Promoting a Facebook Page

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Wow, it’s not. Facebook has made this a tricky task to accomplish. Geesh, they should offer a class in it.

Because our friends at Facebook have for whatever reason decided to make this more difficult than it should be by 1) burying Pages under the Info tab in the new design 2) not having changes made to Facebook Pages show up in its fans newsfeeds (come on, this is so simple, why can’t you do it, Facebook?), I am offering a 101 class here in how to successfully promote your Facebook Page.

1. If possible, choose someone besides the most visible face of your business be the administrator of the page. Why? Because anytime they do something to the page, it is not associated with their personal profile and only shows up as if the business has made the change. This means it does NOT show up in any newsfeeds. So pick an intern or something to do all the admin stuff.
2. Then, have the person who IS the most visible face of your business be sure they are “friends” with all “fans” of the page and then engage in a lot of activity on the page. That will then show up in their friends’ newsfeeds that they have engaged in activity on the page and hopefully drive them there to comment, post photos, watch videos, read content, etc.
3. Anytime you do something to the page that is halfway interesting, note that in your Facebook status. Again, this shows up in your newsfeed and makes it more likely for people to see it. Try to come up with a compelling question, invite people to submit photos, create a contest or ask them to check out some fascinating new content on the page.
4. Anything you post on the page, post it in your personal profile as well with a comment to check out more on the business’ page.
5. Easiest way: Send an update to the fans of your page. Try to provide them with useful or interesting information, though, and a reason to go to the page (see No. 3 for ideas).
6. Anytime you make a new friend on Facebook and they are remotely related to your business, ask them to be a fan. When they become a fan, it will show up in their friends’ newsfeeds and hopefully, spread virally, encouraging others to do the same.
7. On that same note, nicely, with no pressure, ask clients and colleagues to submit a review of your business if they are so inclined. Again, all the (hopefully) wonderful things they had to say about you shows up in their newsfeed.
8. Include a link to your Facebook page on your Web site, in your email signature, in your email newsletters, in your social media profiles, anywhere you can think of.
9. If all else fails, I guess you can buy an ad on Facebook. I’m not a big fan of paid advertising, but Facebook does allow you to target your ads pretty specifically and I like that they only have no more than two ads per page. If you try it out, let us know how it works for you.

Any other ideas out there? Let’s hear them.