9 Rules of Facebook Promotion Every Small Business Should Know

You’re the owner of a local small business and you are trying to figure out the best steps to get on to Facebook to drive new customers. It can be a daunting task and with little extra time in the day, how can you be expected to spend time promoting your business on Facebook? I completely understand the challenges of running a small business and after speaking with lawyers, florists, dentists, and many other small businesses, I’ve compiled the following list of strategies that should help ease the process.

1. Go Slow And Steady, Don’t Overdo It

-Compound Interest Piggy Banks- Any form of promotion is like compound interest. It takes time to build up the residual returns but if you stick with it, the pay off can be substantial. Many people hear that Facebook is a great way to promote their business but after trying it out for a few days or even a couple weeks, they don’t see significant effects so they give up and decide to keep paying for Yellow page advertisements. Who knows how well Yellow Page ads pay off but that monthly check must be going towards something, right?

The difference between Facebook and more traditional promotional channels is that the small business owner needs to invest a little bit of their time. The extra effort can go a long way and can even provide a rewarding experience as customers begin to provide feedback and communicate directly with you. So how much time do you need to be spending? Not hours a day! While promoting via Facebook can become an addictive process, you can allocate little more than an hour a week to your promotional activities.

While it’s never bad to start off enthusiastically, you don’t want to waste all of your efforts in the first few days. Build up your fan base steadily and you’ll begin to see the benefits.

2. Contact Your Fans Directly

While digital media companies and large brands may have thousands upon thousands of fans, most small businesses don’t end up with as many fans, especially if they are local. When you first start growing, it’s a good idea to interact with each new fan on an individual basis. Send users a message after they’ve become a fan of your Facebook page. Build a relationship with each fan and they’ll become a fan and a customer forever.

Once you build a connection there’s a good chance the user will tell their friends. I’ll be discussing that strategy further in an upcoming guide. The main point here is that each new fan can be considered a new lead for a small business. Selling on Facebook though is subtle and should not be done in an overly aggressive way. Just because someone became a fan does not mean you should send them a message saying “Buy my stuff today!!!”

Instead, reach out to each new fan individually to welcome them to your Facebook Page and begin a dialogue. In many times these initial conversations will lead to lasting business relationships.

3. Don’t Spam

I’ve written about this before and it never gets old: don’t spam your users. As the owner of a blog, I get countless people who try to spam the comments and I’ve seen the same thing take place on Facebook. Spamming your users with too many links or trying “black hat” tactics to rapidly drive up your Facebook Page fan base is not worth it. Facebook is aggressive at stopping spam and there is a good chance that they’ll stop you somewhere along the way, and it can potentially cost a lot.

4. Consider It An Educational Experience

-Bookshelf Screenshot- Rather than looking for an instantaneous return, look at it as a long-term educational experience. As you improve your strategy, you’ll attract more fans. It takes time to master Facebook promotion and time to reap the rewards but the payoff can be significant. The main point of this rule is clear: stick with it for the long haul. As I outlined in last week’s Facebook advertising guide for marketers, it’s important to plan for the long-term.

If you blow out your budget in the first few days and expect to have a massive response, you will be seriously disappointed. Learn from the experience, take notes, and improve your strategy over time. It may sound like a lot of time but you can do much of this in as little as 15 minutes a day. One other benefit of considering it an educational experience is that the whole process is deductible in your taxes.

You can write off the expenditure ad advertising or as education (you need to speak to your accountant to determine the best way to file an entry for this).

5. Limit Your Advertising Budget

As I just mentioned, more dollars on advertising does not always mean more revenue. Start off with a few dollars a day to test out Facebook’s advertising system. You can create your first ad here to test out all of Facebook’s targeting capabilities. Make sure that if you are spending money that you’re investing in some long-term goal, otherwise you’ll end up spending a lot of money aimlessly. Trust me, I know from experience! As your performance improves and you figure out which ads work most effectively you can begin to steadily increase your ad spend.

Figure that you’d spend a few hundred dollars on a Yellow Pages advertisement so be willing to test out a similar budget on Facebook. If all goes well and your business starts to increase, you can always invest in more advertising as necessary. As I mentioned earlier, this is an educational process and with so many resources on the internet, learning has never been cheaper. Don’t spend all your money when you don’t have to!

To most effectively manage your budget, start off with one Facebook advertising campaign which has a limited budget (as pictured below). For all of the initial ads use that same campaign rather than creating separate campaigns for each advertisements.

-Create Campaign Screenshot-

6. Create A Facebook Page, Not New Profiles

A quick way to get banned from Facebook is to set up multiple accounts and multiple profiles. I have multiple friend requests in my inbox currently from people who’ve set up separate accounts to promote their business. Don’t do this! You can go here to set up your own Facebook Page while keeping your existing profile. Under no circumstance should you be creating separate accounts. Not only is it against Facebook’s terms, but it provides no additional value.

I could spend more time explaining why this is flat out a bad idea but I won’t. It’s much better to spend the time focused on the activities you should be doing!

7. Use Coupons And Other Incentives

-Rubbermaid Coupon- So now that you’ve got a Facebook Page, some ads running, and a few fans of your Facebook Page, what should you be doing? In addition to engaging users on Facebook, you also want to get them making purchases. Keep in mind, which incentives you use depend on the type of business you are running. For example, a florist may have price sensitive customers, and special deals may be an incentive to make a purchase.

A florist may want to post something like “There’s never a better time to show that special someone that you care. Today only we’re providing a bouquet of _______________, ______________, and _______________ for only $9.99, and we’ll deliver them to your work for free!” However if a dentist posted “50 percent off cavity fillings”, I have a feeling that they wouldn’t get the same response.

There are plenty of other creative incentives to drive people back to your page and to your business so test out different strategies and see which work best.

8. Emphasize Mobile Subscriptions

One of the best components of Facebook Pages is the ability to receive updates via your mobile device. Once updates come to your phone you can also reply to the updates, making it possible for instant two-way communication. It’s a model that’s similar to Twitter except that on Pages you get more features for engaging users. The mobile component adds an additional layer of interaction which can be used to build relationships with your new and existing customers.

As I outlined in the 5 phases of the Facebook sales funnel, Facebook is a relationship marketing platform, not a direct sales channel. That’s why it’s important to build your relationship with others through Facebook. Configure your Facebook Page to function with your current mobile device and communicate with users while on the go. This can make for some great, instantaneous dialogue.

Ultimately most internet based promotions are going the way of mobile, and it is in every business’s best interest to take advantage of that trend including on Facebook.

9. Post Occasional Entertaining Statuses

When was the last time you saw an update from your dentist in your news feed? You probably never have and you may even be weirded out to see one, unless of course it was a funny joke. For example if the dentist posted occasion updates about eating candy and junk food in general, you may get a quick smile and possibly even post a status update. Whatever the response, at least you are getting one, which is one additional level of interaction that you never previously had with your customers.

Keeping your fans engaged is an important component of any good Facebook strategy. How much time does it really take to come up with a clever status update? If you’re like me then catchy ideas occasionally pop into your head (or at least ones that you think are clever) when you are on the go. If you’ve properly configured your Facebook Page to work with your mobile device, you can instantly update your Page’s status while on the go.

It takes very little extra effort to bring a smile to your fans and it’s something that they’ll remember.

Conclusion

Every small business can take advantage of the promotional opportunities that Facebook presents. By using some of the tips listed in this article, small businesses can get a great start on promoting their company on the site. While there are many other strategies to increasing the number of fans you have on the site as well as driving new business, much of that can be learned through experimentation. The best thing to do is to get started and figure it out from there!

If you would like to learn more about ways that your small business can benefit from Facebook and social media in general, fill out your information in the form below. We promise to not spam you and take your privacy seriously so we won’t give your email to anybody.

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682967 Comments2009-07-23+14%3A14%3A58Nick+O%27Neill »

Great ideas. I agree with the advice completely. I call it leading sales. Too little costs more than it brings in- too much creates the same results. Your advice will put companies or individuals in the area of the most bang for the bucks..

Comment by Glenn — July 23, 2009 @ 5:51 am
I am newly retired. My goal is to learn something new each day.

Comment by Glenn Young — July 23, 2009 @ 6:54 am
Love it!

Comment by Lisa S. Duhamel — July 23, 2009 @ 8:53 am
Thank you for the very useful information. I really appreciate the tips without a sales pitch!

Comment by JIll Pagano — July 23, 2009 @ 9:51 am
Great advice, and very clear instructions. Thanks for posting this!

Comment by Nicolette Toussaint — July 23, 2009 @ 9:53 am
Excellent post with some very valuable advice that everyone should follow.

Comment by Julio R Varela — July 23, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
Great advice! Thanks for the info:)

Comment by Julie Brodersen — July 23, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
Depending on the type of business, coupons are a great way to pull potential customers to you instead of pushing your message in front of them. Be creative with your coupon and try different ideas to see which one gives you the most bang for your buck.

Comment by Kim Adamof — July 23, 2009 @ 3:24 pm
great solid advice- especially that on the advertising budget-thanks

Comment by elizabeth beskin — July 23, 2009 @ 5:57 pm
Hey Nick, very good post…One question though regarding point #6:

I don't think our company page can create a personal profile (i created my company page before I had a personal FB account)for our page now.

This is from Facebook:

Can I start a profile for my business, band or organization?

Facebook profiles are meant to represent a single individual. Organizations of any type are not permitted to maintain an account under the name of their organization. We have created Facebook Pages to allow organizations to have a presence on Facebook. These Pages are distinct presences, separate from user profiles, and optimized for an organization's needs to communicate, distribute information/content, engage their fans, and capture new audiences virally through their fan's recommendations to their friends. Facebook Pages are designed to be a media rich, valuable presence for any artist, business or brand.

If you create a profile for your business, your account may be disabled for violating our Terms of Use.

Comment by Arel Tsalach — July 23, 2009 @ 7:03 pm
I am new to this so your article was very helpful. It is a work in progress and I can use all the feedback I can get.

Comment by Debra Leonard — July 24, 2009 @ 2:26 am
Thanks — Thanks — THANKS!!!!

Common Sense, still dictates

Comment by DALLAS ALLBRITTON — July 24, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
Thanks for the info… it answered so many of my questions.

Comment by Cindy Pfeffer — July 24, 2009 @ 7:48 pm
Promote your local coupons/offers/deals for easy sharing on http://www.offeretti.com/ 3 offers per day can be setup for free using their web based interface.

Comment by Timo Selvaraj — July 25, 2009 @ 5:32 pm
Super article.. I want to repost.. so many people need this information! Consistency is key. Good Job Diane.

Comment by Debbie Kirkland — July 26, 2009 @ 6:02 am
My only problem with pages, is that the ability to contact fans directly is limited on all levels. You can only send an "update" to them, which not many people use…

Comment by Christian Sangiusepp — July 26, 2009 @ 1:13 pm
Good article; good advice. Thanks. Kris http://facebook-advertising-marketing.com/

Comment by Kris Olin — July 26, 2009 @ 11:10 pm
Nice article. I would add that a big value in social media is the ability to be very targeted in your advertising, so the impressions you make are much more valuable than a yellow pages ad. Target your FB ads as much as possible, and once you have fans, the messages you do send to them – though not too frequent – are going to an audience that you already know has an interest in your product.

Comment by Gillian Verga — July 27, 2009 @ 10:08 am
Great points! I would also point out that having a "page" in addition to your personal profile is important (even if you aren't doing paid advertising)because it creates a clean line between your personal page and business. Doing so creates a sense of authenticity and integrity with your "friends" because you don't come across like your trying to "slip" your business promotion in between your family picnic photos and the "latest" funny story about your kids. When I speak about social media so many people say "I wanna keep facebook personal". I say "that's fine, but if what you do truly provides a great service or product, better than anyone else, is it fair to keep it a secret from your friends?" The truth is, we are "a complete package" as Zig Ziglar would say, and what we do is part of who we are. Those who are interested in us, want to know what we're "up to" and that includes business (as long as we aren't shoving it down their throat!). Treat facebook friends like you would in "real life". You don't only show up at your friends parties when you're trying to sell something, so don't do it here!

Thanks for the post!

Comment by heathero — July 29, 2009 @ 5:04 am
This is great information.

One thing we are seeing more and more is that our clients are having success siloing content into different social media networks because of the user/usage behaviors. Duplicating content across every social platform doesn't really give a user a reason to follow you – get up-to-the-minute deals or news here, find out about new products, new versions, new features there.

At the core, we all need to try to understand what users see in a particular medium and refine the message accordingly.

Great compilation!

Comment by socialamigo — July 30, 2009 @ 11:49 am
Sent to me by Chris Cranis. Probably a good model to follow as we move forward in utilizing the site. The 'sales' ideas not withstanding as this model applies more to traditiona product sales, but other stuff makes sense to me.

Comment by Alan — August 3, 2009 @ 5:54 am
I've had problems with contacting fans with an individual welcome once they've joined. I get warning messages from facebook which make me feel like a criminal instead of just acknowledging that I'm trying to build professional relationships. Have emailed facebook but am not expecting an answer before 2050.

Comment by Gaby — August 4, 2009 @ 3:40 am
Thanks so much. First time I've come upon AF and I have tagged it in delish and will be following you!

Dina Meek

bigbuzzness.com

Comment by Dina Carpenter Meek — August 4, 2009 @ 3:23 pm
Thanks for the advice. It's important to remember to be human in social media marketing. If social media marketing doesn't make businesses appear more human, then there's no point. This is apparent in online video. A company putting very impersonal videos on YouTube and AdWido won't get anywhere; they have to make sure they're making something that their target audience wants and likes.

Comment by am8 — August 6, 2009 @ 11:39 am
I’m trying to follow your advices, but its not so easy to attract people in Facebook

Comment by Bulgaria — August 12, 2009 @ 7:45 am
Tons of useful infos that will really help in the long haul.

Thanks alot.

Comment by Johnny — September 8, 2009 @ 12:16 am
Rule 7 gets me to make a purchase nearly every time. It seems obvious, but it's all too easy for a business to only "take" from its customers on Facebook and not "give." I actually liked rule 7 so much I featured in on my blog: http://jessified.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/nobody-...

Comment by Jess — September 15, 2009 @ 11:26 am
Things take a while to get down here to Australia or for me to find them … this is great easy to understand info. I appreciate your work.

Comment by Lynne — September 22, 2009 @ 5:36 pm
Excellent article full of sensible advice.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is to go on about their business all the time. Facebook is social and you will very quickly loose friends if you promote your business too much.

Comment by Ian - Marketing Diff — October 1, 2009 @ 1:42 am
Many online marketing companies are rendering Facebook to promote their business and generate traffic to their site. But doing excessive activities can result in getting your profiles banned. Let’s know what “not-to-do” when marketing via Facebook
http://tinyurl.com/ydpwxub

Comment by sunny — October 6, 2009 @ 12:27 am
What a great tool Facebook is. THANK YOU!

I intend to continue to use FB for business and your 9 tips have been very helpful. Thanks again.

Comment by david — October 15, 2009 @ 9:09 pm
We were pretty hesitant to stride into the social communities. We have a new online store and after reading this I have already created a page and intend to pursue some content and advertising. Great tips! (It’s not as scary as we thought!)

Comment by Stroker — October 22, 2009 @ 4:19 pm
My son built a personal page for my business by accident. I already had a business facebook page. How do I get rid of the personal page? Thanks

Comment by pamela — October 25, 2009 @ 8:18 pm
Well done! Well thought out,clear and concise. Great advice to follow. Thank you for taking the time to present this.

Comment by ChadEBriggs — November 13, 2009 @ 9:32 pm
I would also like to join this wave of facebook promotions. This article is really helpful.

Comment by Rahul - Web Guru — November 14, 2009 @ 7:21 pm
I hear this all the time about spamming comments? What would that look like? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a spammy comment?

Comment by Alyson Button Stone — November 15, 2009 @ 1:40 pm
Having been a part of the Online Universal Work Marketing team for 4 months now, I’m thankful for my fellow team members who have patiently shown me the ropes along the way and made me feel welcome

onlineuniversalwork

Comment by henrylow — December 17, 2009 @ 12:33 am
So glad to find this information. It is very helpful for a small business retailer who is looking to get the business out there through the web.

Comment by Christine — January 10, 2010 @ 11:51 pm
More of an advanced question, but have you found any testimonials or stats on ROI generated from setting up a social shopping store such as the one Alvenda or Sort Price offers?

Comment by B2B Social Media Blo — January 25, 2010 @ 10:36 am
Good piece of information.

But how can we increase the number of fans on our Facebook page in an efficient manner like if it gets constant with only former work persons of that organization.

Comment by Jeevan — March 11, 2010 @ 12:21 am
This is a very valuable information for facebook users. These strategies really work. Thanks for the post.

Comment by Claudia Guzman — March 31, 2010 @ 11:24 am
Thanks for the stunning post. Facebook is really a very good social media website. I will definitely use it now daily.

Comment by shakti — April 1, 2010 @ 3:48 am
social media is a good way in present times to expand your business as it helps you to have a good conversation and interaction with people. It is simply creating a imilar response that is created by viral marketing. This information also proves helpful for the small businesses who really want to expand and leaves a benchmark. Moreover it teaches them: sloe and steady wins the race

Comment by aarti kapoor — April 13, 2010 @ 8:12 pm
Great iinformation. I need info about how to promote fan page outside facebook?

Comment by Kathy — April 28, 2010 @ 1:25 am
Great tips. I'll be putting these to use.

All the best,

Alan

Comment by Alan Eames — May 20, 2010 @ 10:54 pm
Great Article! I streamlined all my online marketing with thefacebookwizard.com!

It gives ya UNLIMITED mass messaging, commenting, liking, adding, etc without getting banned!

Comment by Lauren — May 29, 2010 @ 4:56 pm
An extremely useful summary of Facebook techniques. Facebook is a very powerful way of interacting immediately and regularily with your customer base and makes 'newsletters' look somewhat out-of-date. Don't forget to link Facebook with Twitter, it can save a lot of time!

Comment by Philip - Website des — June 7, 2010 @ 12:07 pm
Thanks, we appreciate you taking the time to write a help guide

Comment by wrightcomputing — June 24, 2010 @ 11:06 am
Is it okay within Facebook's promotional guidelines to post coupons to a page?

Comment by CAry — July 14, 2010 @ 9:39 am
Great post! I was wondering if I should make a Facebook page for my product and I guess it would do no harm in trying it out, especially because of the low costs involved. I also came across some simple tips on how to utilize Facebook well for marketing or branding at http://blog.socialmaximizer.com/14-tips-for-marke...

Comment by Olivia Jade — August 17, 2010 @ 8:06 pm
Facebook and twitter are two areas I'm really getting stuck into at the moment – progress on both is slow but I guess, as this post states, it's a slow process

Comment by @itomlinson — October 19, 2010 @ 4:27 pm
There is a fundamental problem with this approach. A business has a life of its own, separate from an individual who might have started the business. Suppose an individual builds up a valuable business (including a Facebook page), then sells the business. How does the new owner acquire control of the Facebook page?

Comment by Steve Johnson — October 25, 2010 @ 11:33 am
couldn't you just add the new business owner as a page admin, and then have them remove you?

Comment by tristan — November 4, 2010 @ 6:21 am
Slow and steady is the key. Not giving up and keeping focused is so important.

Thanks for the great article.

Comment by Maryanne — January 6, 2011 @ 4:51 pm
Thanks for the nice and useful tips. But its really difficult to attract the fans on the face book. I have tried contacting fans for my fan page but so sad , I have no more fans on the list. Can you help me out to get more fans ?!

Comment by Monika — March 5, 2011 @ 10:49 pm
thank you so much or your post. Really helpful!

Comment by Robinson — March 23, 2011 @ 4:15 am
When so many web marketing "experts" are portraying Facebook as an easy way to riches, it's good to read such sensible and valuable advice. It is an education and the real marketers and entrepreneurs are in it for the long haul. Thanks Nick.

Comment by Mike Newman — April 9, 2011 @ 12:44 pm
Duplicating content across every social platform doesn't really give a user a reason to follow you

Comment by Jade Jewelry — June 7, 2011 @ 3:25 am
Thanks for the great summary, loved the suggestion about posting something entertaining every now and again. I'm just starting out with social media with my photography business and I think these tips are pure gold – in my business social is everything!

Ann

Comment by Photographer Ann — July 13, 2011 @ 8:26 am
Fabulous article. clear and sensible! You can also log on to facebusinessworld.com find some basic and handy tips to promote your business throught facebook.

Comment by Marry — August 15, 2011 @ 6:32 am
Very informative tips, thanks so much

Comment by bodybuilder workouts — September 28, 2011 @ 5:33 pm
I think this article has help me a lot, I look forward to more info on building.

Comment by arvell west — November 9, 2011 @ 6:49 pm
OK patience is a virtue

Comment by arvell west — November 9, 2011 @ 6:52 pm
Great Advice. In the end it always seems to come down to content. The general idea is if you create dumb content the chances are these people will not want to follow you on your facebook business page. If you create something interesting more people will be more likely to add you to their favorites list. just my opion. great article though

Comment by Peter Lee — November 10, 2011 @ 11:34 am
If you look beyond all written, what is important is that you find good strategy to increase fans. More fans means more sales or more customers. What I found is that people generally don’t want to be “the first” on to like, or become a fan because they know that page is going to be empty and not much going on – if you buffer the numbers with a bit of advertising that you can get from http://socialnetexposure.com it’ll create a ‘rolling stone’ effect where fans really start to get into it by them self. In other words, if someone with 500 friends decides that he or she likes your page, that action is logged on the profiles of 500 other users. Friends tend to “like” what their friends like. It could be a matter of trusting a friend’s recommendation, or it could simply be a matter of “following the herd”

Comment by Danilo — November 29, 2011 @ 12:37 pm
The world of marketing is abuzz with social networking sites, namely Facebook. With hundreds of millions of visitors coming to this website every single month, it is no wonder that more businesses than ever are looking to Facebook as a component of their success. It is important for every small business owner that is about to plunge into Facebook to understand these few steps in order to have a beneficial experience with this internet titan.
Prepare Yourself Before You Start

Facebook is notoriously easy to log on and create a page in only a few seconds. While this may be tempting for enthusiastic business owners, it is a much better idea to make a few small preparations before finally throwing up a fan page. It is best to invest a small amount of time in searching through Google for other’s stories on success or failure during their Facebook campaign. Small business owners should also clearly understand what goals they are setting for themselves and their business and how they can achieve these goals through a Facebook page.

Comment by logo items — January 16, 2012 @ 4:54 am
I have to agree with Peter Lee – who wants to be inundated with a bunch of junk updates? Not me!

Comment by Adam — February 6, 2012 @ 10:31 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Great ideas. I agree with the advice completely. I call it leading sales. Too little costs more than it brings in- too much creates the same results. Your advice will put companies or individuals in the area of the most bang for the bucks..

Comment by Glenn — July 23, 2009 @ 5:51 am

I am newly retired. My goal is to learn something new each day.

Comment by Glenn Young — July 23, 2009 @ 6:54 am

Love it!

Comment by Lisa S. Duhamel — July 23, 2009 @ 8:53 am

Thank you for the very useful information. I really appreciate the tips without a sales pitch!

Comment by JIll Pagano — July 23, 2009 @ 9:51 am

Great advice, and very clear instructions. Thanks for posting this!

Comment by Nicolette Toussaint — July 23, 2009 @ 9:53 am

Excellent post with some very valuable advice that everyone should follow.

Comment by Julio R Varela — July 23, 2009 @ 1:35 pm

Great advice! Thanks for the info:)

Comment by Julie Brodersen — July 23, 2009 @ 2:45 pm

Depending on the type of business, coupons are a great way to pull potential customers to you instead of pushing your message in front of them. Be creative with your coupon and try different ideas to see which one gives you the most bang for your buck.

Comment by Kim Adamof — July 23, 2009 @ 3:24 pm

great solid advice- especially that on the advertising budget-thanks

Comment by elizabeth beskin — July 23, 2009 @ 5:57 pm

Hey Nick, very good post…One question though regarding point #6:

I don't think our company page can create a personal profile (i created my company page before I had a personal FB account)for our page now.

This is from Facebook:

Can I start a profile for my business, band or organization?

Facebook profiles are meant to represent a single individual. Organizations of any type are not permitted to maintain an account under the name of their organization. We have created Facebook Pages to allow organizations to have a presence on Facebook. These Pages are distinct presences, separate from user profiles, and optimized for an organization's needs to communicate, distribute information/content, engage their fans, and capture new audiences virally through their fan's recommendations to their friends. Facebook Pages are designed to be a media rich, valuable presence for any artist, business or brand.

If you create a profile for your business, your account may be disabled for violating our Terms of Use.

Comment by Arel Tsalach — July 23, 2009 @ 7:03 pm

I am new to this so your article was very helpful. It is a work in progress and I can use all the feedback I can get.

Comment by Debra Leonard — July 24, 2009 @ 2:26 am

Thanks — Thanks — THANKS!!!!

Common Sense, still dictates

Comment by DALLAS ALLBRITTON — July 24, 2009 @ 3:25 pm

Thanks for the info… it answered so many of my questions.

Comment by Cindy Pfeffer — July 24, 2009 @ 7:48 pm

Promote your local coupons/offers/deals for easy sharing on http://www.offeretti.com/ 3 offers per day can be setup for free using their web based interface.

Comment by Timo Selvaraj — July 25, 2009 @ 5:32 pm

Super article.. I want to repost.. so many people need this information! Consistency is key. Good Job Diane.

Comment by Debbie Kirkland — July 26, 2009 @ 6:02 am

My only problem with pages, is that the ability to contact fans directly is limited on all levels. You can only send an "update" to them, which not many people use…

Comment by Christian Sangiusepp — July 26, 2009 @ 1:13 pm

Good article; good advice. Thanks. Kris http://facebook-advertising-marketing.com/

Comment by Kris Olin — July 26, 2009 @ 11:10 pm

Nice article. I would add that a big value in social media is the ability to be very targeted in your advertising, so the impressions you make are much more valuable than a yellow pages ad. Target your FB ads as much as possible, and once you have fans, the messages you do send to them – though not too frequent – are going to an audience that you already know has an interest in your product.

Comment by Gillian Verga — July 27, 2009 @ 10:08 am

Great points! I would also point out that having a "page" in addition to your personal profile is important (even if you aren't doing paid advertising)because it creates a clean line between your personal page and business. Doing so creates a sense of authenticity and integrity with your "friends" because you don't come across like your trying to "slip" your business promotion in between your family picnic photos and the "latest" funny story about your kids. When I speak about social media so many people say "I wanna keep facebook personal". I say "that's fine, but if what you do truly provides a great service or product, better than anyone else, is it fair to keep it a secret from your friends?" The truth is, we are "a complete package" as Zig Ziglar would say, and what we do is part of who we are. Those who are interested in us, want to know what we're "up to" and that includes business (as long as we aren't shoving it down their throat!). Treat facebook friends like you would in "real life". You don't only show up at your friends parties when you're trying to sell something, so don't do it here!

Thanks for the post!

Comment by heathero — July 29, 2009 @ 5:04 am

This is great information.

One thing we are seeing more and more is that our clients are having success siloing content into different social media networks because of the user/usage behaviors. Duplicating content across every social platform doesn't really give a user a reason to follow you – get up-to-the-minute deals or news here, find out about new products, new versions, new features there.

At the core, we all need to try to understand what users see in a particular medium and refine the message accordingly.

Great compilation!

Comment by socialamigo — July 30, 2009 @ 11:49 am

Sent to me by Chris Cranis. Probably a good model to follow as we move forward in utilizing the site. The 'sales' ideas not withstanding as this model applies more to traditiona product sales, but other stuff makes sense to me.

Comment by Alan — August 3, 2009 @ 5:54 am

I've had problems with contacting fans with an individual welcome once they've joined. I get warning messages from facebook which make me feel like a criminal instead of just acknowledging that I'm trying to build professional relationships. Have emailed facebook but am not expecting an answer before 2050.

Comment by Gaby — August 4, 2009 @ 3:40 am

Thanks so much. First time I've come upon AF and I have tagged it in delish and will be following you!

Dina Meek

bigbuzzness.com

Comment by Dina Carpenter Meek — August 4, 2009 @ 3:23 pm

Thanks for the advice. It's important to remember to be human in social media marketing. If social media marketing doesn't make businesses appear more human, then there's no point. This is apparent in online video. A company putting very impersonal videos on YouTube and AdWido won't get anywhere; they have to make sure they're making something that their target audience wants and likes.

Comment by am8 — August 6, 2009 @ 11:39 am

I’m trying to follow your advices, but its not so easy to attract people in Facebook

Comment by Bulgaria — August 12, 2009 @ 7:45 am

Tons of useful infos that will really help in the long haul.

Thanks alot.

Comment by Johnny — September 8, 2009 @ 12:16 am

Rule 7 gets me to make a purchase nearly every time. It seems obvious, but it's all too easy for a business to only "take" from its customers on Facebook and not "give." I actually liked rule 7 so much I featured in on my blog: http://jessified.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/nobody-...

Comment by Jess — September 15, 2009 @ 11:26 am

Things take a while to get down here to Australia or for me to find them … this is great easy to understand info. I appreciate your work.

Comment by Lynne — September 22, 2009 @ 5:36 pm

Excellent article full of sensible advice.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is to go on about their business all the time. Facebook is social and you will very quickly loose friends if you promote your business too much.

Comment by Ian - Marketing Diff — October 1, 2009 @ 1:42 am

Many online marketing companies are rendering Facebook to promote their business and generate traffic to their site. But doing excessive activities can result in getting your profiles banned. Let’s know what “not-to-do” when marketing via Facebook
http://tinyurl.com/ydpwxub

Comment by sunny — October 6, 2009 @ 12:27 am

What a great tool Facebook is. THANK YOU!

I intend to continue to use FB for business and your 9 tips have been very helpful. Thanks again.

Comment by david — October 15, 2009 @ 9:09 pm

We were pretty hesitant to stride into the social communities. We have a new online store and after reading this I have already created a page and intend to pursue some content and advertising. Great tips! (It’s not as scary as we thought!)

Comment by Stroker — October 22, 2009 @ 4:19 pm

My son built a personal page for my business by accident. I already had a business facebook page. How do I get rid of the personal page? Thanks

Comment by pamela — October 25, 2009 @ 8:18 pm

Well done! Well thought out,clear and concise. Great advice to follow. Thank you for taking the time to present this.

Comment by ChadEBriggs — November 13, 2009 @ 9:32 pm

I would also like to join this wave of facebook promotions. This article is really helpful.

Comment by Rahul - Web Guru — November 14, 2009 @ 7:21 pm

I hear this all the time about spamming comments? What would that look like? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a spammy comment?

Comment by Alyson Button Stone — November 15, 2009 @ 1:40 pm

Having been a part of the Online Universal Work Marketing team for 4 months now, I’m thankful for my fellow team members who have patiently shown me the ropes along the way and made me feel welcome

onlineuniversalwork

Comment by henrylow — December 17, 2009 @ 12:33 am

So glad to find this information. It is very helpful for a small business retailer who is looking to get the business out there through the web.

Comment by Christine — January 10, 2010 @ 11:51 pm

More of an advanced question, but have you found any testimonials or stats on ROI generated from setting up a social shopping store such as the one Alvenda or Sort Price offers?

Comment by B2B Social Media Blo — January 25, 2010 @ 10:36 am

Good piece of information.

But how can we increase the number of fans on our Facebook page in an efficient manner like if it gets constant with only former work persons of that organization.

Comment by Jeevan — March 11, 2010 @ 12:21 am

This is a very valuable information for facebook users. These strategies really work. Thanks for the post.

Comment by Claudia Guzman — March 31, 2010 @ 11:24 am

Thanks for the stunning post. Facebook is really a very good social media website. I will definitely use it now daily.

Comment by shakti — April 1, 2010 @ 3:48 am

social media is a good way in present times to expand your business as it helps you to have a good conversation and interaction with people. It is simply creating a imilar response that is created by viral marketing. This information also proves helpful for the small businesses who really want to expand and leaves a benchmark. Moreover it teaches them: sloe and steady wins the race

Comment by aarti kapoor — April 13, 2010 @ 8:12 pm

Great iinformation. I need info about how to promote fan page outside facebook?

Comment by Kathy — April 28, 2010 @ 1:25 am

Great tips. I'll be putting these to use.

All the best,

Alan

Comment by Alan Eames — May 20, 2010 @ 10:54 pm

Great Article! I streamlined all my online marketing with thefacebookwizard.com!

It gives ya UNLIMITED mass messaging, commenting, liking, adding, etc without getting banned!

Comment by Lauren — May 29, 2010 @ 4:56 pm

An extremely useful summary of Facebook techniques. Facebook is a very powerful way of interacting immediately and regularily with your customer base and makes 'newsletters' look somewhat out-of-date. Don't forget to link Facebook with Twitter, it can save a lot of time!

Comment by Philip - Website des — June 7, 2010 @ 12:07 pm

Thanks, we appreciate you taking the time to write a help guide

Comment by wrightcomputing — June 24, 2010 @ 11:06 am

Is it okay within Facebook's promotional guidelines to post coupons to a page?

Comment by CAry — July 14, 2010 @ 9:39 am

Great post! I was wondering if I should make a Facebook page for my product and I guess it would do no harm in trying it out, especially because of the low costs involved. I also came across some simple tips on how to utilize Facebook well for marketing or branding at http://blog.socialmaximizer.com/14-tips-for-marke...

Comment by Olivia Jade — August 17, 2010 @ 8:06 pm

Facebook and twitter are two areas I'm really getting stuck into at the moment – progress on both is slow but I guess, as this post states, it's a slow process

Comment by @itomlinson — October 19, 2010 @ 4:27 pm

There is a fundamental problem with this approach. A business has a life of its own, separate from an individual who might have started the business. Suppose an individual builds up a valuable business (including a Facebook page), then sells the business. How does the new owner acquire control of the Facebook page?

Comment by Steve Johnson — October 25, 2010 @ 11:33 am

couldn't you just add the new business owner as a page admin, and then have them remove you?

Comment by tristan — November 4, 2010 @ 6:21 am

Slow and steady is the key. Not giving up and keeping focused is so important.

Thanks for the great article.

Comment by Maryanne — January 6, 2011 @ 4:51 pm

Thanks for the nice and useful tips. But its really difficult to attract the fans on the face book. I have tried contacting fans for my fan page but so sad , I have no more fans on the list. Can you help me out to get more fans ?!

Comment by Monika — March 5, 2011 @ 10:49 pm

thank you so much or your post. Really helpful!

Comment by Robinson — March 23, 2011 @ 4:15 am

When so many web marketing "experts" are portraying Facebook as an easy way to riches, it's good to read such sensible and valuable advice. It is an education and the real marketers and entrepreneurs are in it for the long haul. Thanks Nick.

Comment by Mike Newman — April 9, 2011 @ 12:44 pm

Duplicating content across every social platform doesn't really give a user a reason to follow you

Comment by Jade Jewelry — June 7, 2011 @ 3:25 am

Thanks for the great summary, loved the suggestion about posting something entertaining every now and again. I'm just starting out with social media with my photography business and I think these tips are pure gold – in my business social is everything!

Ann

Comment by Photographer Ann — July 13, 2011 @ 8:26 am

Fabulous article. clear and sensible! You can also log on to facebusinessworld.com find some basic and handy tips to promote your business throught facebook.

Comment by Marry — August 15, 2011 @ 6:32 am

Very informative tips, thanks so much

Comment by bodybuilder workouts — September 28, 2011 @ 5:33 pm

I think this article has help me a lot, I look forward to more info on building.

Comment by arvell west — November 9, 2011 @ 6:49 pm

OK patience is a virtue

Comment by arvell west — November 9, 2011 @ 6:52 pm

Great Advice. In the end it always seems to come down to content. The general idea is if you create dumb content the chances are these people will not want to follow you on your facebook business page. If you create something interesting more people will be more likely to add you to their favorites list. just my opion. great article though

Comment by Peter Lee — November 10, 2011 @ 11:34 am

If you look beyond all written, what is important is that you find good strategy to increase fans. More fans means more sales or more customers. What I found is that people generally don’t want to be “the first” on to like, or become a fan because they know that page is going to be empty and not much going on – if you buffer the numbers with a bit of advertising that you can get from http://socialnetexposure.com it’ll create a ‘rolling stone’ effect where fans really start to get into it by them self. In other words, if someone with 500 friends decides that he or she likes your page, that action is logged on the profiles of 500 other users. Friends tend to “like” what their friends like. It could be a matter of trusting a friend’s recommendation, or it could simply be a matter of “following the herd”

Comment by Danilo — November 29, 2011 @ 12:37 pm

The world of marketing is abuzz with social networking sites, namely Facebook. With hundreds of millions of visitors coming to this website every single month, it is no wonder that more businesses than ever are looking to Facebook as a component of their success. It is important for every small business owner that is about to plunge into Facebook to understand these few steps in order to have a beneficial experience with this internet titan.
Prepare Yourself Before You Start

Facebook is notoriously easy to log on and create a page in only a few seconds. While this may be tempting for enthusiastic business owners, it is a much better idea to make a few small preparations before finally throwing up a fan page. It is best to invest a small amount of time in searching through Google for other’s stories on success or failure during their Facebook campaign. Small business owners should also clearly understand what goals they are setting for themselves and their business and how they can achieve these goals through a Facebook page.

Comment by logo items — January 16, 2012 @ 4:54 am

I have to agree with Peter Lee – who wants to be inundated with a bunch of junk updates? Not me!

Comment by Adam — February 6, 2012 @ 10:31 pm

9 Rules of Facebook Promotion Every Small Business Should Know

1. Go Slow And Steady, Don’t Overdo It

2. Contact Your Fans Directly

3. Don’t Spam

4. Consider It An Educational Experience

5. Limit Your Advertising Budget

6. Create A Facebook Page, Not New Profiles

7. Use Coupons And Other Incentives

8. Emphasize Mobile Subscriptions

9. Post Occasional Entertaining Statuses

Conclusion

Recommended Articles

Inside Social Apps 2012 Starts Tomorrow

682967 Comments2009-07-23+14%3A14%3A58Nick+O%27Neill »

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9 Rules of Facebook Promotion Every Small Business Should Know

1. Go Slow And Steady, Don’t Overdo It

2. Contact Your Fans Directly

3. Don’t Spam

4. Consider It An Educational Experience

5. Limit Your Advertising Budget

6. Create A Facebook Page, Not New Profiles

7. Use Coupons And Other Incentives

8. Emphasize Mobile Subscriptions

9. Post Occasional Entertaining Statuses

Conclusion

Recommended Articles

Inside Social Apps 2012 Starts Tomorrow

682967 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.allfacebook.com%2Ffacebook-small-business-2009-079+Rules+of+Facebook+Promotion+Every+Small+Business+Should+Know2009-07-23+14%3A14%3A58Nick+O%27Neillhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.allfacebook.com%2F%3Fp%3D6829 »

Leave a comment

Follow AllFacebook

Send us a Tip

Social Media Jobs

Let your next job find you!

Featured Company

Upcoming Events

682967 Comments2009-07-23+14%3A14%3A58Nick+O%27Neill »