Tag Archives: facebook marketing

Starting March 30, all Facebook brand pages will be transformed into Facebook Timeline pages. The layout of the page will completely change once Timeline is enabled and it may take some time for you to get used to the look of your new page. However, just because the new Timeline is unfamiliar doesn’t mean it’s bad. In fact it’s going to be more aesthetically pleasing and will still give you the same opportunities to interact and engage your fans.

Cover image: One feature of the new Timeline is the cover photo. This is a large image featured at the top of the page. Businesses should use this image to feature something particularly captivating or a special they want to promote because it’s the first thing people will see when they visit your Timeline. Businesses can change this photo often in order to promote weekly deals or monthly contests.

History: Timeline is just that, a timeline that lays out posts the company has made in a vertical line format with events on either side of the line, one on top of the other. Timeline allows you to display company events that happened before Facebook was even created. You can go through your company’s history and mark milestones like when your company was founded, when it reached a certain number of employees, when your CEO was appointed, etc. This adds a personal touch to your company’s Timeline that fans appreciate. Timeline is meant to make Facebook more personal and when you get personal with your fans it encourages loyalty and trust.

Map: Timeline allows you to feature a map of your business location. You have the option to display the map or hide it so if people come into your business location, it’s best to display it. If you’re a business that primarily goes to your customers, it may be best to hide the map on your Timeline.

From now until March 30, you can preview your Timeline and publish it if you’re ready for the change now. Take this time to make sure all your business information is updated, figure out what you’re going to use for your cover photo and start mapping out what company milestones to include on your Timeline so you’re ready when it’s activated in a few days.

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.

Facebook is currently broadcasting an online boot camp on its Facebook Marketing Solutions page to help teach others about using the social network for marketing purposes. One topic Facebook covered was how to be successful using Facebook Ads. Here are some key takeaway tips from the presentation:

1. Define your strategy. Figure out what you want to achieve with Facebook advertising. Do you want to drive more sales or increase your Facebook page’s fan base? Define specific goals before you begin writing your ads.

2. Create compelling Facebook ads. Write multiple versions of the same ad and target the same audience. Then use Facebook Reporting and Analytics to figure out which ad is performing best and use that as your primary ad. When you’re creating content, keep in mind that people love offers and promotions. Also, it’s important to always include a call to action and a sense of urgency. Let the viewers know that this offer isn’t going to stick around forever; they need to act now!

3. Use Page Post ads. These new Facebook ads help you reach your fans and their friends. There are many types of Page Post ads including status updates, links, questions, photos, videos, etc. Using Page Post ads you can target posts to your fans and friends of fans (potential new fans).

4. Choose an engaging image for your ad. Ads with photos that show actual people using your product or service have been more successful than ads without an engaging photo.

5. Check the results of your ad every couple days. To be sure that your ad is performing, checking your ad every few days is a smart move. If you notice that your ad isn’t getting a lot of impressions or clicks, you may want to freshen up your content.

Follow these Facebook advertising tips and you’ll be engaging your target audience on the social network in no time. For more Facebook marketing tips, watch the Marketing Talks and Bootcamp on the Facebook Marketing Solutions page.