A Facebook Fan Page is a great way to market and promote yourself or your business on Facebook. Fan pages are the only part of Facebook that is fully indexed by Google. While from your personal page you can only send messages to 2o people at a time, you can send announcements to everyone who is a fan of your page.
In the past few weeks I’ve had several people ask me how to create a fan page. Working on the assumption that for everyone who asked, there must be several more who would like to know but didn’t get around to asking, I have created a video that walks you through the process.
Here it is. I hope you find it helpful.
And if you’d like to see a Fan Page in action, head on over to my Facebook Fan Page. I’d love to have you there.
People using Facebook for business often ask “should I have a fan page or should I have a group?” Many people suggest that you should do both, however, if you have limited time to devote Facebook it is probably a good idea to choose one to start.
Here is a list of differences between fan pages and groups. Once you know what the options are between the two, you can make an informed decision.
Fan pages are indexed by Google; groups are not. Not only that, but if someone finds your Facebook fan page from outside of Facebook, they can see the full page and all the information even if they are not logged in. With groups however, somebody must already be inside Facebook to see them. However, I would think it would be far more important to have your primary website found first on Google rather than your Facebook fan page so I’m not sure that this is necessarily the most important difference between pages and groups.
Groups are linked to your personal profile. This has pluses and minuses. On the plus side, you can easily invite all your personal connections to join a group you create. On the downside, because a group is always connected to your personal profile, if you are trying to separate your personal Facebook use from your professional but Facebook use groups are not as effective.
Groups offer the creator more control over who can join. Groups can be completely open, where anyone can join, they can be open but members must first be approved by the administrator, or groups can be secret with only those specifically invited even knowing the group exists. A fan page however is completely wide open. Anyone can find the page and anyone can join. As a creator of page, you are severely limited in your ability to keep people away.
The biggest plus sides from a business perspective of fan pages is Read More→
I just watched a YouTube video by TweetDeck about their new version. I’ve been using TweetDeck for a while to manage my Twitter account and I already thought the previous update was a huge improvement. But version 0.32 just blew my mind. I could barely wait to get the update.
Some of the new features include the ability to update LinkedIn (yea!) and have a LinkedIn column showing your connections updates. You can also view and add Twitter Lists from within TweetDeck. I love the lists feature and was spending more time at Twitter.com because of them. But having the lists in TweetDeck means I can stop flipping back and forth.
There’s a whole lot more to learn, so watch the video. It will tell you everything you need to know. Then head on over to TweetDeck and get the new version!
Many small business owners view social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter as an exciting new shortcut for marketing their business. They think social media magical solution; if they sign up customers will flock to their website or store front. It’s as if marketing no longer has to be work.
Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m here to tell you that it’s just not true. Whether you are using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or some other social media site, the truth of the matter is the people who get true value out of social media are those who put in the hard work. If it were truly easy, everyone would be getting rich.
If you are using Facebook and have a business, you need to consider creating a fan page for your business. What’s a fan page? Facebook originally created fan pages to allow celebrities and large corporations to connect with more people. After all, your personal profile only allows you to connect to 5,000 people. Stars like Vin Deisel have millions of followers. That’s what fan pages are about.
the Facebook Fan Page
However, you don’t need to be a celebrity to create a Fan Page. Regardless of your business, you can benefit from having a page for it on Facebook. If you already have a personal profile on Facebook and are using it to network and promote your business, here are seven reasons why you should create a fan page:
Branding
Unlike your personal profile, Fan Pages allow you to use your business name, logo, and any other branding around your business. You can customize pages so they look similar to your website, Twitter page or YouTube Channel. This allows you to keep a consistent image between your Facebook page and any other online presence you have.
By having a Fan Page, you can differential between the personal you and the business you. This can be particularly important if you have family and friends connecting with you who aren’t as professional as you like. You can steer people to your fan page and avoid unpleasant conflict between the two.
Unlimited fans
Your personal profile only allows you to connect 5000 people. Now if you’re only connecting with people you actually know in the real world, then this limit is probably not be a problem for you. However, if you’re using Facebook as a virtual networking event, then at some point you may approach the 5000 limit.
A fan page however, allows you to have an unlimited number of fans. There are celebrities and businesses who have thousands and even millions of fans.
Please join me on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. I'm always happy to connect with Baby Boomer Entrepreneur readers. Just mention you read my blog and I promise to accept your invitation.
