Social Media Marketing: Facebook Fan Page for Online Community Development
July 25, 2011 by Brandon Aday | 0 comments
It is hard to believe there is anyone around who does not know what Facebook is today. With 750 million users, not only does your grandmother have an account, but so does her pet. So I won't waste your time with an overview of what it is. What I will go into more depth on is the Facebook Fan Page, which is the most important channel of activity, next to your own business or organizational blog.
Facebook FanPages are great for many reasons. First you can use it as a hub for all of your social media activity. You can connect it to your Twitter account, so that whatever you post to your wall automatically posts to your Twitter Feed (see our blog post on Twitter). Likewise, you can install a plug-in from a company like Involver, that allow you to see the Twitter feed in a special tab on your fan page. If you already have a blog, you can import its RSS feed, so that you can automatically feed that page with new content as you publish it. This will allow you syndicate content to share with all of your Facebook "Likes/Fans", who may not otherwise read your blog.
So what is the best way to get your company exposure using your Fan Page? Well one of the most powerful techniques is to create a custom landing page, which becomes the default page for all users who have not yet "Liked" your page. You can have one message for those who already "Like" it and another for those who have not, which would encourage them to click "Like". Once they do like the page, they can see special promotional content, that can be accessed via a custom tab on the right side of the Fan Page. These custom pages are actually located on a 3rd party web server, and integrated by your web developer into the FanPage using an HTML iFrame (click here to find out more about our solutions). This allows you to create a full website experience accessible within the framework of the Facebook website. Companies can use these pages to show their sevices, embed contact forms, and even allow full e-commerce (or f-commerce as some call it)!
Building a fully customized FanPage is a great way to give a taste of what a potential customer or client would experience, within their comfort zone of already being in a familiar website portal environment like Facebook. However it is not always easy to set up. First you need to create you pages, and develop them with the dimensions mandated by Facebook (which is 520 pixels wide). Once you create your pages on your own server, you need to go to the Facebook developer website to register for an account. Once this is created, you need to create a new Facebook app, and integrate you page into that app. Assuming you are an admin for the Fan Page, you must then add the App to your page, as well as the specific tab for the page to reside. If desired, you can make the new page the default landing page so that all new page viewers who have not "liked" your page yet. Now this will not create a reveal page or fan-gate, but it is a great way to customize your customers Facebook experience.
Creating a nice customized Facebook Fan Page is not an impossible task. With a little help from plug-ins and Facebook apps that are readily available, you can create a nice experience for your target customers. The process just takes a little patience and time to complete. For more tips and information on using Facebook for marketing, you can check out Mashable.com and AllFacebook.com for up to the minute information. You can also check out books like Facebook For Dummies, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Facebook, or Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day. Of course if you don't have the time, or inclination, feel free to contact Aday Interactive for more information on how we can help you tap into those 750 million people who call Facebook their virtual home! Next blog post, we will look at blogging (which as you can tell I am a fan of) and how you need a blog to expand your online community!
Need help building your social media strategy? Click here to schedule a free 30 minute social media marketing consultation with Aday Interactive today!
