5 Steps to Optimize your Facebook Page
Using Facebook for your business is not only a good decision but also a necessary one in todays social marketing environment. Creating a successful Facebook Fan page for your business should be a integral part of your overall online marketing strategy. Along with your website, twitter, and other social media sites, your Facebook Fan Page for your business gives you an opportunity to view your clients emotions and concerns in real time. It is a great way to build one on one relationships and really get in tune with your customers.
Tips For Optimizing your Facebook Page
- 1. Create your profile pictures.
- I know this sounds basic but there are some technical things to take into consideration with your profile pic. Facebook specs recommend that profile pictures should be 200px wide, while height can vary as needed. What is less documented is how the thumbnail that Facebook uses across the system is generated from this picture.
- According to Mashable Magazine, the system crops images when generating a thumbnail, losing information around the edge. There’s a “title safe” area within all images. So when you create your profile image that’s 200px wide, allow a 12 pixel border around crucial information (such as typography or a logo) to allow for automatic cropping.
- Also bear in mind that regardless of the shape of your profile image, Facebook thumbnails are square (with rounded corners), and sized based on the length of the shortest side of your image. So when designing rectangular profile pictures, make sure to keep your desired thumbnail imagery within a square boundary.
- 2. Using About and Info Boxes
- Use the “About” box and the “Info” Tab to put keyword-dense information about your company. This will help in search and when user view your Fan Page to know that the information they seek is relavent to your site. The about box is the highest place in the structure that you can put custom text in. Put your most exciting, relevant information about your company here. In the “Info” tab across the top, put more keyword driven content as well as your company’s address, overview, mission, and product information. Don’t forget to put your website link, as well as links to other profiles such as twitter in the “Info” tab section.
- 3. Using “Static FBML”
- Get the Static FBML Application. With the Static FBML Application you can put standard HMTL/CSS into the box and have it show up as a Tab or box in the sidebar. The application can add additional information outside of the standard boxes Facebook Pages comes with (discussions, links, notes) to be able to create custom content for Fans, RSS Feeds, or a Welcome Page. We mentioned above creating custom tabs for things like Feeds or Welcome Pages. You can use the Static FMBL application to create a new page for your Facebook Business Page that can be set as the start page for Facebook. Inside the settings, you can set which page your fans will see when they first go to your Page. By default, it is set for the Wall. Create a new visually stimulating page (think landing page or one page website) using standard HTML/CSS and then have this page set as your new start page.
- 4. Use images, videos, slideshows, etc to engage with your Fans
- Facebook, despite it’s boxy appearance (join the Facebook Re-Design Group), it is still a visual medium. Fans like to see images, watch videos, and be presented with graphic elements. Give the Fans what they want!
- 5. Create a Facebook Ad for more Fans
- Facebook allows business owners to create Facebook ads that can be targeting towards specific demographics such as age, sex, interests, or geography. Remember though, Facebook is about relationship marketing. While an ad is a good idea, it’s main purpose should be to attract news fans, and then to build a relationship with those fans. Only then, will a business have enough credibility to sell.
- Bonus. Promote Your Page
- Promote your page everywhere. Your website, social profiles such as twitter, your email signature, and your promotional printed materials such as flyers and business cards. Also, once you have 25 Fans, your business Page can then get a customized URL.
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