With over 500 million users, Facebook is now used by 1 in every 13 people on earth, and of those people, the majority are now spending more time on Facebook than watching TV.With statistics like that, is it any wonder that more than 3 million businesses have moved their marketing dollars to Facebook?If you haven’t created a Facebook Page for your business yet, chances are your competitors have. But where do you start, what do you say, and how do you promote your page and your audience?Here's how to market and grow your business on Facebook, starting today!

How to Market and Grow Your Business on Facebook

Things You Need to Know Before Getting Started

Your Facebook business page will be attached to your personal page. In other words, you cannot create a page until you have set up a personal Facebook account. Once you’ve done that, you can create an unlimited number of Facebook pages.
Your Facebook page is also public, so fans can easily find your business and Google. Your page and posts are indexed, giving it the beloved “Google Juice” we’re all looking for.
Facebook is designed to get you and your brand in front of as many eyeballs as possible. The problem with most businesses is that they jump in without a plan.
It may be exciting to hop on the Facebook bandwagon but without clearly defined goals and a system to track your progress; your enthusiasm may quickly fizzle. Your goal should be to create an engaging page that gives your fans a reason to seek you out daily.

1. Create a Page

Your first step is to generate your new page. To begin the design of your new Facebook Page, you will need to add a business page to your current profile.I’m not going to dive into the step-by-step instructions, but you can find them under Facebook Page guidelines.

2. Create a Custom Welcome Page

Facebook allows you to create a custom page or mini website within your Facebook Page. You can then direct all new fans to this page where you can promote your business, give away a freebie, host a contest, or request that they sign up for your free newsletter. This is one area you need to get your creative juices flowing and determine what “item of value” will draw fans in and get them to click the LIKE button.Video is always a BIG draw. Check out the great job my friends Frank and Brian at Think Big Work Small have done with their Facebook Welcome Tab.Important Side Note: Since Facebook discontinued its support of fbml (Facebook’s answer to html), building an iframe site can be a little tricky. But don’t worry; there are simple ways to get your page up and running in a jiffy.

Design a FREE Facebook Landing Page

If you have admin rights to your Wordpress blog, you can add the Facebook Tab Manager plugin which allows you to edit and customize your page within your Wordpress blog.
Wix Facebook Page
Pagemodo
Wildfire Facebook IFrame App

3. Add Content Before You Promote Your Page

This idea is based on the theory that it is better to offer an enormous amount of value and build loyalty within your fans long before you ask for their business.Make sure you have several posts up before making your page public. Not sure where to find content? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Blogs/Articles You Have Written (you probably have hundreds to rotate through)
News Resources (local and national newspapers with tips, tools and how-to’s for buyers and sellers)
Announce a Sales Event or Promotion
Give Away a FREE E-Book or other item of value
Offer how-to advice that save buyers and sellers time and money
Talk about local events
Spotlight a local vendor and offer a coupon that they must opt in for on your website
Create Top 10 Lists and break them out into daily posts
Pick an obvious local location to film a video from and invite fans to find you. The first person to comment with your correct location wins a prize.

4. Add Consistent Content

Just like your blog, your Facebook fan page will quickly become obsolete if you’re not constantly offering fresh content. I suggest posting at least once per day and at the high traffic times when your information is most likely to come up on your fans wall.According to a recent study by Buddy Media, there are not only certain days that are optimal but times of the day as well. Interestingly enough, their findings concluded that 60% of businesses were posting during normal business hours but those that posted outside of those hours had a 20% higher engagement rate.

5. Add the LIKE Button & Box to Your Blog

Allow blog followers and website visitors to find your page by adding the Like button or boxto your site.Begin by creating your Like Box by adding your Facebook page URL to the plugin.

6. Find Fans

A big misconception is that once you’ve set up your Facebook business page you should immediately start inviting all of your family and friends. This is a no-no and I’ll tell you why.First, why invite a large group of people with no true interest in your page? Your page is about generating business, and involving a static group of people brings no intrinsic value. Secondly, how many invites do you have waiting for you right now that you have yet to read? We’ve all become accustomed to the invite “noise,” but spamming your friends is intrusive and just poor manners.

Here are a few creative ways to find new fans:

Visit Facebook pages where home buyers hang out. Spend time engaging with that community and bring awareness to your page.
Add your Facebook page to all of your direct marketing along with an incentive to LIKE your page.
Add to your Email Signature
Create Facebook Ads – Ads allow you to go hyper-local giving you the most targeted bang for your marketing buck. For a very small budget, you can use ads to get your message in front of the exact person you want fanning your page. Start creating your Facebook ad and have it up and running in no time.
Host an Event online or offline and drive fans back to your Facebook fan page. Once you’ve hosted the event, make sure some pictures can be uploaded and tagged. Encourage your fans to tag themselves in the photos.
Invite fans to join through an SMS Text Message. Your fans will simply send a text message to 32665 (FBOOK) with the words “fan yourusername” in the message. Your page will need a unique username before you can use this feature. You must have 25 fans before you are able to choose a username.

7. Send a Thank You Message

A "Thank You" message might be the most unappreciated but powerful business tool ever created. Just as we send a quick handwritten note to thank someone for their kindness, doing the same on Facebook extends that level of gratitude.Your message is short and sweet with two purposes. You thank them for becoming fans of your page and pointing out a specific item of value or important information you want them to be aware of.

7 Simple Steps to Facebook Fan Page Success