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How to build a community on Facebook

30/10/2013

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How do you build a community on Facebook?

27 Million British people use Facebook every single month and a rather scary statistic is that 1 in 5 of all minutes spent online are spent on Facebook!  For some more Facebook stats check out the info-graphic below.

We all know how powerful Facebook is but are you getting the most out of it for your business? 

This week we have been lucky enough to have Matt Jackson of the Daily Basingstoke (a Facebook page with an active community of 5526 people) working with us and he has created his top ten tips on how to build a community on Facebook.  Over to Matt
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The Daily Basingstoke on Facebook

10 things you need to do with your Facebook page.............

1.  Write relevant and regular content

We already know that content is king and that it is incredibly important to open a dialogue with your audience.  This rule doesn't just apply to Facebook either, so whether you're on Twitter, your website or your blog, get in the habit of starting conversations with your followers on a regular basis.  When you start writing, think about what message you're trying to get across, who's going to read it and what your audience is going to want to hear from you.

Start creating useful, meaningful, interesting, or entertaining content that your target audience wants to read and see.  This includes photos and posts (be sure to tag people in both).  Enter milestones and add content to apps used on your page such as events, videos, and so on.  A page without content is one that no one will like.

The internet is one big social conversation.  Your Facebook page is just one way of joining the conversation.  But like any conversation, you've got to keep it going.

2.  Choose a great username

The username you choose for your Facebook Page will also appear in the URL for your page.  There are already a lot of Facebook Pages, so your first choice might not be available. 

That’s why it’s critical that you create a Facebook Page and get your username as soon as possible.  Even if you don’t plan to aggressively use Facebook today, you might want to in the future.  Get your username now, so you’ll have it when you need it.

3.  Make sure you fill in the 'About' section

Your Facebook Page includes a small 'About' section where you can include a couple of sentences about your business or organization.  Make sure you include the most important information about what you offer to your audience, so they instantly understand why your page should matter to them.

It’s extremely important that you include your website URL in this section of your page.  Otherwise, it gets buried in the full description that’s not visible unless a person clicks on the 'About' link on your Facebook Page.  Make it easy for people to learn more about your business or organization by making sure your URL is visible in the top-level 'About' section.

4.  Use a fantastic cover photo

Choose a cover photo that is visually appealing, captures people's attention and lures them in to take a closer look at your page and it's content.  Don't forget that you can include a message in your cover photo. 

Just be sure that you follow Facebook's guidelines that relate to cover photos.  You can find the guidelines in the Facebook Page Help section.

Your profile photo should accurately reflect your brand and business, because the more people see it, the more they'll recognise it and associate it with your service or products.  It's especially important for when you start commenting on other people's pages and joining in to other conversations.

5.  Allow sharing and promote your page

Use Facebook social plugins to enable people to like your page directly from your website and blog or to like your website or blog content and share it on their own Facebook profiles with a single click. 

There are also social plugins that enable you to show your Facebook Page updates on your blog or website.

You created your page, so make sure you get someone to read it.  Start by inviting friends and family who have an interest in your brand; invite current customers or add a call to action to your receipts.

6.   Offer something extra on Facebook

There is little incentive for people to like your Facebook page or return to it after their first visit if you don’t offer useful, meaningful, interesting, or entertaining content and experiences.  Not only should your posts be useful, but you should also create content and experiences that visitors can’t get anywhere else.  For example, offer a discount for your Page fans or hold a contest and give away a great prize to one of your Page fans.  Get creative and find ways to acknowledge your fans and reward them for their loyalty.

7.  Enjoy it

Interacting with your potential customers needs to be a natural and regular process.  Get in the habit of posting content several times a day.  The more effort you put in, the more engagement you'll get back from your followers.  Don't be afraid to encourage your followers to ask you questions or spark the conversation with you either.

When you're enjoying writing, it will come across in your posts which in turn, makes your followers want to listen to what you have to say.

8.  Think visually

Writing posts and sharing links are great, but followers are more likely to 'like' or share videos and photos.  The vast majority of brands on Facebook today still post written content and links to websites which are less and less likely to be shared.  Photos are five times more likely to be shared than a written link and videos more than ten times more likely to be shared.

9.  Optimize for search engines

Everyone knows that to be successful with a website, you need to optimize it for search engines.  Yet, it seems no one considers it when building their Facebook page.  All Facebook pages are indexed by Google.  You need to load the description with keywords, just as you do your website.

10.  Network with other pages

A great way to build your

network is by building relationships with other brands.  You can start this easily by commenting directly on their pages or by sharing their content with your followers.  If you read an article by someone else which you know will be of interest to your audience, share it.  Make sure you tag the source by typing @[page name] to tag them and credit their work.

Make sure it's natural, not

forced.  Don't demand or expect replies or collaboration or any type of response, but doing nice things like this will get you noticed and will eventually be of benefit to you when they start returning the favour.

Check out The Daily Basingstoke here:

Want more help starting your business?

our whole purpose in life is to help you make money, start businesses and have fun and you can get involved in one of the following ways:

  1. Join us on the next episode of Pop-Up Business School TV here
  2. Come to our next live event and get face to face support starting up
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Facebook UK Stats 2013
Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.
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