summary:

Groups are great for organizing on a personal level and for smaller scale interaction around a cause. Pages are better for brands, businesses, bands, movies, or celebrities who want to interact with their fans or customers without having them connected to a personal account, and have a need to exceed Facebook’s 5,000 friend cap.

A fan page lets you grow as big as you want, send updates to an unlimited number of people, and keep the focus on the organization without revealing the administrator (unless you want to).

Okay, so once you’ve set up your account as a fan page, then what? Here are some tips:

Upload a logo or photo with a web address at the bottom. It won’t be clickable, but fans can see where to go if they want to visit your website.

Fill out your info page completely. Here you can have a clickable web address, company overview, mission, and products. You can give only what Facebook asks for or get creative and provide other information as well.

For example, in your company overview, you can list links to pages on your website, your newsletter signup form, other social media, or whatever you want.

Use FBML to create a landing page. FBML is Facebook’s version of HTML, which you can use with an application called Static FBML. This lets you render basic HTML in a box or tab on your page. You won’t find it in your default applications, but you can find it with a search in the application directory.

The idea is that instead of sending people to your wall, as most people do, you send them to a landing page with whatever message you want to provide. For example, you can give a short description of your organization and tell people to click the “become a fan” button.

This is one of those “duh” things you may not think about at first, but which can dramatically increase your Facebook growth. A landing page is just good direct marketing.

Use your tabs wisely. If you think of a Facebook page as a secondary website for your business, you’ll realize that the tabs at the top of the page are like site navigation. You can have a tab for your newsletter, a tab for donations, a tab for products, etc. How? With that nifty FBML application.

Don’t forget the sidebar. Anything you can put in your tabs, you can also put in your sidebar. A newsletter signup form fits here nicely. So does a poll (another application you can add), affiliate banner, or set of links.

Post often. The same rules apply to Facebook as any other social media. It’s all about content and interaction. Posting something every few weeks won’t cut it. Post every day or even several times a day to make sure you’re showing up in the news feeds of your fans. This can be links to your blog, product announcements, questions, news items, or anything your fans would be interested in.

Every time someone becomes a fan, comments, clicks the “like” link, or shares your post, it shows up in that fan’s news feed for all their friends to see. So “viral” is built in.

Link to your page from everywhere. If you want fans, you have to let people know you’re on Facebook. Put an icon or link in your newsletter, on your website or blog, in your email footer, everywhere.

Email and blog it. Don’t be shy. Do an email blast driving subscribers to your fan page. Post a blog about what’s happening on your fan page with an invitation to become a fan.

Send updates to your fans. This feature is a little like email. Don’t abuse it, because Facebook fans aren’t expecting (and don’t want) an avalanche of messages from you. But used wisely, this handy feature lets you update fans about your products, sales, and events.

Subscribe to similar fan pages and groups. You can buy ads on Facebook, but the consensus is that response is poor. A cheap way to reach beyond your fans and attract new fans is to subscribe to similar pages and groups and post short messages inviting people to visit your page. Don’t do it too often. And don’t be spammy.

There’s more you can do with Facebook, but this is plenty to get you started.

Is it worth it? Absolutely. I’ve found that Facebook can drive significant traffic to your website as your fan base grows. And it gives you a totally independent way to interact with potential customers or supporters.

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January 12, 2010 | Filed in Online Marketing

38 Comments

Comments

38 Responses to “How to set up a Facebook fan page that works”

Teena J on January 17th, 2010 5:01 pm

Thanks so much for this – great information and easily understood. Cheers
Dean Rieck on January 17th, 2010 5:16 pm

Your welcome. Let me know how these tips work for you.
Tony on January 17th, 2010 5:27 pm

The landing page is incredibly important. How on earth could visitors possibly figure out what the page is all about by reading the wall posts? Thanks for the article!
Larry Tenney on January 17th, 2010 6:17 pm

Good for you! You’re doing something right — Beth Kanter shared a link to your post via her facebook fan page!
Elaine on January 17th, 2010 8:44 pm

Thank you very much for sharing.
Elaine’s last blog … Moving to Xero.com and more financial news
bg on January 17th, 2010 11:15 pm

There is some misinformation and missing information in this post, as well as some solid wisdom.

If you realize that facebook is part of your communication strategy, hire a professional.
Margaret on January 18th, 2010 10:48 am

I am a novice. How do you set up your Facebook account as a fan page? Also, can you link it from your Web site?
Thanks so much.
Dean Rieck on January 18th, 2010 11:07 am

Margaret:
After you open a new account, you’ll have the option to set up the page. Here’s a link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
eONs on January 18th, 2010 12:44 pm

Thanks for the great sharing.Learn lots from here.
eONs’s last blog … Karnival Telefon Bimbit @ Econsave Pandamaran | Malaysia Sale
Greg Vining on January 18th, 2010 2:16 pm

This is great advice. Facebook is one area I need to get more knowledgeable in. It can be a great tool, if you know how to use it properly. Thanks for the quick lesson.

Greg
Brian Altenhofel on January 18th, 2010 3:57 pm

While most of the information is good, something to remember is that sometime early this year, Facebook will be reducing the width of application tabs from 760 pixels to 520 pixels. That is a 30% reduction in usable space, so it is probably best to wait until the rollout to create any custom tabs unless you have some pressing issue that justifies it.

Also, Boxes will be removed soon, which makes using Static FBML in the sidebar moot.

Brian
Brian Altenhofel’s last blog … Are You Ready for Facebook’s Upcoming Changes?
Dean Rieck on January 18th, 2010 4:39 pm

Brian:
Do you have a link for that? I can do an update when or if this happens.
Jeff Speigner on January 18th, 2010 6:55 pm

Thanks Dean, this has cleared up much of my confusion about fan pages. I have one for the non-profit I run, but it’s associated with my personal account. That’s not really a problem, but getting to the fan page to update is cumbersome. I must always do a search to navigate there. Would setting up a new fan page in a new account help with this problem? Appreciate your work here.
Jeff Speigner’s last blog … Workshop 3, Day 6, 7 – Preparing and Presenting
Dean Rieck on January 18th, 2010 7:05 pm

Jeff:
I was in the same situation. I help run a non-profit and wanted a fan page. In my case, I didn’t want my personal account associated with the fan page, so I set up a separate account. Every page must be set up by an individual, but with a fan page the administrator can remain hidden (as opposed to a group, where the administrator is displayed).

As for “finding” the fan page, I became a fan of the page with my administrator identity so when I log in, I can just click on the latest news item to go to the page. I don’t know why Facebook just doesn’t provide a link to your pages, but this workaround is only one click.
Steven van Vessum on January 19th, 2010 9:22 am

Great summary! Especially the difference between a fanpage and a group is good to distinguish. I’ll keep this in mind while setting up my own fanpage! Thanks!
Chris on January 19th, 2010 2:34 pm

I had no idea that you could create a custom landing page with FBML. *Facepalm

Of course I’ve seen cool landing pages, but they were always for big companies who I assumed had some sort of special privileges.

Just added a bunch of stuff to my todo list. Thanks a lot.

Fort Wayne Web Design
Chris’s last blog … The Best WordPress Form Plugin: Gravity Forms
Michelle Damico on January 19th, 2010 11:39 pm

Really great information. Thanks for taking the time to write this!
Jeff Speigner on January 20th, 2010 2:00 pm

Dean, thanks for the response to my comment. That will help me keep closer tabs to what’s going on. By the way, if you want to check out what’s happening there you can follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Design4Kids/56181959976
Satish Talim on January 22nd, 2010 4:59 am

Dean thanks for the tips. I just set up a landing page for my Facebook fan page using FBML and HTML:
http://www.facebook.com/rubylearning
Satish Talim’s last blog … Patrick McKenzie Winner RPCFN #5
matt sudol on January 22nd, 2010 10:18 am

Great post – really enjoy your perspective.
I have been working on our FB page and wanted your feedback on optimizing discovery of our page through FB. I originally set up our Fan Page’s name with our not-for-profit’s acronym (NYCEDC) and I am regretting that I didn’t spell it out completely (New York City Economic Development Corporation). I feel like if I did spell it out in the title it would help FB users searching for economic news/info relating to New York City – any suggestions?
Dean Rieck on January 22nd, 2010 12:33 pm

Matt:
That’s a long name for the organization, but I agree that spelling it out would be best.
matt sudol on January 22nd, 2010 3:34 pm

Does anyone know how to edit your name after you have already had a fan page live for 4 months? I thought once it was live, it was too late to edit it? Thanks!
matt sudol’s last blog … NYCEDC President Seth Pinsky joined the East Williamsburg Valley Industrial Development Corporate to cut the ribbon on their second industrial facility in North Brooklyn. The 3,000 square-foot facility will provide affordable space to small manufacturers and create approximately ten jobs. To learn more about the ways we are helping the manufacturing sector, check out: http://bit.ly/NYCEDC_ManuIndust
ram dutt on January 29th, 2010 12:58 pm

Thank you for sharing. Well organized with enough information. Very useful. Will share with our readers.
ram dutt’s last blog … How To Create Your Business Cards using MOO
Hitesh on February 3rd, 2010 1:23 pm

though i have one fan page on FB …but didn’t knew how to use it effectively………….will be using the tips….hope to see some good results.
thanks
Hitesh’s last blog … Smiley Face
Mads on February 5th, 2010 1:49 am

nice tips. really helpful…
i’ve added tab applications i made to my pages… i used FBML and FBJS for this
check them out…

http://www.facebook.com/boysruletheworld

http://www.facebook.com/girlsruletheworld
Roy Williams on February 6th, 2010 10:37 pm

Thanks so much for this clear, concise information to setup a Fan Page on Facebook. I especially like the suggestion for a landing page which will be my next task.
Shaina on February 8th, 2010 5:45 pm

I entered a name for my fan page but it won’t work!:( It’s not a business or band or whatever though. I would do it as a group but I want to be able to post updates.
jess on February 14th, 2010 5:22 pm

how do i set up aaccount
Dean Rieck on February 14th, 2010 7:54 pm

Jess:
Just go to Facebook and sign up. http://www.facebook.com/
Allison on February 16th, 2010 11:24 am

Your information is very helpful! But, I do have one question…

I already have a personal account on Facebook and would like to add a Facebook Page for business. And I would definitely not want to have the two mix. I’ve found the following related info on Facebook…

“Please keep in mind that the fans of any of the Pages you administer will not have visibility or access to your personal account or profile. Any actions that you take as a Page administrator on your Page will show the Page’s name as the actor and not your personal name.”

This is wonderful, but what about the reverse? I would really like to keep it totally seperated. Would my personal friends be able to see the Facebook page for my business?
Dean Rieck on February 16th, 2010 11:57 am

Allison:
When you create a “page,” your personal account and the page are not visibly related. So your friends would only see the page if they decided to become a fan. They wouldn’t necessarily know it’s your page unless you told them. So that’s about as “totally separated” as Facebook allows.
jennifer prevost on February 16th, 2010 1:57 pm

Do I have to set up an Ad in Facebook to set up a fan page?
Dean Rieck on February 16th, 2010 2:29 pm

Jennifer:
No. Ads and pages are not related. Anyone with a Facebook account can set up a fan page. If you have a personal account set up, you can start here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
Rachel on March 3rd, 2010 5:59 am

Very helpful article, thanks.

To ‘bg on January 17th’ – not helpful lol.
Fanpage on March 5th, 2010 9:40 am

Why Facebook Fan Page?

In the Era of Social Media where facebook and twitter took place of every marketing mechanism over the internet, People are now spending more time over these social media platforms and your pressense on these social platforms will give you some major benifits like:

Promote your business/product amongst 10+ million users base

Connect directly with your fans

Drive Traffic and profitability

Impress your clients/customers with videos, photos, links and more.

View Sample = http://www.facebook.com/brandegg?v=app_6009294086
Meghan on March 8th, 2010 2:45 pm

How do you add things to your sidebar?
Dean Rieck on March 8th, 2010 3:07 pm

Meghan:
As an example, this shows how to add a profile box to your sidebar: http://www.webdesignideas.org/2009/04/23/adding-custom-html-box-to-my-facebook-profile/

It works pretty much the same way to add any other application to your sidebar.
Grady Polcyn on March 10th, 2010 2:56 am

This was so good, thanks for writing it. I just started my Fan Page today and this was really helpful.

Do you have any FBML instructional blogs on how to get started making a decent landing page?

Thank You.
Grady Polcyn’s last blog … Reading @ChrisBrogan ’s Post: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/my-love-for-blogging – See if I can pick up a few things