8 Tips for Building Effective Facebook Pages

1. ESTABLISH YOUR BRAND. The logo you use on your Facebook page should be a professional representation of your organization. This means at minimum it should be the correct size. Square logos typically work best as Facebook automatically resizes them for use in your status updates. However, the maximum height for Facebook Page Profile Pictures is 600 and the maximum width is 200, so your group may find it useful to come up with a creative use of the tall, narrow space.

2. CREATE A LANDING PAGE. Facebook allows users to create their own applications using the FBML application. FBML stands for “Facebook Markup Language” and is Facebook’s own form of HTML.  Use FBML to create a landing page for new visitors that explains your group’s purpose, what they will find on the Facebook Page, and how to become a fan. Be sure to edit your Page’s settings to change the default to the landing page!

3. USE THE WALL. The “wall” is the front section of your Facebook Page. If you do not set up a landing page, then the wall will be the first page visitors will see and, in many cases, the only section of your Page they will look at. This means it is your goal to have the most relevant information on the wall, including your website address, ways for fans to get involved with the organization, and your Twitter name. When you post a note or add a video, these activities will show up on your wall, but will eventually rotate out. If it’s important, post it again and again.

4. BE ENGAGED AND ENGAGING. Facebook Pages are dynamic, meaning they come with dates and timestamps for every new addition your organization makes to the Page. This is both good and bad. If you are frequently using your Facebook Page and engaging your audience, then these timestamps will be of tremendous help to you because they will make you look relevant and interesting to potential fans. However, if you built a Facebook Page with no intention of ever updating it, every visitor to your Page will immediately know this and will be less likely to join. Status line updates are an easy way to fix this problem without creating a lot of work for staff members.

5. UPDATE YOUR STATUS. Your Facebook Page’s mission is to educate and engage your fans, and status line updates are a great way to do that. These are short messages that show up in the News Feed on your fans’ home pages, meaning they could see- and comment on- the short status messages without ever even visiting your actual Page. Their comments, however, will show up on the Page- making your Page seem like a place where future fans might also want to share their opinion! Use the updates a few times a week to link to a news story that you think is important, ask for feedback or opinions, or generate discussion about another project you are working on. The more engaged your fans are with your Facebook Page, the more successful your Facebook presence will be and the more likely future fans will be to join your Page.

6. RUN FACEBOOK ADS. Facebook Ads drive traffic to your page by allowing you to target potential audiences using keywords such as “Sarah Palin,” “Conservative,” “Republican,” etc. The key to a successful Facebook Page (and any website) is good traffic and Facebook Ads provide the beginning traffic for your Page. Unless you have a national base and a thriving Twitter account, you may find it hard to break the 100 fans barrier without a targeted ad campaign. Every organization is different, but my recommendation is to run an ad or two until you reach a pre-determined number then suspend the ad campaign and monitor your organizations’ viral growth. After a certain point, you may find you don’t need ads any longer.

7. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. And what interests them. This gets to the heart of “why did someone become a fan of your page?” For example, if your organization deals only with abortion, then you can assume that your fans are at least a little interested in that topic. However, if your organization encompasses many different topics, it might be a little harder to find out what people really care about. A great way to discover which articles or tidbits of information are most interesting to your audience is to monitor which issues generate the most response on your Facebook wall. Of course you’ll want to provide more information on a wider range of topics, but it will be helpful to know your key issues to generate good discussion on a regular basis, making your page look active and engaging!

8. ASK FOR HELP. Consistent page maintenance is vital for building effective Facebook pages. Majority Connections provides Facebook maintenance and moderation to conservative causes by helping with daily updates, identifying areas for new campaigns, moderating fan comments, and managing Facebook ad campaigns. Majority Connections is committed to providing these important services to the conservative movement at an affordable cost.

There’s more to having a good Facebook Page, but these things are, in my opinion, the most important. If your conservative organization needs more information on creating and maintaining effective Facebook pages, e-mail Jessica or contact MC on Twitter: @MajorityConnect.

(Note: Facebook Changes everyday, which means my tips for you are also constantly evolving. This post is an update of an earlier post with more tips and info.)

2 Responses to “8 Tips for Building Effective Facebook Pages”

1. Zach says:

   August 5, 2009 at 11:21 am

   Great advice! I couldn’t agree more with number five; status updates are crucial with respect to keeping your FB fans engaged, and they definitely make it more likely that you’ll gain more fans in the future.
2. Facebook: Part 2 of “Turn Casual Supporters Into Engaged Activists”- Majority Connections says:

   October 7, 2009 at 10:35 am

   [...] For more information about the ins and outs of good Facebook Pages, read “8 Tips for Building Effective Facebook Pages.” [...]