Facebook Page?

[Aiden Roberts]

Why can't I get my head around Facebook pages?

I am really trying to understand how best to use a F page, should I use it something like a blog were people can interact or simply for news and promotion? For some unknown reason I am struggling to see the benefit, I want to use one instead of a forum and am sure they must be useful but how?

is it just to build up a mailing list?
what are the seo benefits?
can it earn direct revenue or is it a platform to direct people elsewhere?

Has anyone got examples of their own that I can view or spell it out for me what the benefit is, maybe if you have any links to blog posts discussing the benefits then that would be great to.

Lots of question, I am not asking you to do my job for me but would really like to hear your stories good or bad about "using a F page"

Thanks

Aiden

 

[pbryd]

I'm in the same boat, it seems odd to set up a web site then promote a facebook page where your visitors can go and see someone else ads.

Having said that I've set one up for my new site fertile days, fertility awareness the FB widget on the homepage does help give the site some background, despite just a few members.

 

[Aiden Roberts]

I'm in the same boat, it seems odd to set up a web site then promote a facebook page where your visitors can go and see someone else ads.

Having said that I've set one up for my new site fertile days, fertility awareness the FB widget on the homepage does help give the site some background, despite just a few members.

I have been reading this on self made minds but I still don't get it, I am starting to think there is something wrong with me? I should point out I understand how to create one but not what to do with it.

 

[pbryd]

I'll have a read of the article a bit later.

Let's say I manage to get 500 likes on my FB page, when I write a new article of my fertile days site, I can then update the FB page and 500 people will get a notification that there's an article that they might be interested in.

In my case, if the article includes a voucher code for a product, then that might just produce a few sales.

That's my take on it anyway. It might change after I read the article lol.

 

[MikeJDS]

I use FB pages mostly to update site blog posts etc.
It can generate alot of returning traffic and of course more FB shares.

Just think of it as another subsciber list.

Maybe not a good time to be spending much time setting up your FB pages as Facebook are currently making alot of changes to them.

I think custom landing pages are going out of the window & FB timeline is being introduced for all pages.
(maybe someone else can say more about this?)

I've found them useful for alot of sites, but unfortunately it looks like FB pages are about to get alot less flexible.
From what I've seen anyway.

Mike

 

[Alien]

I don't use FB I have to admit, never liked it (although Twitter I can click with) and find FB to be quite unappealing to be honest.

Each to their own though and if it works for PR, then great.

 

[pbryd]

I must admit to finding facebook pages a little confusing, no know if I'm posting in my real name, or the fan page name etc.

But it's millions of users suggest it's worth giving it good shot to get something up and running.

Facebook fans are a targeted audience and it might mean you don't have to start paying for a newsletter service.

 

[retired_member36]

Ive used facebook pages for a few of my previous sites and found it useful to drive traffic to the site especially when you make an update or have something new to offer. When you make a post it updates all your fans news feeds letting them know, Its also good to get your fans talking about your site / services / products on facebook because when they do that, their friends see it on their news feeds and you often get a few new fans or users this way.

At first i found the pages confusing, but after a little while i i got the jist of it like anything else. The pages would be much better if you were able to communicate with your fans via email or even write on their walls but your limited to posting on your own wall.

I ran a advertising ad on facebook before (You can basically tell facebook who to show the add to) and i got a lot of new visitors! One thing i will say though, is if you register your credit card or paypal with facebook, never let your kids play games on there! My 7 year old son was playing fishville and spent £150+ thinking it was pretend money! There is no safety feature asking you to confirm a purchase.

Lee

 

[Aiden Roberts]

Some great info thanks

So the Facebook page is about developing a targeted audience ( I think) by developing that first line audience you are by default reaching out to their friends and followers also. I am assuming it is therefore a tool to drive traffic to your site via the page.

Also it is better used for announcements and info rather than commerce.

It seems to be the consensus that it is confusing but given time you get the hang of it, then they go and change it all.

Thanks so far it really helpful.

Aiden

 

[alex]

Last year my partner took a job in a Social Media research company and has since been encouraging me to utilise FB, twitter etc. She has found that one of the greatest misconceptions of a FB page is that it is a corporate window to attract clients. She tells me stories of some of her clients pumping millions of pounds into SM without understanding what it is.

FB can deliver sales etc, but you must first understand that FB is a social platform where users (generally speaking) do not want to be advertised at. You need to make your page a community and encourage interaction. Do not set it up simply to plug your own site/products or only post updates. Instead encourage posts, however random, and engage in topical discussion, MEMES and ultimately invite your target market to interact. This is really just the basics, but take the Betfair Poker twitter feed for example, people follow it because of the banter and humour, not because products are plugged.

Ultimately you will receive more followers if people like what you are saying and they don't feel like updates are an alternative to the email newsletters they receive and delete/do not read. This is really just a few things to think about anyway, but she's working with some pretty big companies and the results are generally better when the page isn't corporate. Rather brand awareness is developed over time via two-way communication channels.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't simply assume you can post site updates, promotions, feeds etc to encourage hits. You need to engage and remember that FB is Social not Corporate.

 

[newguy]

On my funny pictures site I have a like box and accompanying facebook page which has 4,000+ fans (or whatever they're called now). I basically just post occasional pictures from the site to the facebook page. I figure that facebook has so many users that it's another angle to draw people to the site. People like, comment and share, which helps bring the site to a wider audience.

I also launched a twitter page but for whatever reason that didn't really take off. Maybe it's down to the type of site though. Who knows. Google takes social signals into account now, so I really only set up this kind of thing because I didn't want to get left behind.

 

[Aiden Roberts]

Last year my partner took a job in a Social Media research company and has since been encouraging me to utilise FB, twitter etc. She has found that one of the greatest misconceptions of a FB page is that it is a corporate window to attract clients. She tells me stories of some of her clients pumping millions of pounds into SM without understanding what it is.

FB can deliver sales etc, but you must first understand that FB is a social platform where users (generally speaking) do not want to be advertised at. You need to make your page a community and encourage interaction. Do not set it up simply to plug your own site/products or only post updates. Instead encourage posts, however random, and engage in topical discussion, MEMES and ultimately invite your target market to interact. This is really just the basics, but take the Betfair Poker twitter feed for example, people follow it because of the banter and humour, not because products are plugged.

Ultimately you will receive more followers if people like what you are saying and they don't feel like updates are an alternative to the email newsletters they receive and delete/do not read. This is really just a few things to think about anyway, but she's working with some pretty big companies and the results are generally better when the page isn't corporate. Rather brand awareness is developed over time via two-way communication channels.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't simply assume you can post site updates, promotions, feeds etc to encourage hits. You need to engage and remember that FB is Social not Corporate.

Thanks Alex

That is brilliant information and puts it into perspective, I am certainly getting a better understanding of how to use it.

Aiden

 

[Blossom]

Let's say I manage to get 500 likes on my FB page, when I write a new article of my fertile days site, I can then update the FB page and 500 people will get a notification that there's an article that they might be interested in.

When you make a post it updates all your fans news feeds letting them know

That's not true, the number of fans who actually see your article in their news feed depends on EdgeRank: http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7885-edgerank-the-most-important-algorithm-you-ve-never-heard-of

The pages would be much better if you were able to communicate with your fans via email or even write on their walls but your limited to posting on your own wall.

You can if they have lower privacy settings - not sure it's socially acceptable though. You can also tag people and pages in posts and they will be notified.

General tips to add to the discussion:

Facebook pages work really well for naturally shareable content, particularly images. If you run a site selling women's shoes and post pictures of shoes on Facebook you're going to be a hit without much effort.



If you run contests (outside of Facebook's Ts and Cs unless you do it through an app) you can get lots of followers quickly, but they won't be aggressively targeted, more after free stuff.

At the end of the day Facebook has two aims: to keep you (and your customers and fans) on Facebook, and to get you to buy ads. Obviously this is at odds with what you want to do which is why there's a bit of conflict in the mix as well.

Whether Facebook pages are worth your time or not is really down to how much time you have to spend (or money, if you can find someone good to outsource to). Pages are a commitment when done properly, and if you're going to put lots of time and money in at the outset only to abandon them further down the line they aren't worth it.