We previously discussed a lot of quick tips on Building your Facebook Fan Page and managing it successfully. In this second part of the series, I want to switch gears a little and talk specifically about growth strategies for your Fan Page.

I Need Fans, FAST! –Growth Strategies:

1.  Send out an email to your entire email list letting them know about your Facebook Fan Page. This is very important because up until now, you have had somewhat of a soft launch of your page.

• Include: “Your Business Name” is now on FACEBOOK! Come Join Us! In the Subject Line.
• Make it a fun announcement with pictures; tell them “Why” they should come to be a part of your page.
• Make it easy for them to join. You can embed a “Become a Fan” button or a “Fan Page Badge” in your email. (*Described Below)

2.  Update your page frequently (2-3 times daily) with pictures, polls, questions, ask for feedback; let your fans know what is going on in your world. I would encourage more but if this is too much; set a goal and realize that the more you can do, the better.

3.  The most important part of you posting is to encourage your Fans to post. Encourage engagement by your Fans!

• Example: Post a photo on your page with a comment: Say a little something about the photo or who’s in the photo then mention “Click “LIKE” if you like this photo”
• Quick response time is key to an active page

4.  Suggest your page to all of your friends on Facebook

• Go to your Fan page and click on “Suggest to Friends” (this is located just under your profile picture to the left). Then it will pop up a box with all of your friends and have “ALL” highlighted. You then have to go through all of your friends and click on each one individually. Then click “Send Invitation”

5.  Ask Friends, Family, and Clients to “Share” your page.

• They can do this by going to your page, scroll down to the bottom of the left sidebar under your profile picture, and click “Share”. This will post a message on their personal page to come look at you.
• They can also do #4 described just above!

6.  Put the URL to your Facebook Page on Business Cards, Marketing Material, Workshop & Tradeshow Material, etc… Anywhere you can! Just put it right next to your website link.

7.  Network with other Platforms- Connect with other networks like Twitter, Linked In, Myspace & your Blog.

8.  Create a Resource - Offer pertinent information to users that may be interested and use your product.

9.  Create Contests that include participation - Encourage participation and community growth by having giveaways, coupons, discounts, etc…

10.  Link Facebook to your Website!! Here are a few different ways you can look at as an example:

http://MOYALARA.com :: http://LARRYPEREZ.com :: http://MATTANDREWS.biz

http://MICHELLEMOORESENIORS.com :: http://IMPACTMARKETINGPHOTOS.com

Notice that I didn’t mention Facebook Ads. These can be very effective but should be utilized as a last resort because they will cost you Marketing Dollars.

Additional Tips and How To’s:

Jason Stair’s Tip: The maximum size for your profile picture is 200×600 pixels. Use all of this real estate to maximize impact!

*Creating a Facebook Badge: Go to your Fan Page and click on “Add Fan Box to Your Site”. There are a lot of options here so spend some time customizing your badge. Again, you can post this on your blog, website (Splash Page Footer), and many more places so use it effectively.

*Creating a Vanity URL: This is an easy one that is absolutely necessary! If your Facebook Fan Page has over 25 fans, while you are logged into your Facebook account, go to http://facebook.com/username. Be sure to look below the names that it originally suggests and click on “Set a username for your Pages”. Here it will let you search for the availability of your chosen name and start using it immediately. *NOTE: Be sure to choose the right name as it CANNOT ever be changed! (as far as I know)

*Using the FBML Application: I might recommend this to be used only if you are comfortable using HTML coding or willing to learn.

• Adding the Application: Browse applications and search for “Static FBML”. It will allow you to add this application to any of the pages that you are an admin of.
• Editing the Application: Once you have added it to your page, go to “Edit Page” and find this under the “applications” section. Click on the modification button to the right of this FBML application and click on “Edit”. Here you can title the page, add FBML code (which is very similar to HTML) and save. *You can also add up to 10 boxes below where it says “Add another FBML box”.
• Creating a “Tab”: You can make this become a tab at the top by going to your page, click on the (+) sign to the right of your tabs, and select the FBML box that you wish.
• Landing Page: You can designate a particular tab to be the landing page like Coca Cola (http://www.facebook.com/cocacola) (They are using the Static FBML application)
• Linking to Tabs: Did you know that each Tab at the top of your Facebook Fan page has a unique URL that you can send people to? 1) Go to “Edit” your page, 2) Click on the Modify Button (Pencil), 3) Click “Link to this Tab”

*Getting Notifications: There are a few different ways to receive notifications. This is the single biggest improvement that Facebook needs to make in my mind. (Unless I am missing something too)

• You can subscribe to your page’s updates via SMS (text message), however, it does not send you all of the updates.
• Click on “Settings” on the very top bar, and then click on “Notifications”. You will be able to sign up for any email or SMS text messaging notifications that you would like. As I receive email to my phone, I choose to opt out of any text messages here to avoid double alerts for the same thing.

It is important to set goals for your social media efforts like you would with your business. Utilize your “Insights” that tell you all types of information. Set benchmarks for fan growth, Interactions, and much more as you can export this into Excel.

If you found this to be helpful, we would greatly appreciate you sharing the love with #4 & #5 of the growth section for PhotoBiz. Don’t keep us a secret!

Feel free to REPUBLISH this post on your own blog, SHARE a link to it on your Facebook Pages and RETWEET this on Twitter!

First of all, I am here to try and make things easier and more efficient for you.  We have a lot of great tips and tricks to share with you so this is Part 1 of our 2 part series.  As I manage social media for PhotoBiz, I often think of different ways that our customers can utilize these networks more efficiently and effectively; so let’s dive in!  Here is also a previous article we wrote on Facebook Tips for Business

First, some preliminary Musts!
You MUST:

• Create a vanity URL:  Any Fan page with more than 25 Fans can create a shortened URL for their page similar to PhotoBiz (i.e. http://facebook.com/photobiz)
• Remember that anytime you leave a link to your Facebook Fan Page (Or your Website for that matter) include the http:// of your domain so that it appears as a live “clickable” link rather that just text that you would have to copy and paste in the address bar. (i.e. photobiz.com  OR http://photobiz.com )
• Be sure to spend a majority of your time on Facebook engaging on your BUSINESS PAGE, not your personal page.
• Treat the Inbox at the top like it’s the inbox to your business email; respond appropriately and promptly.
• Accept and deny causes, groups, pages, etc… as you want your customer’s to perceive you and your business (Religious, Political, and Controversial)

*You can create a vanity URL by going to http://facebook.com/username.  *NOTE*-You must have at least 25 fans.  You will need to be logged in to Facebook and look toward the bottom.  Once you have chosen your name, it CANNOT be changed!

Don’t Waste Your Time! – Efficiency

• If you’re a mobile “data” user, download the Facebook App on your iPhone or Blackberry to help manage it.
• Don’t get caught up in spending too much time on here as it’ easy to do and can be more “Fun” than Effective…
• If you have a blog, use Social RSS to have your blog content automatically transferred to Facebook.
• If you are a Twitter user, there are a number of applications that allow you to automatically update both with the same message.  We choose “Selective Twitter Status”.

Be Human!

• Don’t be so business and promote your own products ALL of the time.  This will get annoying and spammy to your fans.  Mix it up a bit and throw some fun into it.
• Utilize your ability to “Send an Update to Fans” wisely.  DO NOT do this all the time or you will lose fans rather than gain.  Include incentives and a lot of resourceful information.

A Few Final Tips…

• Are you a part of Forums, groups, blogs, other Facebook pages, etc…?  Tell people to become a fan of your page and you will return the Favor.  There was a recent post on I Love Photography Forum with well over 100 posts and each person was cooperative in this.
• Use the “FBML Application” if you are familiar with HTML to build custom tabs to your site at the top.  You can designate a particular tab to be the landing page like Coca Cola (http://www.facebook.com/cocacola)
• Did you know that each Tab at the top of your Facebook Fan page has a unique URL that you can send people to?  1) Go to “Edit” your page, 2) Click on the Modify Button (Pencil), 3) Click “Link to this Tab”
• Use the “TAG” feature.  When creating a wall post, if you are mentioning someone, add @ before their name.  This will allow for anyone to click on that “tagged” name and visit their profile or page (whichever you tagged) Viral Marketing!

If you liked this, be sure to check back next week when we give you a bunch of tips on:

How to GROW your Fan base on Facebook!

I hope that this helps you manage your Facebook page and brings you in a bunch of referrals.  If it does, please leave us a comment with your success stories.

What is a Contributing Photographer?

With over 13,000 photographers using PhotoBiz, we realized that there is an abundance of talent and knowledge here. The goal of our blog is to share our news, share industry news, and educate. With that said, what better way to educate than to utilize some of the best photographers in the world.

Larry Perez :: Rockstar Photographer

About LP: For 18 years I was entrenched in corporate America. It was a great thing because I gained invaluable business knowledge. I had no idea it would lead me here. After my last days in the twisted circle of working for the man I walked away. Not because I wanted to but because I experienced a divorce after 13 years of marriage. I was awarded sole custody of my 3 kiddos so it was “what do I do now” mode for me. It has all worked out for the better as most things do. I’ve always been a very artsy person by nature. I guess. I’m half right brained & half left brained so at times I have conflicts about this and everything else. The point to all of this is that many of you are venturing into business for yourselves because of similar situations. Maybe it was a corporate downsizing, a desired career change, etc. Whatever the reason, I’m here to help you feel more comfortable about the transition.

At one point I was a corporate trainer. I helped newcomers understand the why and how. I also helped them to apply the things that were being taught so that they too can experience success. So, this is comfortable territory for me and I love sharing this wealth of knowledge and am excited to do this for you!

Welcome! I couldn’t resist taking this great opportunity to share some of the things that have been instrumental in my growth as a photographer. I just feel a strong obligation to give back and be thankful for the wonderful things that have come my direction since going into business for myself. It isn’t that you have to run right out and do exactly as I have done because we are all different and the things I practice won’t work for all of you. So, please take a few pieces that you feel may work for you and give it a go. You have nothing to lose by trying and being open minded. As a business owner if you are to remain successful you have to be willing to change with the times. Something many photographers just aren’t willing to do. I promise this…if you think outside of the box in your business ideas you will be rewarded for much of it. Man…I just watched the movie Yes Man! Great story about coming out of your comfort zone and attracting things you deserve! Of course, I love Jim Carrey! Start attracting what you want!

Out of that Box NOW! (Marketing on a shoestring)

So, since you’re in this business to be a professional photographer then my hat is off to you! It’s a fun business and can bring so many wonderful rewards into your life. BUT! It’s going to take MORE than just following what everyone else does so try and grab something from this little blog. I’ll begin with saying “I love the idea of the zero budget marketing.” It works for me. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE PAID FOR ADVERTISING AND REAPED NO RETURN? Most of you that have tried “advertising” have I’m certain. Here’s my take…”I don’t believe in advertising.” OK. Got that out there now. Yeah yeah yeah, LP is tight, he’s stingy, he’s not the norm, say whatever…..I’m not giving in. I’m sorry, I just CANNOT bring myself to spend “net” earned dollars on advertising in a magazine or newspaper or yellow pages etc. What the heck is a phone book anyways?

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New Full Screen Template:  “Boston”

PhotoBiz will be launching our 69th Flash website template as our Full Screen Collection travels to Boston today!  Boston comes with a sleek design and style and introduces a functional new feature as well.  Take a look at some of these great screen shots!
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Our October Featured Photographer of the Month

Monica Burby

 Check out PhotoUmbra Studios

read full blog entry…