So, you’ve built an awesome Facebook page for your business but you have no idea how to attract people to your page. Your problem is like many others on Facebook and finding people to “like” your page can be difficult. However, without fans, you won’t be able to connect directly with your target audience in order to ask their opinions, share special offers, etc. So how exactly do attract fans to your Facebook page? Here are a few great ways:

• Invite your friends to become fans. This is the easiest way to get fans quickly. Share your page on your own Facebook timeline and ask others to spread the word on their own timelines. You can also directly invite friends to like the page by clicking on the “Invite friends” link on the right side of your page. Then select the friends you want to invite and click “Submit.” Just be careful, you don’t want to annoy your friends with too many invites. Ask once and then periodically share your page on your own timeline but don’t overdo it.

• Add links to your Facebook page on everything from your blog to your email signature. You can tweet the link to your fan page, add it to your LinkedIn profile and any other social media networks you are part of. You can even advertise by printing your Facebook page link on receipts, making a window cling for your storefront or a fun free sticker to give out to customers.

• Already have an email subscriber list? Invite your opt-in email subscribers to “like” your brand on Facebook. Tell them what kind of posts they can expect from your brand to encourage them to want to become a fan.

• Add a link to your Facebook page from your personal Facebook profile. That way anyone who checks out your profile will be encouraged to go check out your page.

• Add a custom Welcome page to your Facebook business page. Custom Welcome pages are easy to create and can include photos and videos or highlight special promotions for your company. Sometimes companies advertise a contest or a game that you can only enter or play if you “like” the page. These custom Welcome pages are particularly successful.

• Use Facebook advertising. Using Facebook ads to drive people to your page is a great tactic; however unlike the rest of these techniques, it does cost money. You can use sponsored stories or come up with your own ads. Set the preferences so you are only targeting the people who would be interested in “liking” your brand. Facebook advertising offers a lot of ways to target so you can make sure the right eyes see your material.

• Provide interesting, engaging material. If you provide interesting, informative or entertaining material, people who see it will be more likely to share it with friends. The more sharing that occurs, the more people will be exposed to your page and be enticed to “like” it. Creating funny videos or informative and factual infographics are a great way to engage fans.

• Be casual. Remember, when dealing with social media, people want to hear from other people, not big companies. So be more casual on Facebook and save the corporate speak for your website. People hang out on social networks to see what friends are up to. Act more like a friend to your fans, share stuff that’s happening around the office or photos and bios of the employees who work at your company. People will appreciate being able to put a face to the brand and they’ll be more likely to communicate with you and trust you.