Every marketing professional and every wanna-be marketing professional will tell you the same thing to increase the exposure of your business...get a Facebook page. The fact is anybody can use a camera to take a picture, but a skilled photographer can take a picture and tell a story. In the same way, anyone can create a Facebook page for their business (or for any other reason), but few people know how to use it effectively to create a community.

But you’re different because after reading these tips you’ll be on your way to mastering the use of a Facebook business page and turning your customers into a community.

1) Stake your territory
Once you’ve gotten your information posted (hours of operation, location, etc.) it’s time get some “likes” (which is a really dumb term used by Facebook). This means you’ll need to invite anyone on your friends list who might have the slightest interest in you or your business (or you can just “select all”). I would suggest being selective so you’re not “that guy” that uses Facebook only as a shameless promotion tool for their business.

2) Give it a name
The first few days you need to monitor the number of “likes” you’ve gotten from your first campaign. The reason for this is because at 30 “likes” you get to specify a custom URL for your FB page. This will turn your URL from http://facebook.com/group&#####blahblahblah into http://facebook.com/yourbusiness. Which one do you want to put on a business card?

3) Don’t just announce, interact
You have some “likes” and you have your name, but now what? One word...INTERACTIONS. This is the language FB understands. That means people are interacting with your business by sharing, posting, or commenting. Facebook (and all social media) is a two-way interaction platform which means instead of blasting your message through a loudspeaker you are having a conversation in a coffee shop. This is also the part where I tell you NOT to go overboard and post updates about your business every hour. My recommendation would be 2-3 times a week at most, but at least twice a month.

Here are some ideas for how to generate good interaction through your FB business page.

1) Coupons and promos
Have a coupon for 10% off that is only available for people that “like” your business.

2) Contests
Need a new logo or a name for a new product? Have a contest on your FB page and give away a gift card or something similar to the winner. Not only will you have some interaction, you’ll get something you need done anyway FOR FREE!

3) Pictures and video
Use pictures and video sparingly, but make sure you have pictures of people. Have a contest for the most creative use of your product. Have customers submit a picture of them using your product.

4) Feedback
Ask questions. “What should our next promotion be?” “What color should our next product be?” It doesn’t really matter what questions you’re asking, just ask them!

There’s a lot of ways to maximize your use of your business page, but it all boils down to one main idea...build a community! Anything that you can do to help customers connect with you and with other customers is only going to solidify your place in the minds of customers.

About Daniel Titus

Daniel Titus is the owner and principal designer of DanielTitus.com (a graphic design and web development company). He considers himself to be a storyteller, an artist, a geek and a family man all rolled into one. You can read more from Daniel on his weekly blog: DanielTitus.com/blog