If you spend any time on Facebook, you’ve likely been tempted to become a fan of a company, charity, community or cause. And that’s no accident – Facebook fan pages are instrumental in building brand awareness and interest in a forum people know and enjoy. In fact, 80 percent of shoppers are more likely to respond to something based on social media recommendations.

As opposed to a Facebook profile page, a fan page is where companies large and small connect, post valuable content that resonates with their target audience, link to blogs, integrate SEO words and phrases to boost their Google rankings, and integrate compelling call-to-action statements that help drive visitors to landing pages where they may become qualified leads.

That’s quite a set of benefits for the relatively small investment in time and resources associated with a Facebook business page. Creating a fan page for your business takes 11 steps, most of which are very fast and easy. Download this guide to learn more.

Facebook for business: the basics
The goal of your Facebook fan page is to attract visitors, encourage content sharing and “Likes,” and, ultimately identify the most likely fans who can become your qualified leads.

To achieve these goals, post frequently and meaningfully. You’ll enjoy a stronger Facebook fan page when you incorporate:

• Images. If your B2C or B2B company specializes in products, it’s only natural to want to post as many pictures of your products as you can. But your Facebook fans may be looking for something more – they want real engagement. So instead of a product, consider an image showing how that product is creating benefit for people. And people respond – Facebook statistics indicate that images generates 120 percent more engagement than text alone.
• Video. Optimize your fan page to stream video or link to YouTube channels. According to Facebook video statistics, posts that include a video net 100 percent more engagement than non-video posts.
• Text. In Facebook, brevity is the watchword. You have a limited amount of space and a short span of time – a few seconds, actually – to catch attention among your fans’ many other Facebook status updates.  Keep your text benefit- or news-oriented to avoid falling into a “sales pitch” trap. Ask questions of your visitors – it’s a great way to collect comments, suggestions and sales ideas.
• Call to action. Facebook marketing ties into your inbound marketing tactics in that a compelling call to action (CTA) should be part of every page. Make yours easily identifiable and link it to a landing page that offers premium or exclusive content in exchange for contact information.
• Promotion. A fan box, a paid Facebook ad, and links from your personal profile page or from your Twitter feed can help get the word out about your page. Encourage shares by posting great content, sponsoring events, creating contests and sharing related fan pages on your own company page.

Facebook means business
As part of your social media strategy for inbound marketing, Facebook fan pages can put a fresh new face to your company. Get started now building your page – and your business.

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