Facebook Fan Pages

Have you created your Facebook Fan Page yet? Many of us are getting more familiar with Facebook and happily using it to keep in touch with friends and family on a personal level. And some of us may even be using our Facebook profile to help support our businesses. But did you know that Facebook actually has a policy on self-promotion using personal profiles?

"All personal site features, such as friending and messaging, are also for personal use only and may not be used for professional promotion. If you add a user as a friend, for example, this person will be invited to be a friend of your profile and not your Page. Using personal site features for professional promotion, or creating unauthorized Pages, may result in your account being warned or disabled." -- Facebook

Yikes! You don't want to be banned from Facebook!

So if you haven't created your Facebook Fan page yet for your business, you can get started right now. First, log in to your personal Facebook account. And then go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php. This will take you through the steps to help you create your page.

Remember that your Fan page is in no way connected to your Personal page. Your Fans won't be able to click a link to see your personal profile. Your personal privacy is still protected even with a Fan page!

Some things I recommend when creating your Facebook page:

1. Definitely add your picture or your business logo! Give your fans a way to connect the business to you and easily recognize you.
2. Complete the Company Information block under the Info tab. Make it short and sweet, but be sure to give a good, complete overview of who you are and what you do. Don't forget to include your Web address.
   
3. Include your Web site in the box under your photo/logo, starting the address with "http://". Facebook is a great way to introduce yourself to new customers and stay in touch, but you really want to drive people to your Web site. That's where they'll learn more about you AND take initiative to contact you about possibly sending business your way.
4. Post to your wall on a consistent basis. These posts will show up on your Fans' personal walls, creating an awesome viral marketing opportunity.
5. Make sure to publish your page so it is public and everyone can view it. This makes is searchable and easy to find, and allows people to become a fan.
6. Add your newsletter sign up box to your page. I wrote instructions for that process in a previous blog post.
7. Invite your friends to become fans. Click on the "Suggest to Friends" link under your picture/logo, select the friends you want to invite, and click Send Invite. They will get an invitation asking them to become fans of your business page.
8. Send updates to your fans. Rather than wait for your fans to visit your blog or wall, attract them to your page by using the "Send Update to Fans" link under your picture/logo. You can post a link to direct fans to read a blog or visit your Web site.

Facebook has many fun, yet effective ways to keep in touch and interact with people through your Fan page. You can even add pictures and video to your page to encourage conversation and feedback. We'll cover more Facebook Applications for Business soon, so be sure to check back to find helpful Facebook tips for marketing your business.