With more than one billion people logging onto Facebook every month, entrepreneurs cannot afford to ignore the marketing implications. Custom designed apps serve as mini web pages on a site with more traffic than most websites will ever hope to have. The large cover photo at the top of every business page is a digital marketing billboard and key promotional hot spots can help convert fans on Facebook into visitors to brand websites.
Every entrepreneur, author, speaker or small business with a business page has several key consumer facing hot spots to share sales, specials, invite opt ins and even promote events.
Is your business page using these five promotional hot spots? Take this checklist and compare it to your page to make sure you’re using every available promotional opportunity built into the Facebook business page model.
1. Cover photo: This large billboard across the top of your new timeline is your cover photo. This image is 851 x 315 px maximum and although Facebook states that you cannot have a URL, sales copy or calls to action such as “Like my page,” there are creative ways to illustrate your offering, the feel of your brand or business and to inspire people to “like” your page. This photo should inspire, inform and engage people so think long and hard about what image you want to greet people who land on your page.
2. Apps: You can install apps (formerly called tabs) on the left hand side of your page. They are like stand alone web pages on the Facebook platform. You can add free apps to pull your other social streams onto your business page to showcase your Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter account and you can install custom apps to promote a sign up offer or a sales page.
3. About: This often overlooked hot spot is right below your avatar picture of the left hand side of your page. Start the about section with a live link to your website OR a live link to an opt in page or perhaps a sales page. This is the first place people look, after your cover photo, to learn more about you. Make sure you make it easy for them to find out more about you, your products or services and your special offers. Remember to start with the http:// to make the link live and clickable.
4. Milestones: Milestones are a feature Facebook has included to let you brag about special events in your company. You might consider a sale to be a milestone or an award or honor. Facebook places more importance on milestone entries so use these wisely and don’t overuse them. However, if you launch a new product, that’s a company milestone. Highlight it.
5. Pin to top: Facebook allows you to “pin” a particular post to the top of your page for seven days, at which time it returns to it’s spot in your timeline. Announcements, events, special offers, contests or any major promotional event can be pinned to the top of the page to make sure people who visit your page see it first.
6. BONUS: OK, I know I said 5 promotional hot spots BUT even an update can be a promotional opportunity. When you post an update that elicits strong response from your fan base, you’re upping the chances that those same fans will see your posts in their news stream during the upcoming week. So dedicate at least one update a week to a call to action or an inspirational post or something that compels people to comment. The Facebook algorithm takes interactions between you and your fans seriously. Help your fans see your posts by creating posts that demand engagement.
There are more promotional opportunities on a Facebook business page and I’ve create a short video to help you use my all time favorite Facebook fan page promotional hot spot, the Call to Action Feature. You can view that video HERE on my YouTube Channel. For more up to date promotional and marketing ideas, be sure to subscribe to my channel.
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