How to Promote Your Facebook Fan Page

Recently I wrote a post outlining 7 Reasons You Need a Facebook Fan Page.  So, once you've got your Facebook Page set up, how do you attract traffic to the page and get people to join the page (or become a fan) by clicking on the "like" button?  Here are some ideas:

Include a link to your Page in your email signature, on your website and blog, and on your social network profiles, including your personal Profile on Facebook.

Invite your Facebook friends to join your Page by clicking on the "Suggest to Friends" button in the left column of your Page.

Post a message occasionally on your Page encouraging your fans and visitors to recommend your Page to others. For example, "Do you know any other authors who can benefit from the resources on The Savvy Book Marketer page? Please invite them to visit http://bit.ly/SavvyFB."

Create a welcome screen to promote the value of your Page and encourage visitors to click on the "like" button. One option is to design your Page as an information hub, offering valuable resources and discussions.

You can create a text-based welcome screen for your Page or use graphics and video to enhance your message, as Mari Smith does. This is a great spot to encourage people to click on the "like" button.

Post status updates on your social networks giving people an incentive to visit. For example, "Authors, be sure to claim your free report, 10 Steps to Online Networking Success, on the Savvy Book Marketer page at http://bit.ly/SavvyFB."

It's even possible to offer valuable content that is available only to people who join your page. I just ran across this article by Kim Woodbridge with instructions on how to create exclusive content on a Facebook Page that's visible only to people who "like" the page. This would be a great way to give people an incentive to "like" your page, by offering free chapters or special bonus material that's available exclusively to them.

I haven't had a chance to try out the exclusive content feature yet, but I'll let you know how it works when I do. By the way, if you're wondering about the "FBML tag" mentioned in Kim Woodbridge's article, it refers to website code (similar to HTML) that can be used to create custom content (such as the welcome screen mentioned above) on your Facebook Page.

I recently published a tutorial, How to Create Custom Content on Your Facebook Page, in my newsletter that explains how to use FBML to create customized content. If you’re not already a subscriber, sign up now and you’ll receive exclusive access to the newsletter archives and get a free copy of my ebook, Top Book Marketing Tips.

To learn more about how to use Facebook to promote yourself and your book, read Facebook Guide for Authors or The Savvy Book Marketer’s Guide to Successful Social Marketing.

Have you already created a Facebook Page? How do you promote your page? Please share using the comment area below.

Comments

[Aaron]

Hey thanks for the great post! It's hard to keep up with such a fast changing topic, but I give all my credit to you (and blog posts like yours) and The Fan Page Factory (http://www.facebook.com/thefanpagefactory i think?). You guys keep me on my toes with your up to date, helpful and innovative info! Thanks again! Enjoy.

[Kim Woodbridge]

Hi Dana - Thanks so much for the link! I'm glad you found the article useful. I haven't used the code myself but I know a lot of pages that do.

[Mary Virgo]

Wish there were a few more "how to's' in your post but helpful advice all the same.

[The Survival Mama]

Thanks for this great article. I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of some of this marketing stuff...but there's a lot left, I'm sure. Sometimes I pine for the good ol' days of just writing the book. But then I wouldn't have all my new cyberspace friends.

http://thesurvivalmama.blogspot.com
@TheSurvivalMama

[Rebecca Ryals Russell]

I've had a Facebook personal page, book page and character page for ages now but haven't really been sure what to do with them. Thank you for the info.

[Klarque Garrison]

Great Info! Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to read your next article!!