Considering a Facebook Fan Page?

Over the last year, and particularly the last few months, Facebook Fan Pages have quickly risen in popularity. In fact, several of our winery clients have asked about putting Facebook Fan Pages on their websites.  Since Facebook provides an icon and code, the task is as simple as copying and pasting directly into the content editor or kicker on your website.  John from Olson Ogden Wines did this successfully on his own last week and is using his Facebook Fan Page to announce news and communicate promotions, events, pairing, etc.  Take a peek!

Some tips that make an effective Facebook Fan Page are listed below and were taken from several articles on the web including one written by Spencer Spellman.

• Make your fan page pop.  Many fan pages fail because they don’t grab the user’s attention.  Successful fan pages have at least some html or flash that is graphically appealing to users.

• Offer incentives.  Make your fan page a resource for people and they will return.  You might create regular promotions on your products and use the fan page to answer questions from your fans.

• Run contests for fans as they help build a loyal audience.  Some contest ideas might be to invite your customers to send in pictures of them enjoying your wine or food pairing ideas.

• Leverage your resources.  Your customers and friends may be using Facebook and be unaware that you have a fan page.  Use your website, email, instant messaging, printed material and other social networking sites to drive people to your fan page.  Rather than competing, consider collaborating with your neighboring wineries.  A group of Silverado Trail wineries joined together  to create a multi-branded product offering which they advertise to their expanded list of customers. In another example, Ackerman Family Vineyard described how they collaborate with other select wineries to host a Winemaker’s Dinner event  in which each winery represents a specific varietal to pair with one of the dinner courses. Combined efforts can oftentimes make a bigger impact than trying to do it all on your own.

• Interact and have fun with your fans which can help spread and promote your fan page virally. A fan page is a fun way to show your corporate personality.  For brands that want fan pages to have added value but don’t want to become a resource portal; consider offering consumers a reason to join by including Facebook only promotion codes.  There’s no way to make sure the promotion code is given to only Facebook fans, however you can require an email be sent to you and email back a promotion code.  If you are networking at an event and hand out take-aways that promote your Facebook page, the potential to reach new fans is exponential to the number of friends each of these new fans has on their list.

Creating a Facebook Fan Page is simple, though it will take some time, dedication and planning. Remember to build good content which is easily accessible, and let people know about it. While you may not have a huge following immediately, over time your community will begin to grow.