You’ve heard about Facebook right? Stupid question, I know. What you may not be aware of though, is that:

• Facebook has over 400 million members
• This number is on track to exceed 500 million members this year
• At any one time, over 200 million Facebook members are actively online

Facebook fan pages are a great way to create your own community

A facebook fan page allows you to separate your personal social profile, from your business or brand. It’s a great way to gather together a community of customers, suppliers, or people interested in what you have to offer.

A fan page creates trust and encourages communication

Fan pages are a way to communicate in a more relaxed fashion with your target audience. They can be used as a tool to build trust over time, without being too ’salesy’. You can create discussions on niche topics, invite comments and participation from your fans, and generally fuel the buzz around your industry or service.

Does most of your business come through Word Of Mouth?

Most of our clients report that word of mouth is the best form of marketing for their business. The great thing about a Facebook fan page is, that it helps people who know about you, to recommend and promote you to others.

Every time somebody ‘likes’ your fan page, all of their friends will notice

This it what is known as ‘viral spread’. Each time a new fan joins your fan page by clicking on the ‘like’ button, a message appears on their wall stating ‘[their name] likes [your business fan page]‘. This creates a link to your fan page which all of their friends can click on.

We all want to know what other people like

Social proof is a powerful mechanism which works in your favour with a Facebook fan page. Whenever you see that one of your friends has become a fan of something, we all take notice. Over 50% of people will actually click the link to see for themselves. Now you have a chance of persuading them to join as well.

Fan Pages allow you to market over time

Sometimes, the reason why people don’t buy from you is because the time isn’t quite right for them. This might be true for a number of your fans. However, when the time is right, they’ve already been receiving your messages for a long time, so you’ll probably be their provider of choice straight away.

For example, you can:

• Remove unwanted tabs that don’t apply to your business
• Include new tabs like ‘Services’, ‘Products’, or maybe even a ‘Menu’
• Include embedded video. Having video play from youTube, right inside your fan page is far better than exporting people off your fan page into youTube itself.
• Appoint officers to your fan page
• Start, moderate, and fuel relevant discussions amongst your members

Best of all, you can listen to your audience

Asking people questions, to better understand their values and what they want from you, is a great way of creating ‘targeted marketing’. You can start discussions on your Facebook fan page that encourage people to discuss certain products, or issues in your industry. This way, you can gauge what people really think, and what they really value.

Here’s what to do now

If you would like to know more about Facebook fan pages and how they can help you to generate more business, then send an email to blair.keen@additivesolutions.co.uk or call now on 01603 762232..

Want to discover who to increase your fanpage ‘likes’? Read this post about Custom Facebook Fan Page Design.