5 Ways to Increase Your Facebook Fan Activity

Gone are the days when you marketed “to” your customers.  Now, with the popularity of social media, there is a new way to market: it’s interactive.  You no longer have to figure out creative ways to relay messages that will somehow get peoples’ attention, and then sit back and hope it’s working.  By marketing through social media, you get to hear your customers’ reactions first-hand, and can tweak your marketing efforts accordingly.  If you have accepted the new reality of social media marketing and are ready to take your Facebook potency to the next level, it is time to start thinking about improving your interactions with your fans.  How do you do that?  Here are five ways to increase your Facebook fan activity:

1. Interact on other fan pages.  This is quite simple: if you want to establish your credibility on Facebook and lend some relevance to your fan page in order to stimulate fan interactions, then you need to be active in the Facebook world.  One of the best ways you have of doing that is to be visible on other, related fan pages.  Get involved in serious discussions, post useful tidbits of information, or even just show support for the page, and people will reciprocate by participating more on your fan page.
2. Apps.  There are a number of useful applications that you can plug into your fan page in order to encourage interactions amongst your fans.  For example, the “Fan of the Week” app actually keeps track of your fans’ participation and acknowledges your top fan of each week.  People love recognition and this app will encourage them to hang out on your page more often.
3. Be genuine.  Your fans don’t want to feel that they are communicating with a robot.  Be human.  Be yourself.  Interact on a personal level and people will respond.
4. Fan page partnerships.  Make it a point to promote other fan pages that you support, and those fan pages will do the same for you.  You can promote other fan pages by sharing their pictures and posts, and by linking to their pages from your own page.
5. Have a contest.  Host a giveaway of some sort and provide your fans with a chance to win it, based on their participation.  You can set this up any way you like.  Many fan pages pose a silly question, or even a photo caption contest, and then advertise the prize and the deadline date.

As you can see, there are some very simple steps you can take to increase your Facebook fan activity.  If you want to get the most out of your social media marketing, contact the professionals.  We at Local SEO Ranking Services can be reached by phone, at (616) 824-0121, or email: tom.localseorankingservices@gmail.com.

5 Facebook Timeline Changes That Impact Your Business

If you use social media to market your business, then you no doubt understand how quickly things can change on that front.  It can sometimes be hard to keep up with all those changes, especially when you don’t know how they might impact your business.  When it comes to using Facebook, you simply cannot afford not to stay in the know.  That’s because Facebook is a very powerful marketing medium, and if you aren’t taking full advantage of all Facebook has to offer your business, you can bet your competition is.  Facebook’s newest wave of changes comes in its new Timeline format.  What does that mean for you?  Here are five Facebook Timeline changes that impact your business:

1. The cover.  Now, instead of just a small snapshot, Facebook provides for you a huge “cover” photo section, in the form of a horizontal banner that sits atop your Timeline and stretches from one side of the screen to another.  This cover image is the first thing your page visitors will notice, and is a powerful marketing tool where you can highlight your company’s logo, team members, or any other image that relays your business’ message.
2. Engagement.  Before, customers were unable to directly message you from your fan page.  However, that has changed with Timeline.  This allows for increased customer engagement, which in turn means happy, loyal customers.
3. Placement.  Your photos, apps, likes, and more now appear banner-style at the top of the page, right under your cover.  Not only is this more visually appealing, but it also allows you to move these features around so that you are drawing attention to the things most important to you.
4. The highlight feature.  Want to make a major business announcement or draw special attention to a new product, service, or deal?  The highlight feature allows you to stretch your important posts across the entire Timeline, making it a standout among your other, less important posts.
5. Admin panel.  Timeline’s new administrative panel is super-easy to use and has a lot of new features that enable you to customize your Timeline to your unique needs.

The Timeline format went into full effect on March 30, 2012.  That means every Facebook user was forced onto the Timeline bandwagon, whether they liked it or not.  Instead of dragging your heels, learn what you can about Timeline and apply it now.  For help making the most out of your business’ new Facebook Timeline profile, contact us, Local SEO Ranking Services.  We can be reached by phone, at (616) 824-0121, or via email: tom.localseorankingservices@gmail.com.

Increase Your Facebook Fan Page Visibility These 4 Ways

As a business, you likely understand the growing importance of having a strong, visible presence in the world of online social media.  Facebook is the highest ranking website in the world, and it is therefore tantamount to your business’ success that you learn how to best tap into this expansive market.  Fortunately for you, Facebook makes it pretty easy to take up residence and establish a strong Internet following with its fan page feature.  A Facebook fan page is a great way to interact with existing customers, advertise your business in the world’s largest market, and gain a new following, and any business that is any business should have one.  The next most important step to creating a Facebook fan page is learning how to use it to its full capacity, and that begins with learning how to make your page visible to as many people as possible.  Here are four ways to increase your Facebook fan page visibility:

1. Be active.  It’s quite simple, really: if you want to increase your fan page’s visibility, then you have to participate on other fan pages.  Make it a point to like other, related fan pages, and then browse their wall and photos and interact with their fans in a way that will get you some attention.  When you make the effort to participate on other fan pages, they tend to reciprocate, and their fans notice and jump on board.
2. Post useful content.  No one is going to enjoy getting spammed by your fan page ten times a day with the same promotional line or two.  If you really want to gain loyal fans who are inspired to send more fans your way, then you need to provide them with something of value.  Take your time formulating entertaining, interesting, and informative posts.  Also, post them consistently and at the same time every day so your fans will know what to expect from you.
3. Spreading the word.  Include the link to your Facebook fan page on all of your business communications.  This includes business cards, email signatures, letterheads, and advertisements.  It’s a numbers game, and there’s no such thing as promoting your fan page through too many outlets.
4. Ask for help.  Once you have proven to your fans that you care about providing them with quality posts and genuine interactions, you should have some loyal fans who will have no problem helping you out.  Don’t be afraid to ask them to recommend you to friends and share your status updates, posts, and pictures.

Increasing your visibility on Facebook is not rocket science, but it will take some serious effort on your end.  Don’t expect that it will happen naturally.  To make the most out of your social media marketing efforts, contact the professionals.  We at Local SEO Ranking Services can be reached by phone, at (616) 824-0121, or email: tom.localseorankingservices@gmail.com.

What Your Local Business Needs To Know About Facebook Business Pages

How to Make Your Timeline Post Stand Out

It seems that the new Facebook format, Timeline, really has people in arms.  But don’t people always complain any time Facebook makes format changes?  The truth is, Facebook Timeline has some great new features that truly broaden the Facebook user experience . . . and Timeline is not going anywhere.  Facebook users have already been converted to Timeline, so it’s a good idea to get ahead of the pack by learning how to use Timeline’s features and adapt your Facebook use accordingly.  One great thing you can do with your Timeline is to make your most important posts (of your choosing, of course) stand out amongst the rest of your posts.  How do you accomplish this?  Read on for step by step instructions:

1. Timeline Highlight.  The new feature that allows you showcase any and every post you want to call special attention to is called “Highlight.”  Highlight is super easy to access and use, as you will see in this breakdown.  (Side note: the Highlight feature applies to Facebook fan pages only.  The same feature is actually called “Feature” on standard profile pages.  However, both Highlight and Feature work the same way.)
2. How does Timeline “highlight” your posts?  Basically, when you choose a post to highlight, that post is expanded to the full width of your screen (or the full width of the Timeline, that is).
3. Where is the Highlight feature?  This is easy.  Simply hover your mouse around the upper right hand corner of your post and two buttons will appear: a star and a pencil.  The star is your Highlight button.
4. The highlighting process.  Click on the star.  Yes, that’s it.  If you make a mistake and highlight the wrong post, or if you have a change of heart and decide that a post you highlighted is unworthy, simply click the Highlight star again to remove the highlighting.
5. What can you highlight?  Anything you post on Facebook may be highlighted.  This means status updates, photos, videos, Timeline events, and much more.  As a matter of fact, you may use Highlight to customize the look of your page in any way you like; for example, you may opt to highlight every one of your posts if you prefer that your page fans have a large, simplified view of everything you post.

Facebook’s new Highlight feature can be a powerful marketing tool, if you know how to use it.  To make the most of your social media marketing, contact the professionals.  We at Local SEO Ranking Services can help take your Internet presence to the next level.  Contact us by phone, at (616) 8240121, or email: tom.localseorankingservices@gmail.com.

A Facebook Fan Page Can Increase Your Popularity These 3 Ways

If you are responsible for marketing your business, then you absolutely must extend your efforts into the world of social media.  And if you are marketing through social media, you absolutely must create a Facebook fan page.  Facebook fan pages are different from regular member profile pages in a number of ways, and are the perfect way to increase awareness about your business and its offerings.  If you are still on the fence about Facebook and what it can do for your business, then you owe the fan page interface some serious consideration.  Here are three ways in which a Facebook fan page can increase your popularity:

1. Friends list limitations versus likes.  Facebook profile pages allow for only five thousand friends.  When you do get friend requests, you have to take the time to either approve or deny them.  Now, five thousand may sound like a lot of friends, but not when you are a business competing with businesses that have hundreds of thousands of customers and counting.  When you convert to a Facebook fan page, your “friends list” changes in a couple of ways: first off, the five thousand limit is lifted, and second off, you no longer have to approve new friends.  People simply hit the “like” button at the top of your page and they are automatically subscribed . . . which means everyone on their friends lists sees this activity in the news feed.
2. Advertisements.  Once you have a business fan page set up, you can take advantage of Facebook advertisements.  Facebook allows you to customize your ads to target whichever audience you choose.  Facebook ads are proven to be highly effective, and can be a great tool in your bag of marketing tricks.
3. Customized applications.  One awesome thing you can do with a Facebook fan page is create custom apps (or hire an app developer to do so) that allow your page visitors to perform a multitude of tasks right from the Facebook interface.  The options include selling your products directly from your fan page, and allowing page visitors to opt in to other offers linked to your business.  When you employ the use of apps, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

As you can see, you really cannot afford to be missing out on the myriad opportunities offered by a Facebook fan page.  And the best part is that it is FREE to set up a fan page.  For help designing an effective fan page for your business, contact Local SEO Ranking Services.  We can be reached by phone, at (616) 824-0121, or via email: tom.localseorankingservices@gmail.com.