As the popularity of Facebook skyrockets among individuals, it has also become popular for businesses. “Find us on Facebook” is now found within nearly every website, business card, advertisement and email.

But, by placing that tagline on all of our marketing materials and emails, there’s no telling how many people will actually find us on their own. If you look at various pages, the bigger brands such as Starbucks and Wal-Mart obtain hundreds of thousands of fans just by being who they are. But what about the smaller fish in the Facebook sea?  What can we learn from the Facebook pages of these giants that are reasonably applicable to the smaller business?

Many small businesses may not have the resources or the desires to create their own apps or to hire a sole employee for social media. So, to figure out what we can learn from the big guys on Facebook, let’s start with a list of reasons for a Fan Page.

1)     Engage Fans

2)     Provide Value

3)     Obtain Feedback

4)     Interact with customers

5)     Support a good cause

Engage – get customers to participate within your Facebook page. This is probably the easiest way to get creative on your page as there are many contests and promotions you can hold to encourage participation.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Dunkin’ Donuts is asking fans to post a “couples’ pic” and many have included how DD impacts their relationship by posting stories on Dunkin’s wall. This promotion is exclusive to their Facebook page and is not listed on their website. The best part of this idea is that the winner is posted as “CupiDD’s pick” and there is no monetary prize – which makes it easy for a small business on a budget to reenact.

Provide Value – offer relevant content that provides your customers with beneficial information with products or services you offer.

Blackberry’s page is doing an amazing job of providing value by creating a forum directly within their Facebook page. If that’s too detailed for your small business, you can mimic Cooking Light magazine’s method of providing content. They regularly post recipes from their website for all fans to see.

Obtain Feedback – give your customers the opportunity to comment on products or services that your company offers.

Ben and Jerry’s offers this option on their Facebook page with an option to write reviews on their ice cream. If you want something a little more daring than reviews, take notes from Forever 21. They showcase pictures of clothing and accessories with a “Like It” or “Dislike It” button next to each. Both of these options provide great opportunities to find what your customers are thinking.

Interact with customers – respond to customers comments on your Facebook page lays out a quick and casual way of communicating.

The wall on Facebook pages and profiles makes it easier than ever to leave a quick message. On many company pages, consumers utilize the wall to complain or compliment the product One company that does a great job of responding quickly to all of the comments left on their wall is Best Buy. They address issues, answer questions, and give thanks all through their Facebook Wall. Your small business can easily replicate this process by assigning a person to monitor messages that come in and responding accordingly.

Support a good cause – ask your fans to participate on your Facebook page in an activity that results in a donation to a charity of your choice.

Both Target and Coca-Cola are using this method on their Facebook pages. Target asks you to send a card to a friend and pick one of five charities to win a portion of $1 million. On Coca-Cola’s fan page, they offer to donate $1 to the Boys and Girls Club of America for every gift a fan sends to their friends.

To do something like this on a smaller scale, you can ask fans to take part in a poll or write a review on a product. For each poll result or review you see, your company will make a donation of X amount to a charity. Be sure to contact your lawyer before doing this promotion, just to be sure there are no rules in your state you need to know about!

So, these are the companies we’ve taken notes on – what companies have you found doing good on Facebook?

Tags: Facebook, Small Business

Categories: Business Tips