Mari Smith, social-media business coach and “the Pied Piper of the Online World” (according to FastCompany.com), stepped up at the Social Media Success Summit on Wednesday to divulge her top tips for creating a customized, brand-boosting fan page on Facebook, including advice on how to maximize profile pictures, use Facebook Markup Language and custom tabs, and invest in applications to promote other platforms.
To start, she made the case for paying attention to Facebook, noting that if you’re not there, you are missing a huge opportunity. As she pointed out, the data speak for themselves. Currently, Facebook:
- Is the No. 1 social network in the world.
- Has 500 million active users (half log in daily).
- Is used 55 minutes per day per user.
- Has tremendous global reach, with 70% of users located outside the U.S.
- Has immense potential for social shopping, as 68% of users said they were more likely to purchase a product on a positive Facebook friend referral.
Here are a few of her tips for getting started:
- Begin with a checklist. Discern your target market and goals, understand what technology you need to acquire or learn, and figure out how to track your efforts.
- Make the most of your profile picture. Use the maximum picture size (180×540 pixels) and have a strong call to action in the small box below the picture.
- Create a landing page for nonfans. Design a landing page (ultimately, a Facebook page tab) where people will automatically land when they search for your company, brand or product. Use creative design and multimedia on this tab to create a call to action to “like” your page.
- Add an e-mail opt-in box for the left side of your wall. Allow your fans the option to sign up for extra content from you. If they are your fan already and receiving content via a news feed, they might be willing to receive more.
- Start discussion topics. Use the discussions tab to listen to your fans and give them a place to talk and promote themselves without sacrificing your wall.
- Promote your other networks. Use third-party applications to promote your activities on other social networks, including Twitter, YouTube and blogs. Free and low-cost applications she likes: Involver.com, Wildfireapp.com, Fanappz.com, and Buddymedia.com.
Smith’s session highlighted Facebook marketing basics. She will return this month to dive deeper into promotion and engagement on the medium at the Social Media Success Summit, a monthlong, 100% online webinar co-hosted by SmartBrief. For access to the whole session and many others, sign up here.
Image credit, MariSmith.com