How To Pimp Out Your Facebook Business Fan Page

Many businesses and brands of all sizes are utilizing Facebook Business Fan Pages as another way to reach their audience. According to Facebook Insider, There are now more than 13 million local business pages on Facebook, with 8 million that are active monthly. Some businesses are doing a better job than others of standing out among the crowd and you should be one of them.

As Terrance Howard from Hussle and Flow will tell you…It’s hard out there for a Pimp.

Here are some tips to make sure that your Facebook Business Fan Page “Pimped Out.” You can make it memorable and worth getting a “Like” from your visitors and getting them coming back again and again.

You’ve only got so much room to make an impact, so let’s make the most of it and PIMP OUT YOUR FACEBOOK BUSINESS FAN PAGE!

Note: If you have a Facebook Business Fan Page, make sure to read the Facebook Guidelines so you don’t break any rules and end up getting kicked of Facebook (seriously, it happens).

1. First, set some goals for your Business Facebook Fan Page

Spend some time looking at your competitors Facebook Business Fan Pages and setting goals for what you want your own Page to achieve. Once you have a better understanding of your business, your audience, and how you want to grow using this platform, it will be easier to determine what should go on your Business Facebook Page.

2. Set a vanity URL for your Business Facebook Page

To do this, log in to the admin section of your Page, click on “Edit Page” -> Update Public Info -> Username. Change it to your business name. Facebook will only let you change this one other time.

The vanity URL will help you and your visitors remember your Facebook URL and make it easier to share.

3. Choose a stellar cover photo

You want to choose a prominent and interesting image for your Facebook cover photo. Make it relevant to your industry so that it helps your users know they are in the right place. I like how ShortStack put their employees in their cover photo. This photo makes me feel like this is not some stuffy corporation, but rather a place full of people just like me. This Fan Page gives them credibility

The size of your cover photo must be 851px x 315px and it’s important to note that Facebook Guidelines says covers may not include images with more than 20% text. I actually was turned down for a paid Facebook Ad when the cover photo for an event had more than 20% text. 

4. Professional Profile Photo

This is typically a logo.

5. Utilize high quality photography

It depends on the type of business, but nothing helps give your business or brand credibility like awesome photography. Enhancing your timeline and albums with high end photography will be crucial for businesses like restaurants, florists, event planners and retailers… you get the point. Also, nice photos are much more likely to be shared among your fans.

6. Add Videos

You can share high-quality, useful videos on your timeline and also share them in a YouTube Facebook tab. Videos are becoming more and more popular all the time, so if you can find a way to create some that provide value to your audience, then Facebook is a great place to share them. Here is an example form ShortStack of tutorial videos showcased in a custom Facebook Tab.

7. Create custom Facebook tabs

Here are some examples of how you can customize Facebook tabs for your business. There are tons of options, you just need to decide which types of tabs make sense for your business or brand. You can create custom apps either through Facebook or through a third party app.

I like to use ShortStack for contests and promotions, Jotform for forms, and Static HTML: iframe tabs for iframes.

Blog/RSS

ShortStack allows you to pull the RSS feed from your blog so that your latest content will always appear on your Facebook page. There is also an option to have visitors “like” the page before they are able to see what’s in the tab.

iframe

I wanted visitors to our Facebook Fan Page to see that Better User Experience also has Podcasts. I added a custom tab that said “Weekly Podcast” and included an iframe directly from the “podcasts” page from our blog. Users can listen to podcasts without ever leaving Facebook.

Contest

Sweepstakes and contests are a great way to encourage followers and engagement among your fan base. ShortStack is a great third party app for running these types of contests. You can also do a photo, video or essay contests. Here is a nice looking giveaway from a local beach store created with ShortStack.

Online form

This online quote request form was created with Jotform and is the same form that is embedded on the VIP Limo website. That way, all their requests are going to the same place.

8. Add your website URL to the “About Us” section

It’s a shortcut to your website. Just do it.

Want more info? Here is a useful video from HubSpot about getting started with your Business Facebook Fan Page

Conclusion

Setting up your Business Facebook Page is only the beginning. It is important that you continue to make iterations to your Page in addition to daily updates of content, photos and frequent promotions, contests and more. Try different tabs and calls to action and track their effectiveness in your Facebook page insights.

Have you had success with your Fan Page? Have some other suggestions to pimp out your page? Please share them in the comments!