6 Ways To Brand Your Facebook Fan Page

Since Facebook’s latest fan page layout overhaul, Page owners have even more flexibility to really show off their brand. Below you’ll learn how to take advantage of these changes to spice up your fan page and promote your brand.

1. Profile Picture And Thumbnail

With 150w x 540h worth of space to use, the profile picture essentially serves as your logo. And while it’s up to you whether you use the full 540, you’ll definitely want to maximize the width dimension.

Two brands, Harley Davidson and Nike, keep things simple with an iconic logo and a signature tagline, while Zappos and Internet Marketer, Ryan Deiss take advantage of the prime fan page real estate to not only create brand awareness, but also to share a little more information.

 

 

 

 

 

Note: there are a few things you want to consider with your profile photo.

First, the taller the profile photo, the farther down the Page your tab navigation goes. And like any good website, you want your most important information above the fold. So make sure the extra length you add to your photo is for good reason.

Second, don’t forget about your thumbnail since by default, Facebook selects an area of your profile photo and reduces it to a 50 x 50 pixel image. A quick once over to ensure your thumbnail isn’t showing some obscure area of the photo is all you need to do.

2. Photostrip

The photostrip area, located directly to the right of the profile photo, is a great opportunity for fan page owners to show off their product line, a la Ryan Deiss, or simply to get creative and have some fun with their products, as is the case with Doritos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: while you can control the images that appear in the photostrip, you can’t control the order in which they appear. So add images that aren’t dependent on their order. Further, try to include images that show off your product and convey information about your brand.

3. Custom Tabs

If you’ve Liked a fan page before, then chances are you’ve seen what a custom tab looks like. The two examples below are taken from Ryan Deiss’ fan page and show the various ways in which you can include this feature in your own fan page.

 

 

In the first example, Deiss has created a page to give away free content while building his list. And in the second custom page, Deiss has created what is essentially an “About Me” page.  While very different, both pages serve the purpose of extending his brand and attracting more fans.

While custom tabs do require someone with programming experience to put together, the benefits of having these pages to build your list and connect with your audience are huge. Just make sure to set a goal with each page you create. This way you can track its effectiveness later on.

4. Navigation Menu

One of the big changes following Facebook’s new layout design was the move of the navigation tabs from across the top of the Page to down below the profile photo. And while the move initially frustrated Page owners, it has proven to be rather beneficial for branding purposes.

 

For one, the character limit for each item in the nav menu increased from a paltry 12 or so characters up to 36! So now owners can take advantage of the additonal character limit to really call out important pages. And second, with this move Page owners are not able to create custom icons for each tab in the navigation menu. See what Vicotria’s Secret as done with this new feature below.

 

Now it’s not the end of the world if you’re without customized navigation icons, but this simply shows another way in which Facebook has empowered Page owners to get creative in extending their brand.

Note: you’ll want to order your tabs according to their level of importance.

5. About Section

While this section doesn’t allow clickable links, it’s still an area in which you can put links that are of interest to your fans. Examples of this include product pages, blogs, and customer service email addresses. Also, be mindful that you only have so many characters to work with, so whatever you decide to put here, make it short and concise.

 

6. Page Likes

Scrolling further down the fan page, you’ll find the Likes area. This is where all the fan pages that your Page Likes show up. So for Page owners with more than one fan page, or simply if you want to draw your visitors and fans’ attention to another page you Like, be sure to add them here.

 

Whether you already have a fan page or you’re just getting ready to build one, Facebook’s new layout has given you even greater freedom to create a fan page that accurately reflects what your brand is all about.

 

 

3 Popular Ways To Customize Your Facebook Landing Page

Have you ever arrived at a fan page and immediately Liked the Page or signed up for their free giveaway?

I do it myself on occasion, but only if there’s something in it for me.  So herein lies the important lesson – people want to learn, be inspired and/or entertained. And since you only have about 8 seconds to make a first impression, you better have a Facebook landing page that hits at least one of those 3 areas.

Luckily there is a plethora of fan pages to draw inspiration from. But before we get to those examples, first you need to decide what it is you’re trying to achieve with your Facebook landing page. For instance, is it more fans that you want, are you trying to build your list, or maybe you just want to increase brand awareness.

Whichever the case may be, you must decide on the goal of your landing page before you start the design. Not only will this help craft your copy and shape its design, but starting with a goal in mind will also allow you to more accurately measure your landing page’s effectiveness later on.

With your goal in mind, let’s now look for inspiration from 3 distinct Facebook landing page goals.

1. To Generate More Facebook Fans

For fan page owners trying to grow their fan count, a tactic frequently used is the reveal tab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see from the examples above, this set-up teases the visitor with the promise of something desirable in exchange for them first Liking the page.  The key is in knowing what your target market wants badly enough, and then creating an irresistible offer to match it.

Keep in mind that if the revealed content is of poor quality, your new fans will quickly unlike your page. So ensure new fans stick around by making your free content exceptional.

2. To Build Your Email List

Another oft-used landing page strategy is the offer of compelling content in exchange for an email address. Below are two examples of this strategy in practice. Yet if you look closely, you’ll see that Deiss (on the right) does things a bit differently.

 

 

 

 

 

Rather than ask fans to opt-in before getting the free content, Deiss lowers the barrier to entry by giving fans Part 1 without an email address.  It’s only when fans want Part 2 that they are required to submit their information.

While used less often, this less invasive Facebook marketing strategy works well because users on Facebook have a tendency to tune out sales-oriented messages.  Deiss, therefore, simply lets his content speak for itself while simultaneously lessening his fans’ resistance to submitting their information.

3. To Promote A Contest

You’ll find plenty of examples where brands use a contest to promote their fan page. Why? Because as long as the prizes you offer have a high perceived value, then it’s an easy way to get people excited and talking about your brand.

Visit the Vitamin Water fan page and you’ll often find some type of contest being held. One such example was when they asked fans to vote on which flavored water they wanted permanently offered.

While this type of contest is great for brands who already have a large fan base, smaller brands are using Facebook contests simply as a means to grow their Pages.  In the example below, fitness expert, John Romaniello designed a contest for his page with the goal of growing his fan numbers and building his email list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By designing a contest that is easy to participate in – just Like the Page and submit your email address – offering prizes of interest to his audience – personal coaching, iPad 2 and an iPod – and encouraging fans to tell their friends, Romaniello shouldn’t have any problem building buzz around his Page, while growing his fan count and building his list.

 

Now there are many other ways in which you can design a custom landing page for your Facebook fan page, however, you always want to ensure that you know exactly what it is you’re trying to achieve with your design before you actually start.

6 Ways to Turn Off Your Fans

We’ve all seen one before – the fan page with only a handful of fans, sporadic posts that are too frequently off-topic, and not surprisingly, very little fan interaction, unless of course you count all the spam links.

By simply avoiding some of the most common mistake outlined below, you can ensure your fan page is home to a thriving, interactive community.

1. Selling Too Much

There’s nothing more unappealing to fans then a page that repeatedly pitches their own product. And while it’s okay to occasionally tell your fans about a new amazing product you have, don’t do it all the time, else you risk fans pressing ‘unlike’.

Instead, get to know your fans and work on building a relationship with them.  The easiest way to do this is to ask your fans what problems they have, and figure out how to help them…for free.

You’ll quickly find that when you interact with your fans in a non-selling environment, you create a stronger, longer lasting relationship that grows your fan page automatically.

2. Not Posting Often Enough

If you’re only posting content to your page once a week, you can bet very few are actually visiting. Instead, you need to consistently give fans a reason to check out your page, and the best way to do that is with daily updates.

By regularly posting updates, you’re not only showing up in fans’ news feeds, but you’re also creating an expectation in the mind of your fans that they should routinely head over to your page to see what’s happening.

3. Posting Too Much

At the other end of the spectrum is posting too often. Fans don’t need to know every itty bitty detail about your life…they just want to learn something cool and interesting. So stick to that, and preferably only 2-3 times a day.

4. Going Off Topic

Remember, fans initially liked your page because your brand represents something to them.  And so if updates start showing up in their news feeds unrelated to their association of you, then you run the risk of your updates being hidden.

5. Posting the Same Type of Content Over and Over Again

There’s a reason Facebook lets you use status updates, video, photos, and links to interact with your fans – fans like variety. So mix up your updates with different types of content to keep things fresh, fun, and interactive.

6. Automating Your Status Updates

While the idea of having a system in place to regularly drip new content into your fan page sounds great in theory, in practice it reeks of inauthenticity.  And for your fan page, that spells disaster.

Also, avoid posting the exact same content, and in the same format, across all networks. Show your fans you respect their time by taking the time yourself to post regular custom content.

Key Takeaway

To build a community of raving fans, you’ll want to carry on a persistent, unobtrusive, and interesting conversation with your fans. And there’s no better way to do this then to create a publishing schedule. By using a calendar to guide your fan page updates, you’ll successfully avoid the common pitfalls mentioned above.

Another advantage of using a posting schedule is that you’ll gain a deeper knowledge of which content your fans truly love. To determine this, simply export your page’s insights and then compare it against your monthly post schedule. This will let you quickly determine which update types generate the most fan interest. And from this, you’ll learn which type of posts to plan in the future.

Make Your Fan Page Stand Out

Facebook last reported that an average user was connected to 80 community pages, groups, and events, and was connected to 130 friends.

With that much competition all vying for attention in a user’s newsfeed, how do you make your fan page stand out? In short, you need to avoid being boring, and start differentiating your fan page. Here’s how…

Have a Unique Voice

As the saying goes, if you try to appeal to everyone you’ll appeal to no one. So create a unique voice for your fan page that resonates with just your target market. For example, maybe in your niche you’re known as the one with the wise-cracking attitude, or maybe it’s the no BS attitude.  Whichever you choose, make sure your voice is authentic AND consistent.

Be Creative

Now that you’ve decided on a voice for your fan page, you’ll have a much easier time generating a variety of post ideas that interest your fans. Again, the key is to differentiate yourself and give fans a reason to return to your page, and an easy way to do this is by varying the type of posts you use.

For example, if you’re a fitness expert, instead of simply posting your workout that day, why not include a photo of one of your favourite exercises from that workout, and then ask fans what their favourite exercise is.

Not only are photos more catchy in newsfeeds, but by asking random fan page related questions, you’re both engaging fans and varying your posts.

Be Interactive

You can’t build a long-lasting relationship with your fans if you continually dominate the conversation. So take every opportunity you can to encourage fans to speak up and share their opinions and questions. This shows fans your willingness to engage with them, but also shows would-be fans how interactive your fan page is.

Customize It

Whether you’re building a custom landing page to capture opt-ins and encourage “likes”, or creating a custom tab to give away valuable content to fans, the benefits of customizing your fan page are plentiful. Again, this helps to differentiate your fan page from every else.

Post More Photos and Videos

Photos and video are great at drawing people’s attention in a news feed full of text updates.  So try to use these regularly in your updates.

Also, when a non-fan watches your Facebook video, a little call to action pops up at the end of the video, inviting them to “like” your page. This is another great way to get more “likes” to your page.

Show Your Appreciation

People like gifts, especially unexpected ones.  So occasionally reward your fans by giving away something relevant to your brand. The benefit of surprise gifts is found not only in strengthening fan loyalty, but also in encouraging reciprocity.

Foster a Community

Your job as the fan page owner is to make new fans feel welcome and part of a community.  The benefit of doing this is that you’ll find fans are much more likely to participate in conversations.  An added bonus is showing up in their news feeds.

A few simple ways to foster a sense of belonging is by encouraging fans to ask questions, creating fun polls using the Facebook polling feature, or having them upload photos and videos to the page.

Be a Resource

People not only “like” your page because it’s a fun place to be, but also because you are a source of relevant content.  So help your fans stay up-to-date by providing them with the latest, relevant information.

So there you have it….8 ways to make your fan page stand out and attract more “likes”.