david j. garcia

Do you have a:

• brand?
• company?
• organization?
• charity?
• cause?
• issue?
• product?
• service?
• anything that someone might like?

Then give people an opportunity to become your fan on Facebook.

With more than 200 million active users (half of whom check it daily), Facebook should be a key part of your communications strategy.

Since it’s such a great tool for reaching a targeted audience, I’m exploring Facebook as part of my job search strategy (forgive me for a little self-promotion now).

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Know anyone looking for a communications specialist?
Send them my resume! Thank you.
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Today, we’ll cover the basics of creating your first fan page. You can also check out my step-by-step guide to advertising on Facebook.

Creating a fan page costs nothing, and it allows you to connect with your audiences in meaningful ways. Facebook treats pages like personal profiles: your fans will receive updates from you on their homepage, just like they do from their friends. You can’t buy that. Obviously, you want fans.

Here’s the step-by-step guide to creating a Facebook fan page:

Step 1: Visit facebook.com/pages/manage/ and click on “+ Create Page”.

Step 2: Choose a category, name your page, and state your authority to speak on your client’s behalf.

Step 3: Now you need to add content. Add (1) a photo, (2) a blurb, and (3) some background with a link to your website. If you have other stuff to add–even better!

Step 4: Check your settings. Click “Edit Page” under your profile picture. Here you have options for gender, age restrictions, published/unpublished, and applications.

Step 5: Publish. Double-check everything first, then change “Published Status” under “Settings.”

Step 6: Get fans. Congratulations! You have a fan page. Celebrate! But don’t think that we’re going to stop there. Now you need some fans. You start. Click “Become a fan!” Then you’ll have the opportunity to suggest that your friends also become fans.

Step 7: Advertise your new page to your target audience. Follow my step-by-step guide to advertising on Facebook. If you select your fan page as an ad’s destination, Facebook will automatically include social actions: users can become your fan directly from the ad, as well as see any of their friends who are already fans.

Don’t forget to send people to your page from other places as well (like your website and Twitter).

Step 8: Update your page regularly (but don’t spam).

Continuing adding photos, wall posts, video, links, discussions, etc. Make your page valuable and worth people’s time, and your fan base will continue to grow.

You can even target updates to followers with specific demographics.

Step 9: Track metrics (Click “View Insights” under your picture). Here you can see who’s interacting with your page and how.

That’s it! You’re well on your way to Facebook success.

If you’ve developed a fan page, share your experience in the comments! How have you used fan pages? How has your brand benefited as a result? What challenges did (or do) you face?

If you’re just considering creating a fan page, what’s holding you back?

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Like it? Tweet it! A step-by-step guide to creating and promoting a Facebook fan page: http://djgpr.com/FBfan

You can also become a fan of “Helping David get a job” on Facebook!