A lot of bloggers and marketers make a Facebook page and think that fans will automatically appear like magic. That’s a myth. Building your fanpage for Facebook requires time, effort (and sometimes) money.

When I started my Facebook page, I didn’t know where to start nor what to do. Much of the things that worked, I did by trial and error. Allow me to share 10 Tips on how to do it. Whether you have a personal FB page or promoting your brand or product, I hope that you’ll get some tips and grow your fanpage faster.

10 WAYS TO GET LOTS OF FANS FOR YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE by GM Tristan

Once convinced that a Fanpage is better than a profile or group page, you can now proceed on the steps on how to market and promote it. Here are some tips;

1. Start with a great profile photo – This can either be your brand or a compelling visual. Remember that marketing is all about “first impressions”. Your choice here will determine your (or your brands’) image. Skyscraper type photos are also recommended. Dimensions? 193 x 517 (shhhh…. they still think I’m a girl. Lol)
2. Take advantage of FBML – The FBML or Facebook Markup Language is a simple “landing page” to give your initial message to your prospective fans. A lot of these pages summarize your brand or product and invite them to “like” your page. You can view how to make your own FBML here.
3. Make your own URL – It will be easier for your potential fans to spread the word and remember your site if you have a http://facebook.com/yourname as your FB url. Do that here. You can only do this if you have 25 or more fans.
4. Make it Easy to become a Fan – Put the Facebook widget on your blog or website. Instructions are here. You can also install a simple LIKE or SHARE app on your blog and/or articles. This way, your content spreads virally. Mine is the simple facebook share widget by Erick Hitter.
5. Populate your fanpage with relevant (*and original) content – Daily, if you can. It’s easy to promote the links to your own content. It’s best to first post it at your FB page and THEN “share” it via your own personal profile (not the other way around).
6. Make it interactive – I did this via my regular TAY (Talk Among Yourselves) sessions where I just post a random topic and the fans get to comment and debate. Also, there’s a regular “Caption It” post – I post an odd photo and the readers have fun putting captions. Simple things like these will make your page interactive and your readers will be coming back for more.
7. Share topics from other sources – Identify your own niche or keywords and monitor similar sites or blogs. Then, if there are topics that you think your readers will value, send some link love over at your FB page.
8. Do Regular Contests – Promos, contests and freebies are easy ways to grow your fanpage with little or no spending. I bought a limited action figure for a couple of thousand Pesos and gave it away to the reader with the most number of likes to a photo. Check out the mechanics here so you can copy it and do your own.
9. Post on similar blogs and Facebook pages – Put your keywords on the FB search bar and you’ll see more popular pages on your niche. It’s free to post on their pages. But don’t do it so often that it becomes spam. You might want to contact the admin too and ask permission before you do this. Invite the admins to cross-promote and do it on your page too.
10. Promote it with Ads – Facebook advertising is easy to setup. You can choose demographics and target like-minded people who will be more than likely to become fans. I suggest you pay for clicks rather than impressions if you plan to grown your fanpage this way. Ads will require some investment. I invested 3 months on mine and it has worked wonders so far.

There you have it. Some great tips to grow your fan base. I hope that you grow yours fast. Best of luck!

Let me know if you have any questions by commenting below or sending me a private message.

And while you’re at it, BE A FAN of my fanpage now, ok?

Thanks!