Expand Your Online Presence With Facebook Pages and Applications

If you are looking to expand the online presence of your company or are just looking to diversify your online output in order to reach new readers and make new contacts then it is vital to create a Facebook fan page. There is an art to creating a successful Facebook fan page as a page is not simply a profile of you or your business, but rather an extension of your personality or brand.

As the global fashion brand GAP found out, a Facebook fan page can also be a source both of invaluable feedback and unfettered criticism. Over 2,000 messages left on its Facebook page has led GAP to drop its logo re-design and stick with the old iconic design.

As the GAP logo incident shows, a Facebook fan page should form an indispensible part of your marketing strategy, and provides an exciting opportunity to expand your online presence whilst also acting as a forum for important feedback.

Why should I increase my online presence through a Facebook fan page?

The advantages of marketing on Facebook are numerous.

• 400 million users make it the largest social media network.
• Fan pages can be created by anyone for artists, musicians, politicians, city tourist boards, restaurant chains, local businesses, and global corporations.
• Anyone can deliver videos, information, special offers (and more) to their fans.
• Fan pages can be personalized so that you can put your individual stamp on Facebook.
• A good-looking page, optimizing with the use of text, images and video will ensure that you acquire lots of fans as well as search recognition.

How can a business utilize a fan page?

• Fan pages encourage interaction between your company and your customers, which in turn produces customer loyalty and satisfaction.
• Business can advertise to customers directly.
• Businesses will receive instant feedback, compared to a long-term analysis of a traditional marketing campaign.
• Facebook provides a platform for you to create a new, modern, engaging outlook for your company.

With the creation of a fan page a company gains the ability to improve the recognition of your brand directly with your desired target market on Facebook.

When customers become a fan of your company (join your fan page), you can update them regularly with new products and new campaigns. Moreover, being able to offer them benefits (special offers) builds customer loyalty to your product and can encourage the “fans” to invite their friends to join your page which helps to increase your popularity and online presence.

Here is an example of the Nike fan page.

How can you make a fan page engaging? With the use of Facebook applications.

When your fan page has been created you can upload Facebook applications (apps) to interact and advertise your brand to your fans. A Facebook application is a programme that delivers content or can perform diverse functions, for example there are fun apps such as the popular Scrabble and Farmville apps played by millions.

For business purposes there are apps that can be created for your fan page which can really drive your social media marketing into new and exciting directions. Some key apps to be deployed on your fan page are as follows.

Polls:

This app is self-explanatory and provides an opportunity for you to gain feedback from your fans on products and promotions.

This invaluable feedback gives the impression to the fan that you care for their opinion and wish to involve them in your brand or project, whilst also providing vital information that helps organize your overall Marketing strategy.

Promotions:

This app will grab the attention of anybody that visits your page, by creating a promotion that will become an exciting incentive for them to become a fan of your page and invite their friends to do the same.

In order to use this app you must create an account with the developer WildFire, but once the account has been created you just simply follow a step-by-step process to set the length of the promotion, the promotional gift that will be on offer, the rules and conditions of the promotion and so forth. However, using this app is not free, and to publish a promotional campaign through the WildFire app will cost $5, with an additional $0.99c for each day that the campaign lasts.

YouTube:

In order to increase the interactivity of your fan page and make the page attractive to visit, you definitely have to provide some video output on your page. This process however utilizes more than one social media outlet.

The best way to place videos on your page is to take advantage of the YouTube for Pages app which allows your most recently uploaded (or favourite) videos on your YouTube channel to be displayed through your fan page so that the fan does not need to leave your page.

Don’t forget!

Keep updating content (either through videos, information entries, promotions, polls) to ensure that your fan page remains fresh and interesting to your fans. Search the millions of apps that are available on Facebook in order to configure the perfect fan page for your company.