One of the things many people struggle with in social media are identity issues, and I am no different. Up until yesterday, my main Facebook entities included my personal profile and my fan page for Kikolani. While I love both of these, I found some problems with sharing links to posts I’ve done elsewhere. Specifically…
- Links I’ve posted to my personal profile lately haven’t gotten that much attention compared to plain status updates or photos.
- The fan page for this blog is focused on posts from this blog only. Fans didn’t sign up for posts from elsewhere.
So the solution was creating a new Facebook page. This page is specifically focused on my freelance writing and blogging as a whole so it can be a platform where I can share links to anything I have written anywhere.
It took under two hours to set up, and since it’s been a while since I’ve set up a Facebook fan page, I thought I’d share some things I learned along the way.
Research Pages in Your Industry
I started by looking up fan pages by other freelance writers to see how they had theirs set up. I was looking specifically for what category they chose for their page and how they titled it for personal and professional branding.
The first page that jumped out was my friend Harleena Singh. I found some great pages for my own page to like in her page’s likes.
After some browsing of some awesome freelance writers’ fan pages, I decided to name mine with the title Freelance Writer & Blogger.
Fill in Your Basic Information (with Links)
Think you can just get a link in your About information and the designated website area?
Be sure to fill out your Personal Interests section carefully. I found out the first time I shared my page’s link on Google+ and Facebook that field was used as the description for your fan page.
Take Advantage of the Get Started Options
When you first create your fan page, you have some sharing options that will be lost once your fan page is more established.
The most important one is the Suggest to Friends option that allows you to recommend your new page to your friends.
This is a great way to get new fans for your page, but be warned it disappears pretty quickly, so suggest your new page to the people you think will be most likely to be interested, then continue through your friends list.
There is another option to Tell Your Fans about your page using your Skype and email contacts, but this options is also available through your Resources section when you click the Edit Page button.
Featured Likes & Admin
The Featured settings is not to be missed. After you create your page, click on the Use Facebook as Your Page link in the right hand sidebar.
Now go and like all of your own pages as well as other pages that fit your new page’s niche / industry. Then click the Edit Page button, and under Featured, select five featured likes (be sure to include your other pages) and a page owner.
This way, even if people leave your fan page, they will hopefully be on the move to your other Facebook pages or profile.
Custom Content
One of the best things about Facebook pages over Google+ pages for the moment is the ability to add custom content including welcome, opt-in, and contact form tabs. When I started thinking about doing at least one custom content tab, I remembered the great tutorial by Francisco Rosales on building a Facebook landing page with iFrames. It is really all the tutorial you need if you want to custom code and design your own landing page.
Unfortunately, I’m not much of a designer and to top it off, it was nearing midnight and I just wanted something quick and easy. While perusing other freelancer’s pages, I found one by James Cardigan that had a customized Welcome tab. At the bottom of it was a badge saying it was created with the free version of Pagemodo (aff link).
About half an hour later, I ended up with this sweet contact form on my new fan page.
The free version of Pagemodo allows you to have one custom tab on one fan page. I went with the basic ($6.25 per month) plan as I want to add more than just one custom tab, and I might upgrade to the pro ($13.25 per month) plan to do the same for my other fan pages.
Did the contact form pay off? Absolutely. I received two inquiries within an hour of announcing my page!
Announcing Your New Page
Once your page is ready to go, be sure to announce it everywhere. This includes using the Get Started tab mentioned earlier to suggest it to friends and then sharing it with your Facebook friends, Google+ followers, Twitter Followers, and any other social networks you have a nice size audience on.
Also think of anywhere you can link to it. I updated my WiseStamp (aff link) email signature, a few forum profiles, and my freelance portfolio.
Taking Advantage of the Like Button
Don’t forget to make liking your page easy by implementing the Like Button…
or the Like Box for your new page on your website.
Educational Resources
If you’re just getting started with Facebook fan pages for yourself or your business, or you want to learn more ways to get your fan page more community, fans, and engagement, be sure to check out these resources. Both are affiliate links to great products!
- Facebook Marketing All in One for Dummies – Dummies books are not just for dummies. They can be the most comprehensive and easy to follow books out on the market. This one is the most recent, published in August 2011, and is authored by Facebook experts Amy Porterfield, Andrea Vahl, and Phillis Khare. It covers everything about Facebook pages from setup to engagement and even advertising.
- FB Influence – If you would rather watch than read, then the FB Influence course is the way to go. Led by Amy Porterfield and recommended by Michael Stelzner and Mari Smith, this course has four modules with 20 videos covering everything from the core rules of Facebook marketing to building an online store for your Facebook fan page. There are over 50 links to informative articles, measurement tools, and custom content applications as well as some sweet bonuses.
Your Facebook Fan Page Tips & Resources
Now it’s your turn.
- Who still finds Facebook fan pages more powerful than Google+?
- What tips would you have to offer someone just starting out or looking to get more out of their Facebook fan page.
- What are some of the best fan pages you have seen in the writing and blogging industry?
- What is your fan page’s best feature? Please include a link!
Please share your thoughts on these questions in the comments and be sure to scroll up and use the Like Button or Box to become a fan of my new Facebook Page.
About Kristi Hines
Kikolani covers blog marketing and blogging tips for personal, professional, and business bloggers to succeed in search and social media marketing. Kristi Hines is a 
As always, great article. I often get asked to help set up a facebook fan page. I will bookmark this so I can share them in the future. Thanks!
Kevin K Lau just posted Your Social Marketing Networks Update! (dofollow)
Thanks Kevin! Definitely hope it helps out others in their quest to create Facebook fan pages!
Loved the awesome post Kristi!
Though I already have a Facebook Fan Page, but I still need to do a lot in it like add custom content including welcome, opt-in, and contact form tabs- just as you mentioned. I would look up the tutorial links you have given in the post soon after commenting here and get started.
Thanks so much for the wonderful reminder, as each time I read a post about updating and doing up the fan page- it reminds me of having to do mine up.
Harleena Singh just posted Benefits of Walking Everyday (dofollow)
I was actually waffling on the idea of doing a new page for this purpose. Then I started to search for other freelance writer pages and yours popped up first and inspired me.
Thanks for letting me know about that Kristi- this sure is news to me as well
Guess I better get started and do the things you explained so well in the post- thanks once again 
Harleena Singh just posted What Moves You? (dofollow)
Great post, Kristi – I “Liked” your Facebook Fan Page. Do you believe links get treated differently by Google, based on whether you post them on your personal page, or on your Fan Page? Do they get more authority on a Fan page?
Thanks
Kodjo
Kodjo just posted 10 Health Benefits of Sex You Need to Know About (dofollow)
Thanks for the like Kodjo! I think that if your personal page is fully public, they probably get the same amount of treatment between a fan page and a personal profile. I would guess that it probably depends more about the strength of the profile itself – a personal profile with a lot of friends / subscribers might be stronger than a fan page with less fans or vice versa.
Hi Kristi, Some really good detailed advice. I need to set up a FB page for one of our businesses over Christmas so I will be bookmarking this page and following all of your tips. Thanks
You’re welcome Neil. Good luck with your page!
Very nice Kristi. Love that contact form, and I too would pay for a service that would allow me to build something I couldn’t (or didn’t have the time to) do on my own, coding.
I messed with a fan page (doing a social media video show) a while back (which I’m sure you remember). Actually haven’t created Fan page for new computer company. Still debating. If there were more talkers, and less promoters around me (where I live), it would be easier! (they need to be talkative too)
Either way, sweet post, as usual.
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Thanks Ryan! I feel like there are lots of people still loving Facebook, so I’m trying one last run at it!
I agreeeee! I think it still rocks for sure. Many possibilities for more functionality too.. I think!
Ryan Critchett just posted Behind The Scenes Video, A Miracle iPhone Screen, And A Mid Week Chat (dofollow)
Looooove it!!! So did you invite friends to like your page? Cause I sure didn’t get an invite. I will still like it but this is the last warning!!!!
LOL, kidding, I would like it any time…
Now, not to jump and do it immediately, like I always do with everything you recommend, let me ask a question: have you had your profile “subscribe” option ON? And if not, do you think enabling it would get more people to follow the links and other posts?
The more I think about it, the more I like it, because pages are now almost like profiles and way more professional than profiles… hmmmm, you got me thinking…
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Hi Brankica,
I’m surprised you didn’t get an invite… I did invites for a small group and made it through people whose first names start with C so you should have gotten one. I’m not sure how they pop up now though – I thought it might be under notifications.
I do have my subscribe option on and have 359 subscribers, but since the timeline change, I have noticed less interest in links. But when I post a plain update or a photo upload, I get almost immediate feedback, so I know those are getting sent through the news feed. I just wonder if those are less prioritized now.
This is the best article i have ever seen in regards to a broken down step by step process to start a successful FB fan page. Definitely going to share this one! Thanks so much!
Chris just posted How To Find Austin Real Estate For Sale (dofollow)
Thanks Chris!
Recently I just read about ways of expanding your Facebook fans into Super Fans in mashable. You guys can check them out. Really comprehensive tips over there.
Ricardus just posted Christmas and Winter Sales Promotion for WordPress Hosting by WPWebHost (dofollow)
I just saw that post in my reader – still need to read up on it. Thanks for the reminder Ricardus!
These new tips are very useful to get the most from Facebook fan page and avoid common mistakes. Thank you for the useful information.
Jane just posted Facebook Marketing With Fans Bridge (dofollow)
You’re welcome Jane!
Very nice tips Kristi, but I think you forgot to mention one very important thing which is to not post your links and status directly on your user wall, rather you should post them on your page first and than share them from the page wall. In this way people will see the via “Your page” with your every post.
Umair just posted Automated SEO Vs Manual SEO! Which is Better? (dofollow)
Hmm, never thought about that. Do you do that on your page?
I have understood that my page is just bland at all and I need to recover it immediately right now if I want to improve things in general. Thanks a lot and i don’t think that I can add anything else to the point. Firstly I need to try and change the existing one which is really poor, then I can share some points.
What is your thought about my creating a Facebook Page that is specific to my finding a job? People interested in helping me or following what happens can choose to “like” the page, and I’ll update the feed from time to time with content I write, content I like elsewhere, and other stuff that is relevant to my job search.
It would expire, obviously, once hired; but do you think it would be effective?
Ari Herzog just posted Why Twitter Does Not Promote Friendship (dofollow)
Nevermind. I decided to go a different route.
Ari Herzog just posted To the Future of My Blog (dofollow)
You could use it like a Facebook resume, like having your LinkedIn profile on a Facebook page. I would make the page just about you, not your website (I actually thought you had a page already just dedicated to you). When you’re hired, you just keep updating it to keep the resume current but somehow mark it as hired. Might be a nice page to throw around in Facebook advertising – I know a guy who uses a Facebook page to find a date, so finding a job should be a good idea. If you had some ideal companies to work for in mind, make an ad is just for them and target anyone who is a part of the company (if that’s possible in the Ads campaigns).
Also, maybe add on the Pagemodo welcome and contact form tabs to highlight your expertise and make it easy for potential employers to contact you right from your page.
What does your friend do? When prospective dates ask for info about him, he gives them facebook.com/meetjohn or such?
He uses Facebook advertising to target women in the area with specific demographics, interests, etc. and the ad links to this page – https://www.facebook.com/DateMatt.
I just built a new fan page for a business site Kristi, this articles gave me more tips that I still need to improve especially about building a landing page, that is really interesting.
I should try to create one. Thanks for sharing sist.
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Thanks a lot, this is really very helpful. I created my first Fanpage a while ago, but I didn’t know how to use it properly, what settings to use, how to write an effective bio (with links to Twitter…) and how to promote it to my existing audience. This is by far the best article I’ve ever seen on how to use Facebook Fanpages the right way.
Creating various fan pages has really helped me promote my blog and other pages. thanks for sharing!
I have had a fan page since they were first introduced and have over 2250 fans which is pretty darn good for a Realtor. I like sharing some of my better articles there which some of the folks who have subscribed may have not seen otherwise.
Bill Gassett just posted Google This Street Address (dofollow)
I am not a fan of FB pages – I’ve had to struggle to do the simplest things in my FB page. Google+ pages are in contrast a breeze to create, elegant to look and simple to maintain. I just wish all my friends were on G+ instead of FB!
Raj just posted Traffic Tuesday – Link-Building for Smarties (dofollow)
I am strongly considering adding a Facebook fan page for my Online Marketing Freelance Services and will use this article as a guide. Facebook is not my favorite social media platform however I can’t ignore it’s huge influence.
It’s a good reminder to start by researching what the other freelancers are doing before I start building my page. So it was particularly interesting to read your approach for promoting freelance services. I am not a writer but a designer so and have a few different challenges to consider. I will like your page and watch how it develops.
Thanks for sharing this info.
Sandra Smith just posted Branding and Social Media (dofollow)
Very useful, Kristi. I’m not happy with FB today. Their robot now scrounges through my site for photos, finds an ad, presents it as a potential choice as a graphic, I don’t choose it, but it still blocks my post as being potentially dangerous or spammy. It gives me the URL of the danger – an ad for Dragon Naturally Speaking. Sheesh.
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