I recently attended an event with the American Marketing Association San Diego.  Speaker, Mike Jensen, who is a partner at Mission Control Agency-Woodland Hills, CA was educating the group on how to begin and maintain a successful Facebook fan page.  Here are some of the bare essentials necessary to succeed in the world of Facebook:

1)    Goals:  Before even starting a fan page, know your goals.  What do you wish to achieve?  Do you want thousands of fans?  Do you want content-specific comments?  In order to carry out a social media plan, there has to be a specific desired end goal.

2)    Voice:  Every successful company in history has a solid, consistent brand.  That should not end when entering the Facebook world.  Your fans want the same brand they’ve loyally followed to be apparent within Facebook.  However, your tone and language may need to be adjusted to fit your audience.  Usually, companies may have to be a bit more lax.

3)    CONTENT: It is all about experience on Facebook.  People join because it’s a tool to share information, photos, and most importantly experiences.  Before you ever post an update, always consider why your fans have chosen to hear what you have to say.  And try to remember this is social; conversation is encouraged, whether good or bad.

4)    Tools and Tabs:  With the popularity of social networks, applications are being created to expand outreach and interactivity for pages and profiles.  Although it can be a bit overwhelming with all of the new apps in the Facebook universe, offering a unique application or tab for your fans will keep them coming back.  A personal favorite app is Red Bull’s Drunkish Dials.

5)    SEO:  Yes, even your Facebook page should be search engine-friendly.  Much like  any other website you’re looking to generate traffic to, Facebook needs a happy medium between engaging content and strong keywords, linking and tagging.

Now that you know what you need to get started, look here for a simple break down to creating your page, and don’t forget to look at our page-we love to feature our awesome clients within our Orange Couch tab.