Why do I love Facebook for business?•There are 1.2 billion people on FB. 699 million are on every day. 751 million mobile users so you know your audience is there also.

•It is you launching pad, its where your fans get to know you so you can build a community

•The best and fastest way to get something “out there”

•It is FREE

•Once you get the ‘hang of it’ it is a quick and easy way to stay in touch with your current and potential customers

•There is so much you can set up and keep in Facebook so you don’t lose people to the net.

Make sure you have a vanity URL

Claiming a Facebook URLIf your page looks like this:http://www.facebook.com/pages/yourpagename/12345678910

You will want it to look like this:http://www.facebook.com/yourpagename

Reasons to have a Vanity URL for your Facebook Page are:•Looks more professional•Easier to remember•Easier to share with customers•Way more searchable on Facebook

How to claim your Vanity URL

Make sure you have Facebook in your email signature

Don’t forget business cards and other marketing items

Add buttons to your website

Invite people to like your page

Understand WHO your fan is

Graph Search

Create posts knowing what your audience likes

Make sure you get your dimensions right so all your gorgeous graphics fit beautifully and look professional.

•Contact information (phone, website, email address)

•Calls to action (Tell your friends! Like us!, Arrows pointing to the Like button on your page)

•Discounts, purchase and price information

•Visuals that include liking or sharing your page

•This is prime real estate so use it wisely, get your message out there, make it attractive so people will want to delve further into your page and business.

•Be creative

•I love these next examples

Timeline Image Rules

Make your timeline image clickable

Use your About section

How do I create tabs?Connect everything you do like Pinterest, Instagram, Mailing lists etc

It is super easy to do, much easier than when I started out.

The 2 best apps I can recommend are:

www.woobox.com Free for free apps like Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter etc

www.shortstack.com Free for up to 2000 fans for most simple things and then they increase to $30 a month

Both are great and will give your page a good professional look

If you a good at creating your own html code I can recommend using an app through Facebook called static HTML iframe app, you can identify it by the star.

If you have a blog as I do, I can simply cut and paste my html coding and drop it straightInto the tab….voila!!!!!

# 1 Use Images that tell your story•Photos on FB generate 53% more likes….that’s huge!!!

•Select Images and then pop Captions on them

•Two of the best FREE sites you can use to create great visuals are picmonkey.com and Canva.com which is currently in beta version

•Try and be original and create your own rather than always sharing

•See what your fans respond to and post things you know they will love. Check out this great example from Stay at Home Mum, an award winning Australian site

•She has gone one step further and not only posted an image but something that her fans will want to try out and share

•Sharing a post sends your engagement through the roof

Just a little text on an image looks great and is very sharable

#2 Talk to fans like they are your friends, don’t try and be something you are not, no need to be corporate, we don’t live in that world any more, match your brand.

•Use Images that tell your story

•Photos on FB generate 53% more likes….that’s huge!!!

•See what your fans respond to and post things you know they will love. Check out this great example from an American Gal Marie Forleo.

If you have a blog, it is good to lead people to your posts, get them to click through.Road Trips do a great job with these types of posts.

I also like when people sign off on their posts, especially if you have more than one person on your page

#3 Track your own results and timing

Top reasons fans hide posts

•Posting too often•Posting off topic…..be relevant to your brand

#4 Vary Content Type•Test short vs long posts•Images•Videos…How to? •Questions/Polls•Events•Sales•Tips/Helpful Information •Fill in the Blanks

•FACEBOOK is NOT a ONE SIZE FITS ALL

# 5 Include Calls to Action (CTA)Two types of CTA’s

1. Social Calls - HUGE increaseIn engagement

2. Calls to Action to drive fans to your website or the following

•RSVP here•Sign up Today•Join the Mailing List here•Click here•Buy this….

•Make them really clear…”don’t start making it too hard i.e Like this page, then add a comment and please share whilst dancing and eating your lunch”

#6 Respond to Posts

Did you know that:

•The average response time is 13.7 hours? But people would like you to answer in

• 30 Minutes…..that is a lot of pressure

•45 % of questions asked to business’s remained unanswered on social media

•Focus on good customer service and prompt responses. It’s $$$$ in the bank.

•Make sure you @tag people in your replies so they get a notification or use the New REPLY feature on fan pages

#7 Give back to your Fans

I see a few of these online and they seem to work really, really well. Be therefor your fans

•Thursday Night Sales

•Friday expert i.e between 1-2 I will answer all questions on how to photograph in low light, how to cook the perfect steak or why do you _________

•Fan Page Friday “promote your business”

•Fan of the week

The purpose is to create good will, give them reasons to LIKE your page.

Make it about fans not you.

#8 Run a ContestMake sure you follow Facebook guidelines. You can ask for a like but not a share

Great way to create engagement and get more likes, make the prize good and relevant

•Make sure you are getting their email address for your mailing list and make sure you tell them that will happen

•From experience I have found people don’t respond well to voting competitions, if they don’t have a lot of friends or feel uncomfortable asking they will abandon.

•Look at what others are doing to get some great ideas

•You no longer have to use a 3rd party app But I recommend using one. It is way more professional, trusted and and easier to track results

•I can recommend using

1.Shortstack2.Easypromos…access through Facebook. Free for the first one and then very cheap after that

#9 Pay for more reach and/or likes

Promoted Posts

Sponsored Stories

Like Page Ads

According to Citigroup, Facebook owns what's approaching about 20%market share in terms of web activity in the world. It's an unbelievablenumber.

Understanding the Options

#10 Facebook Etiquette•Deal with your irate fans.

•Correct factual inaccuracies in a very tactful and pleasant way.

•NEVER delete a bad comment unless it is warranted.

•Don’t forget that you can always take your conversation offline and publicly suggest that for all to see

•Respect the Wall. Your Wall is where your fans can leave messages and start a discussion on a topic. Think of your Wall as a place of public record, so avoid editing comments that you don’t like and make sure you’re professional and courteous to anyone posting. Thank fans for posting and make it fun for them and others.

•Do not ever post your business or event on someone else’s page without permission. This is the height of rudeness.

•Credit anyone in business if you are using one of their images or information.

•Be authentic and transparent This one's fairly obvious by now but some business owners and brand managers still don't get it. Facebook members have little to no tolerance for phoniness or hidden agendas and can easily spot both. They do tend, however, to be forgiving. Be genuine and transparent. If you make a mistake, own up to it, do your best to resolve the issue, and then post back on the action you have taken

•Focus on quality, not quantity. As I mentioned earlier, it is less about likes and more about content and engagement.Try not to post messages like, "Help us out, we only need 150 more fans to reach 2,000," don't! Focus instead on the quality of your relationships. If the quality is high, the quantity will come organically.