What’s up with Facebook Fan Pages?

In a recent exchange on FB and in another forum to which I belong, it became apparent to me that many FB  Fan Page owners  and Users may not know how the whole Fan Page thing works so I thought I would share this with you: (I do not purport to be a FB expert (although I do know so stuff but have become quite enthralled with FB Fan Pages and have been using my own to grow my business).

Like most of us who have created a Fan Page one of the things that had us salivating at the mouth with this whole concept, was the ability to send updates to the droves of fans we attract. Well, I hate to burst that bubble but, when you send an update to your fan list, IT DOES NOT PLACE AN EMAIL IN THEIR IN-BOX , like the messaging and comments features do. Instead, it places them in a folder called UPDATES, which is hosted in the FB users FB in-box and is accessible by clicking on the UPDATES LINK at left.

See graphic below and follow the red arrows (I have blocked the content of this page to protect the innocent !

Where Updates from Fan Pages End UP

Bottom line: UNLESS YOUR FANS KNOW TO CHECK THE UPDATES LINK TO SEE WHICH FAN PAGES HAVE SENT UPDATES, MANY ARE NEVER VIEWED!

So why bother at all with this whole FAN PAGE thing?

Here’s why:

• when you post to your FAN PAGE, your posts will appear on the walls of your fans (this might not happen if a fan has this featured turned of but most people it is believe, do not) so even if a friend of a Fan is not a Fan, they will see your content on their friend, your fan’s wall
• if the content you posted generates any interaction with any of your fans, that interaction goes viral since your fan’s action will appear on the wall of his friends
• since users can click through to a Fan page and see content without being a fan (unlike the limited display if you are not someone’s friend) your content can be seen by more users
• every Fan Page appears in search results on Facebook  (off course provided the content is relevant to the search)
• you can have custom content available on your FAN PAGE for fans and visitors to see when ever they do drop by

OK.  But still, why then bother with sending UPDATES instead of just posting everything to your Fan Page wall? A good question and IMHO here is a great answer: sending the updates  places that content neatly in a single folder for easier viewing whereas the posts to your wall continues gets lower and lower on the radar as you keep adding posts.

One of the things I recommend doing after you have sent an update, is to post on your Fan Page wall a note to pique the curiosity of your fans : “if you are a fan, check your in-box updates for our latest breaking news  – if you are not a fan yet, join now so you won’t miss any more exciting news – don’t forget to click on the updates link at the left of your in-box” . I think you get my drift.

There are many more reasons and benefits to having a fan page but understanding how Fan Pages work is critical.

Here’s to your success!

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