by Gavin Seim. Updated 09/19/11. (Look for 09/11 note in tip titles).
So, you want a wildly popular Facebook page with thousands of screaming fans begging you for more?
I may not be able to give you that. But you never know. Seriously though, let me be clear. I have no intention of writing about how you can triple your fans overnight and make $4k a month in your spare time, while eating Cheetos and drinking beer. This is an in-depth article for anyone (but especially photographers) trying to build a real presence on FB. I’ve spent a lot of time working with pages, and this is nearly everything I’ve learned, all laid out for free.
Facebook Pages can be great tool for any business. They allow us to promote our brand in an interactive way on a venue frequented by a large portion of the population. It’s also free, which is even better. Now FB may not be a big deal five years from now, but today it’s king of the social web, and in business, we go where the customers are.
On the one hand, pages are simple, but their social nuances are what can make them truly effective. Watch for reference links throughout that will help you find your way through FB’s maze of information, starting withinternal help discussions where you can ask specific questions of other users.
Making a FB page successful takes cultivation, kind of like an garden. If you nurture it, it flourishes and produces. But if you ignore or abuse it, it gets sick, dries up, and dies. OK, now that my dramatic food analogy is over, let’s get into the tips. If you don’t already have a page, you can start by making one here. I maintain lots of pages, so feel free to check out any of them for ideas and +Like them if you like what you see.
1. Add Real Value:
Successful Pages are not about SPAM. They’re really about permission marketing (Seth Goden’s book is great for more information on that topic). When someone Fan’s (or +Likes) your page, everything you post to that page will show up in their feed. That person is giving you permission, and that’s VERY valuable. It’s also to be used with caution. If you abuse that permission, fans will learn to ignore, be annoyed with, and or Un-Like you for going overboard. Take the time to make a page with a balance that represents your brand and provides content and information that fans will enjoy. They already like you so the battle is half won. But only half. The rest is in your hands.
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