Facebook marketing tips

Facebook marketing tips
Facebook continues to be the most powerful social network on the planet with over 750 million active users. Businesses simply cannot ignore Facebook as part of their online marketing strategy. Take your Facebook marketing to a new level with these hot Facebook marketing tips direct from the top pros in Facebook marketing.

#1: Give people a reason to become fans A Reveal tab offers first-time visitors a clear call to action.

By encouraging the visitor to first “Like” your fan page in order to receive a free trial, coupon or even specialized information, you can significantly increase fan conversion rates, while giving real value in becoming a fan.

#2: Stay on topic People who Like your brand on Facebook expect your posts to be at least somewhat related to your brand or industry. Keeping your focus so narrow may seem limiting, especially if you’re the one crafting the posts each day. Instead, think of it as a creative challenge.

#3: Ask questions One of the best ways to get your fans talking on Facebook is to ask interesting and entertaining questions. When done well, you can significantly increase your fan engagement and build some great relationships. The trick is to ask questions that are easy to answer. Questions that require just one-word responses tend to get the most engagement. People LOVE to talk about themselves, so when you make it about them, they are more likely to jump into the conversation.

#4: Run a Facebook contest Everyone loves a contest and a chance to win. If you need a little excitement on your Facebook page, a contest will spur your community to action. Hopefully you will also get the benefit of people sharing your contest with their friends.

There are several different types of contests you can run: a photo contest, a video contest or a sweepstakes where people just enter their name and email to win.

To run a Facebook Contest, you’ll need to use a third-party app such as Wildfire, Strutta, North Social, Easypromos or Shortstack. You can also create your own iFrame app to accept the entries, but that will require programming. Facebook has many rules about how a contest or promotion can be run that you should read here: http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php. The main thing to consider is that you cannot automatically enter people who Like your page or post a comment on your wall.

Your prize doesn't have to be expensive to get a lot of entries and good buzz. Social Media Examiner’s Michael Stelzner ran a very successful contest using the Strutta application and gave away a business launch package including one-on-one coaching. He received 80 photo entries, took his fan base to over 1,500 Likes and got fantastic publicity for his new book, Launch. If you give away something your audience is interested in, you will create great buzz for you and your Facebook page.