1. Use a Landing Tab to Offer a Compelling Reason for People to “like” you.

When first-time visitors go to your fan page, they will initially see your Wall. That is unless you create a landing tab with one of your Facebook promotional apps.

Make your Sweepstakes, Share and Save or Fan Offer app your landing tab and use it to offer potential fans an incentive or discount. Show them why they should “like” your page and let them know what’s in it for them.

2. Share Pictures.

A picture is worth a thousand words. In fact, 750 million Facebook users share their pictures with their friends on a daily basis. So why shouldn’t you?

Share your pictures of customers, products, staff plus more and watch your fans comment on your store’s unique flair. Plus, when you sign up for a Facebook Site, we’ll share your Website’s entire product catalog full of rich pictures with 750 million people just waiting to “like” your page.

3. Make and Share Videos.

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, a video is worth 10,000. Upload your 30 and 60 second TV spots or even create your own, sharing insights and interviews. Mobile phones make it easy to make videos showing you having fun with staff, customers and partners.

Be sure to upload the videos through Facebook, so that when people share the videos, their friends can “like” your page from the top left corner of the video.

4. Give away Value.

People respond well to quality information and freebies. Use the Sweepstakes, Fan Offer or Share and Save app to offer your fans plenty of value. Plus, it’s simple to provide information by sharing links to articles, podcasts, white papers, and webinars.

Potential customers will remember you and react positively to the expertise and value you can provide. You’ll become their “go-to source” for help and advice.

5. Respond to Negative Comments.

There’s a temptation to delete negative remarks or complaints from your Facebook page. But if you delete someone’s comments, they will only get louder somewhere else.

The two most important words in Facebook marketing are “I’m sorry.” Mistakes happen, so apologize, fix the problem and turn that complainer into a fan.

6. Respond to the Positive Comments, too.

A heartfelt “Thank you” goes a long way too. Make “Thank you” your two next most-important words.

Don’t pass up the chance to encourage a fan who posts something nice on your Facebook page. Give them opportunities to spread the good word about their experience, and thank them sincerely. Get creative with this; there are hundreds of ways to show your appreciation with some personality.

7. Surprise and Delight.

Elements of surprise and delight have always been a tenet of good business. But on Facebook, it’s even more important to surprise and delight fans since 750 million people are watching.

Consider giving away free stuff – our promotional apps make it simple to offer freebies and discounts. Reward people randomly and have fun with your fans.

8. Ask Questions.

Facebook is the world’s largest focus group. You can ask questions and get plenty of valuable feedback about your product or services, and opportunities or challenges. People want to know that you care about their opinion.

Consider this – it’s more important to be interested than interesting in the world of Facebook. Questions are the best way to generate comments, which will improve your EdgeRank and enable you to show up in more of your fans’ news feeds.

9. Share Stories.

People love stories. Talk about how your company got started, an interesting customer or staff member, charity or community involvement. Keep the stories short and simple, and use multimedia.

10. Be Honest and Transparent.

Honesty and authenticity go a long way. Don’t be afraid to be honest with fans. They’ll appreciate the authenticity – and even vulnerability – that accompanies it.

Share what’s going on in your store. Fans will respect it and respond.

11. Be Short, Sweet and Conversational.

Talk to your business’s fans the same way you’d talk to your friends. Short, informal statements and questions generate a lot more engagement than longer posts. You can use up to 420 characters in each Facebook post, but try to keep it to 140 or fewer.

12. Don’t Sell.

Make it easy and compelling for your customers to buy your products. If you’ve set a precedent of quality fan interaction – by listening to them, creating value and educating them about your business through storytelling – then they’ll use your products and services when they their needs must be fulfilled. Better yet, when their friends have similar needs, you’ll be the one they “like” and recommend.

Need more ideas? No problem! Contact us at rawebplus@ramarketing.com for even more great tips on how to boost your sales using the Facebook promotional apps and Facebook Site.

What you need is a flat, slablike top supported on one or more legs, with seats especially for one person – usually having four legs for support and a rest for the back and often having rests for the arms – to place around this furniture designed specifically for serving food to those seated at it.

Ms. Jones doesn’t buy a table and chairs. She buys something that will increase her young child’s vocabulary more than play and story time (Harvard Research, 1996). She buys a lower risk of smoking, drinking, drug use, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts for her kids. She buys better grades for her 11-18 year old (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2004). She buys a decreased likelihood of eating disorders for her adolescent daughter (University of Minnesota, 2004).

She doesn’t buy wood and glue. She buys solutions like these, all of which are associated with a regular, shared family mealtime. Ms. Jones can replicate the family table with fast food, texting between errands and being her kid’s friend on Facebook. But she can’t replace face time, food time and fellowship time. For that, she needs a flat, slablike top supported on legs.

If you’d like to gain some of the benefits that come from sitting around a table, register now for the R&A Roundtable, a 2-Day web strategy conference March 29-30. After two days of meaningful conversation at the round table, you’ll come away full of new ideas, inspiration, knowledge and education gained from real-time, face to face interaction with business owners, marketing gurus and likeminded professionals.

The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

Does the mail leave you mystified, too?

After fooling around with this true story for about a week, I finally figured out how to deposit a check directly into my vendor’s account. I used my cell phone to take a picture of the deposit slip, texted it to him from the parking lot, and he used his phone to go online and immediately verify the funds were in his account. Presto! Technology saves the day!

Hmmm. Makes me wonder why I messed with the mail in the first place.

Your postman does not report back to you. “Ms. Jones received your postcard at 3:47 pm. She read the front but didn’t read the back, tossing it in the trash can on her way into the house. Ms. Smith received the postcard on her lunch break. She read it and posted it on her refrigerator. Ms. Porter didn’t get your postcard at all.”

When you send your message electronically, you can receive detailed reports of how many people received your message, what they did with it, and if they want to hear from you again. You can also determine exactly which campaigns work and which flop. You can determine the time of day and day of the week that get the best results. You can reach out to Ms. Jones instantly and achieve an immediate reaction.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night may stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds, but that’s only the half of mail delivery. You need to know what Ms. Jones does with your message once it arrives.

Learn more at the R&A Roundtable, a 2-Day web strategy conference March 29-30. The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

Yes, Facebook is my constant companion. I use it to keep in touch with special friends – as for those annoying acquaintances, call me and I’ll tell you how to block them. As an extrovert who works from home, I use social networking as my water cooler. Others appreciate how social networks let them stay in touch on their own terms, with complete control over content and contacts.

We are not alone, as CNN Money reported last week:

“According to The Nielsen Company, time spent on social networking sites by internet users worldwide has increased from 3 hours per month to 5.5 hours per month. This is an impressive 82% increase. Nielsen also concluded that people spend the most Internet time overall on social networks and blogs, and that social web sites such as Facebook are now the most common homepages for users.

Ooooh, did you catch that? Ms. Jones spends more of her online hours on social networks and blogs than on websites like yours. Is your website a waste, then? I think not. But these statistics seem to say that static sites without a social strategy are a waste of Ms. Jones’ time.

Do you have a personal Facebook page? Do you Twitter? How many times a day do you check your social networks? Do you check in with your phone? Do your spouse, kids or grandkids have their own social profiles? How can you hook up with Ms. Jones? What turns her off online, and what makes her click on over?

Does she “like” you?

Learn more at the R&A Roundtable, a 2-Day web strategy conference March 29-30. The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.

Do you know the story? Della sells her long, luxurious hair to buy a watch chain for “Her Jim,” who has sold his watch to buy combs for her hair.

The same twist of fate happens every day in America’s storefronts, as well-intentioned business owners spend hours planning something nice for their beloved customer, Ms. Jones. They scrape together every spare cent and invest it on exactly what she wants, what will make her happy, what will fulfill all her desires. They are willing to sacrifice generously to secure her love, “which is always a tremendous task, dear friends –”  says O. Henry, “a mammoth task.”

Have you misspent money on useless gifts? Have your impractical intentions ended in irony? Do you offer free financing, when she wants layaway? Do you have knock-down tables when she wants put-you-feet-up durability? Do you close early when she needs you to be open late?

Why waste good intentions and spare pennies, when we can know without a doubt what Ms. Jones wants?

All you have to do is ask. Ask her while she shops. Ask her as she leaves. Ask her three months later. Ask in person. Ask in a letter. Ask on your social networks. Ask online. Ask in an email. Send her a survey. Offer a little incentive if she tells you what’s on her mind.

A penny for her thoughts has a big pay off.

Learn more at the R&A Roundtable, a 2-Day web strategy conference March 29-30. The “Word of the Week” is written by Amy Lively of The Lively Merchant, R&A’s partner in providing these thought-provoking weekly witticisms.