I hear this from a lot of writers and business people. They've gone ahead, created a FaceBook Fan Page - because other people encouraged 'em to do so, but now what?
If you invest as little as 15-20 minutes every day, you can make your FaceBook Fan Page fun, vibrant, and welcoming.
I'm assuming you already were sold on the reasons why to have a FaceBook Fan Page, how great it is for marketing, blah blah, woof woof. Maybe you got dragged into it kicking and screaming, much like Grandpa who always swore he would never leave a message on some dad-blasted machine, but eventually caved in.
Maybe you set it up and now don't even remember how to get to your FaceBook Fan Page. Or maybe you got an email informing you that So-and-So set you up as a Page Administrator and you know how to do that about as well as you know how to fly. So here's some basics: (Disclaimer - these work as of the date of this post. FaceBook is constantly growing and changing and in fact just added the "Voice" option last week. And I ain't redoing all the graphics I'd already finished for this post!)
If you want to visit as YOU
use the Pages and Apps (along the left hand side), circled in red. This is how you will get to the option to Invite Your Friends to "Like" your page. (Note: don't keep inviting them too often or you will not only not make fans, but you will be losing Friends, on FaceBook and off.)You can also visit as "you" to thumb up or leave comments on your Page's posts (personally, I think that's a bit cheesy), or to scan the Page for posts to Share back to your own personal Page. Rather than just nagging your Friends: "Like My Page, Like My Page," sharing a great post or Photo from your Page is a more subtle way to brag on how good your Page is, and to interest people in Liking it because there's always such great content there. (George Takei, anyone?)
If you want to visit wearing your Page Administrator's hat
use the drop down at the top right, then choose WHICH fan page (if you are Administrator for more than one, like me). You may want to go there as Admin to remove spam, update the company information, or do other posting as your Official Self.Who am I?
Check along the top right for your current identity. Anything you do, will link back to this identity. So if you are Chastity McPure, Inspirational Love Stories on one Fan Page, and Sadistica, Empress of Pain on another, be extra cautious of your current identity when you comment upon, Like, or Share content from around the web or other fan pages.
If the content on your fan page is only about YOU - your business, your books, your blog posts - you are not interacting, you are promoting.
There is nothing wrong with promoting your work, but you are missing the idea of Social Media, which is to connect with and interact with your friends and associates. I quickly unFan, unFollow somebody who is always and only promoting her own work, and so do many other people. (Which reminds me, I have someone to UnFan...)
Why Share Other People's Content?
It won't hurt, and it will make them more likely to look for something on your page to share with their friends and fans. That's how word of mouth spreads. I see something witty that you have posted, or a cool photo, or an interesting article, and I share it with "my people," and now they see your name, perhaps they go Fan your page or look for books you have written, if not this time, perhaps the next. They like me better, for sharing something they enjoyed, and now they like you, too.Liking A Fan Page from A Fan Page
When you do this, not only do you get the posts in your News Feed for the Page, but visitors to your Page can see who your Page Likes. It's another way of sharing the love, though again, if you are wearing your Chastity McPure bonnet you probably don't want to show Genital Piercings for Dummies among your Likes.Often when I visit a new Fan Page, I will cruise their Likes to see if there are other people I want to Like, too.
If you're a local business, think about other local businesses to add: the Chamber of Commerce, the local zoos and museums. If you're a writer, Fan publishers, agents, other writers.
The more content you have, the more you have to choose from as to what to share. So Liking lots of Fan Pages will give you lots of content.
How Do I See What's In My News Feed?
It sounds backwards, but to get to the Admin Page for your Fan Page, you click on your name. If you want to see the News Feed for the Page, you click on the word Home.Your News Feed should look much like your personal News Feed, something like this:
From this screen, you can Like a Post, add a comment as your Page to a post, picture or video, or Share it to your own Page. This is what Social Media is about - sharing cool things, encouraging others, giving other people your valuable opinion. It is meant to be a conversation - not a monologue or sales pitch.
I'll be following up with another post on different ways of sharing content to your FaceBook Fan Page.
P.S. Want to go back to "being you"? Use that drop-down button to the right of Home.
Helpful? Questions?
Liked it? Or "Liked" it?
Found the typo in the last illustration?
Found the typo in the last illustration?
