The potential to reach out to more customers is increasing every day. A well designed and maintained Facebook Page can be a cost-effective way to create awareness of your brand and it's products and services. It can also be utilised to provide customer service and increase loyalty.

1. RESEARCH

• Look at what you Competitors are doing:
  • What does their Welcome Page look like
  • Do they have content in other tabs of their Facebook Page
  • How often do they post
  • What are the sorts of things they are posting
  • Do they get many posts/responses from their fans
• Look at other Business pages that are popular (ie Big brands)

2. PLAN

• Work out a strategy for your Facebook Page
  • What sort of content are you going to post
  • Who will post and how often
  • What do you want your Welcome page to look like and say?
  • How will you get likes - initially and ongoing
  • Do you have a Blog or News area on your existing site that you can feed into your Facebook Page (this can be set up so it's done automatically)
  • Do you have any products to sell (you can set up online selling on your facebook page - you can even implement discounts for Fans!)
  • Do you have any existing Photo Galleries to upload
  • Can you promote your Events on your page (this can be set up as an Event Calendar)
• There are many ways to promote and engage fans - you may decide it's best to have a Social Media Strategy created for you by an expert. Contact us for more information.

3. IMPLEMENT

• Get your Welcome page and profile badge created by a professional
  • To convert viewers to likes, you need to have an enticing, professional looking Welcome Page. Here are some great examples (click to view): Oreo, Skittles, DELL, Sony, Target, Bank of Melbourne
  • Contact us to have your Welcome page designed and Implemented
• Assign your "Social Media Co-ordinator" (can be you, a member of your staff, a consultant)
  • This is a perfect opportunity to get your staff's involvement (if you think they are qualified to do so - they must be prepared to learn, stick to the plan, be an existing Facebook user and ideally have marketing / sales experience).
  • This role takes time, it needs to be taken seriously and needs to be added to your/your employees Job Description
  • Alternatively engage a consultant. Contact us.
• Work out a weekly calender
  • A good way to do this is to assign a different type of post for each day of the week.For example Monday: Industry News | Tues: A You-tube Video | Wed: an Event | Thurs: a humerous/quirky fact or piece of information | Fri: A competition to receive a Special Offer on a service or product
• Create a 'username' for your Facebook Page
  • Click here to create a Facebook Page username
  • Warning - this can only be done once - you can't change it once it's confirmed
• Add your Facebook link to your website
  • If we have developed your Website, Contact us to discuss implementing your Facebook Like Box
• Invite your Contacts and Friends to Like your new Facebook Page
• Get Posting!
  • Your posts should "ENGAGE" your facebook community - not "SELL". This builds trust in your brand and builds your fan-base. Your are trying to connect and build a relationship with your community and have them like and respond to you
  • Include a Call to Action - Have people Like your post by giving them an incentive, include a link for more information on your website, or watch a video.
  • Set up your Blog so your Blog posts feed into your Facebook page as post. This is a great way to get the most out of content you have already written
  • If you have a News section on your website, this can also be fed into your Facebook Page.
  • Offer discounts to your Facebook Fans - You can set up a store on your Facebook Page for your products which also enables you to set up discounts for Fans.

4. MAINTAIN

• Post Every Day if possible - yes this is a lot! - but as people make more friends and like more pages (see stats above) your occasional posts are easily missed.
• Organise a monthly meeting to discuss your Facebook Page
• Track Insights, chart your LIKES and discuss the posts that get the most engagement from your fans/community
• Discuss the possibility of implementing targeted campaigns, competitions, events, polls, service and product launches, video
• Consider Facebook Ads
• Keep an eye on your competition
• Develop Relationships with similar businesses - they may refer people to your business