How many times have you seen a complaint by an unhappy costumer of a company on social media or a forum? I ran into one some time ago. The person flew with an air company, they lost the baggage, had really bad customer support and finally he visited their Facebook Fan Page and ranted there.
To top it, people (fans of the page as well as admins) treated him very bad, posting really unpleasant comments, etc.
No fans?
It was a very bad experience for the guy and sure isn’t a way to run a Facebook Fan Page.
But that isn’t the only thing that can hurt your page:
1. You have no image, info, link to your blog/business
This is the biggest problem I see on social media. It is one of the top 10 reasons why you lose Twitter followers so why would Facebook be any different.
Depending on your page’s purpose, there are different images you can use. If the page is about you, you must put your photo on it. If it is a Facebook Fan Page for your business, you can put a logo of your company. If it is a page for your blog you can crop a part of your header and use it as the page photo (if you don’t have a logo and don’t want your image).
Fill out the “info” part of your page. You need to tell people what the page is about. Not everyone will find your page after they’ve visited your blog. Actually, a lot of people will have their first encounter with your brand – on your Facebook page.
Make sure you inform your visitors about everything the page (and your brand) is about.
If you made the page to promote your blog, online business, or anything online, you must have a link to it. Facebook is the most visited website in the world and it can be a great source of visitors (income) for you. Make sure you show them the road to your blog.
2. You never visit your Facebook Fan Page
Yes, there are people that create a page and think that is the only thing they need to do. Well, people won’t just come and like your page. And even if they do, they will unlike it just as easy.
So either you will visit your page and actually manage it, or you better start spending some money on Facebook ads.
You work on marketing your blog/website/business? Well, same thing goes for your Facebook Fan Page. It is an extension of your business so you should treat it as one.
Please, don’t make your page one of those that have no interaction, just a feed sent through Networked blogs or some other similar application.
3. You don’t reply to anyone on your page
Are you trying to make money online? Who is gonna make you that money? People!!! So you need as many people as you can get. They need to check out your offer and hopefully buy.
How will you get them to do what you want? Make them really like you. Help them with what ever they need. Communicate with them and show them you care.
How long will it take you to reply to a question on your fan page? 5 minutes? That is all it can take you to help a person in need. And that person could very well be your next customer.
If you leave them hanging with no answer for a month, not only will they find the answer elsewhere, they will buy elsewhere.
Reply to all posts, links and questions on your page. It is your page and you are the one that needs to make it interesting and live.
4. You post only links, there is no interaction
If you post only links to your new blog posts, you might as well delete your page. The ones reading your blog will already know what is on it, so why would they like your page. New people that run into it, will see a wall full of links and most likely not like the page.
The simplest way to start interacting with your fans is posting a status from time to time. You can do it every day, multiple times a day or every few days. It is up to you. This is a great way to get feedback from people by asking them simple questions.
I did find that I get most interaction on my Fb page when I post 3 to 5 times a day.
You have a new post idea but you want some additional info before you write it? Ask your fans! Yes, it is as simple as that!
If you want to master the art of Facebook pages, I recommend Amy Porterfield and her Facebook Influence.
5. You post links that have no connection with your niche what so ever
You should post links other than yours, but if your page is about women clothing, posting a link to “how to find cool rims for your Camaro” won’t really work for your fans.
You need to maintain a “theme” on your page like you do on your blog. Of course you should post relevant links to help your fans but there is a reason why they like your page – they want specific info.
6. You don’t allow posts from your fans
Why would you do that? The whole point of attracting people to your business is communicating with them. You won’t accomplish anything if you make them listen but won’t listen back!
Allow posts from fans and interact.
Also, don’t forget to enable the new messaging feature. That will let your fans send you messages directly to the page giving you more opportunities to connect.
7. You allow nasty language on your page
Constructive criticism is always OK. Someone saying they don’t agree with you is OK. But don’t allow nasty language and insults on your fan page. Why let someone insult you just because they don’t like you?
Would you let someone act like that in your house? Of course not. So don’t allow it there. Delete all the nasty comments and insults. If the person continues just delete him from fans and report him to Facebook.
You must do this to keep your page clean. People will appreciate you getting rid of those …hm, idiots… and keeping their experience on the page sweet and friendly.
8. You allow your fans to be insulted
This one is very connected to the previous one. You don’t want to be bullied so don’t let your fans be bullied.
Let’s return to the story from the beginning. The biggest mistake the company made was allowing all those insults. Page admin should have put a stop to it immediately. Not to mention that the admin should have never been ugly to the customer.
What that company doesn’t understand is this: you lost him as a customer because of your bad service… Don’t you think others will leave when they see what happened?
9. You allow any kind of links on your page
It is OK… no, it is great to let people post some of their links on your page. But don’t allow just anything.
Make sure the posts are related to the topic of your page. Don’t allow posts to spammy blogs and websites. Don’t allow posts to sale pitches. Don’t even allow posts to pages that are filled with affiliate links and ads. Everything on your page creates a picture about you, so be careful!
Do I even need to remind you not to allow links to porn sites, gambling, child abuse, animal abuse, politics, racial and religious content, etc.
10. You don’t have favorite pages listed
What are those, I hear you ask.
Favorite pages are a really cool way to display pages you enjoy so your fans can like them too. If you want to know where they are and how to add them watch this short video:
Why should you add favorite pages? You link to other blogs from your posts so why not show some love to your favorite pages as well.
I actually think it will help my fans learn more when they see what my favorite blogs have to offer. So again, the goal is to help them by giving them all info they might be interested in.
These are 10 small things that you can do to improve your fans’ experience. Once more, a reminder – communicate with them. If they get to know you, they are going to buy from you.
Don’t forget to Like my page, pretty please 
Hi Brankica
Wow, you sure know your stuff with regards to FB. As you know I am so not a fan…no pun intended
You may just have given me 10 more reasons why I will continue to be a Tweetheart and only go on FB when coerced into doing so by a certain friend aka this blog owner lol
I sure hope those who do use FB a lot are taking note. Sounds like you have spotted a lot of bad behaviour going on. I read another post this morning that was resonating a similar message but warning about sharing too much personal stuff that could be uploaded by others inappropriately.
Yikes, that’s probably why I guard my privacy and give out as little information as I can when I fill out forms on the net.
Very informative post Brankica. For all you FB fans take note. And let us Tweethearts get back to tweeting. Off to RT now
Patricia Perth Australia
Lol, oh, Patricia you really are both a Tweetheart and a sweetheart
This was supposed to help people not push them away. Same thing with that Stumble Upon post. Maybe I am revealing too much, lol.
Thanks so much for commenting and chatting with you made me like Twitter way more than before!
I disagree about the bad words, especially in context. I use curse words regularly in my blog posts and titles because that’s how I speak, and it gets people’s attention. It reads as my voice. I try and keep the cursing to a minimum, and I don’t allow words that are hateful or aimed at people.
It totally depends on the context though. What works for me personally is not true for companies, and would work really only with select brands.
These are all great points for anyone who is looking to set up a Facebook page or who is looking to improve their current page.
Hey Jay…yeah, that part of the post caught my attention as well. And while Im totally in agreement regarding bad words on our blogs (god knows there is a ton of them on mine) I wouldn’t say them here for example (not usually anyways).
But I think Brankica is right when it comes to bad words and Facebook fan pages. (for businesses). I also have a dog blog and usually dont say bad words on it. So, like you said , the context is important….
I will say that Im a HUGE believer in bad words. I love them. You know who doesnt use bad words? People who are trying to sell you stuff. Who DOES use bad words? Your friends. Its a great ice breaker, too.
I mentioned this before elsewhere, but I’ll say it again. My only fear is that pitch men and corporations will catch on with this and start using it in their sales letters lol
But I guess it comes doen to congruence. Its very congruent with my personality to drop the occasional F bomb. If thats not you, then dont force it.
Maybe that should be a discussion separate from this thorough Facebook Pages post…sorry Brankica for latching onto a small point of your article
Forgive us? 
Lol, you are OK with writing what ever you want. I already answered Jay and I agree with you two, it is the fact that some people can pull it off, but most companies should not.
It also depends on the target market and if there are females 35-70 and children on your fan list, there is a small percentage chance it would work
Jay, I actually agree with you. I read your blog and know what you mean. Ryan Renfrew (one of the people who commented on my posts) also uses a specific way of communicating with his readers and I love what you two do.
I was actually thinking of the words that are aimed at people. That is something no one should allow. You built your brand around yourself and that works great but imagine if a company like Nike (or any smaller company) would allow that kind of language on their pages or aimed at their customers.
Thank you so much for the comment and I don’t think you are really that antisocial after all
Hey everyone, first time here. Great post Brankica, great site too.
You guys have a very relevant strain going here. This is something that I’ve discussed with other bloggers before.
Yes, I think that it is important to write as we speak. We want to be ourselves right? But it seems like there’s a clear dividing line between bloggers that use bad language in their stuff and those that don’t. I say this because if you look within “social circles” on the web they seem to gravitate toward each other.
Also, I think it’s human nature to think that everyone is just like us….but in reality, their not. No judgement here guys, hope no one takes it that way. But as one who doesn’t cuss, or really care to read it, it does effect what blogs I read…..just fyi.
Like you said, not everyone is like us. But no matter what kind of person someone is, for a big company (like an airline company or similar) no cussing should be tolerated.
Branicka – This is a great nudge in the side for me. I have good content on my Facebook page but not many fans or interaction because I’m focusing on making my blog the place for readers to interact.
Of course that’s a pretty bad excuse because I need to get more facebook fans and interact more in order to introduce myself to the huge percentage of my target audience who use Facebook exclusively.
So thanks for the nudge! I’m off to write out a step by step strategy (it’s all in my head from reading too much and not doing) and start implementing it.
Hey Caroline, first let me wish you a warm welcome to my blog! I am glad I gave you a nudge, I should give myself one, lol.
Facebook Fan Page is a lot of work but when you see the size and power Facebook has at the moment, I am sure it is worth it!
I agree 110% with Caroline. My Facebook page is just a wall full of links. I have been using it as a bulletin board to say: “Hey, I have a new comic strip on my page! go to (insert link here) to see it!”
I better start thinking how to make better use of it, since this Facebook thing has grown so much that it’s now able to overthrow governments.
Hey Nef, definitely try to post some unrelated status updates, try to engage your fans, then post other links that might interest them, besides your own… We all have to start somewhere and I think getting a real live kicking FB fan page is art
(mine is not close to what I would like it to be).
Thank you. Your article and reply has been motivating.
Hi Brankica,
You’ve made some awesome points. I think Fan page is something where i need to work on. I love the lisa’s fb page. She is doing great work.
Thanks for sharing this awesome post Brankica.
Retweeted.. (and yeah, you can check it
)
Have a great day!
Hey Devesh, thanks for really RTing the post
and yes, I think Lisa is doing a great job.
I hope one day all of us will have so many fans!
Great tips Bankica. One thing I disagree with though is off topic posts. Sometimes, on a rare occassion I think it is necessary to show a human, laid back side of ourselves. Since internet business is so different from the brick and mortar business, I think it’s acceptable to throw in a little humor or thought provoking post.
Just my opinion! But you point out some excellent tips for those looking to engage the community.
Lisa
I agree with you on that one, it is the same like Twitter, you need to show some of your personality. I was more thinking of constant posting non relevant content especially for the purpose of making money of your fans like the page in the example does.
Hi Brankica,
Thank you for the refreshing hints. Next time I rather see that easy chairs crowded—putting more of travel blend to the ‘main ingredient’ SM—to Live Your Love succeed formula.
—Mark
Lol, thanks, I hope the chairs will be full for all of us.
Hi Brankica,
There is definitely a lot of useful tips here. Some of which I could use myself, but just don’t seem to have enough hours in the day to do so. It was funny, though, I clicked your link because the headline caught my attention, and was totally (pleasantly) surprised to see my fan page in your video.
OK, as much as this is gonna sound crazy, my work is done here
I got all my favorite bloggers to comment on my blog, woo hoo. But seriously, I did mention your blog in my post about 5 best blogs to learn from so seeing your page in the video was just me mentioning one of the 5 again
I completely understand how you don’t have time for everything, since you guys and gals at We blog better are posting like crazy and all the posts rock. I can’t find time for everything myself and I am not even posting that often. I guess when you become a serious blogger, you have to make your day a 25 hr day.
Facebook is a big help for everybody even businessmen, and this post will be a good guide! But too bad if the rumors will come to reality that Facebook will end at March. Have you heard about it Brankica? What can you say about it?
I can not believe some people believe that. Let me ask you a simple question. If you were earning billions because you owned Facebook, would you shut it down.
The rumor’s source is a low quality blog that is just a successor from a very low quality magazine that had articles like “My cow was abducted by aliens”, “I ate dinner with Yeti”, “My wife gave birth to a goat”.
Hi Brankica,
You are a great teacher as well Brankica, I like all your 10 points. In short you mean to say treat your FB fan page as you would treat your blog.
I didn’t know about putting links to other Fan page, point 10. “You don’t have favorite pages listed”. So, I’ve gone to my fan page http://benwan.net/fbp and added a few of the fan page I like there, yours in there now.
BTW, I’m so glad to see my picture on your video… you’re helping to make me known. Thanks for that.(The power of connecting with real people)
Ben Wan
Hey, Ben, you definitely deserve to be in any video
if I knew that would help with the popularity meter, I would have zoomed in!
Yes, I wanna say that FB page is like your blog in sense that you need to work on it very hard. It gets easier after a few hundred fans because it is harder to get people to like a page when it doesn’t have many fans.
Up until now I’ve definitely been guilty of only posting links on my fan page. Going forward I’m going to focus more on status updates and interaction. Also looking into adding some favorite pages. Great tips!
Thanks Laura, and welcome to my blog. It seems so easy to apply all the tips but when you don’t see results it can be discouraging. Try to engage one by one of your fans.
Woohoo, excellent tips! One of my own pet peeves about Facebook fan pages is that Facebook doesn’t send any notifications to my main account when someone comments or likes one of my posts. I have to actually GO THERE and check! Kind of annoying.
But yes! I need to take a super good luck at all the points you listed here and make sure they are properly implemented with my page.
THANKS Brankica!
Yeah, I hate that I don’t have those notifications. I believe I read somewhere that they might include them when all the new profiles and new pages start working, but you never know.
Yet again,excellent tips.Maybe I should do something from your tips to make more people ‘like’ my facebook fanpage
Have a good day Brankica
Maybe you should
That is why I wrote it!
Having a facebook fan page is hard work. One has to really think it over before starting one, so as not to have a stagnant page.
Thanks for the great reminders on what not to do for your fb page. I find that trying to engage people and then responding to them really makes a big difference. But more importantly, you have to have a presence there above anything else.
Yes, presence is essential. It is very hard to start and get those first likes and comments. Might help if you ask a few friends to help, make a comment or two and share your page.
All of these are spot on accurate. I have to admit, I sometimes neglect our fan page, but I try not to. I really need to work on getting others more involved. I’m sure then I’d comment more on there, other than posting links to our blog.
I love the idea of posting links to other links in our niche.
It has to start from you so you need to engage people as much as possible. As I told Susan, help from a friend or two might be the turning point.
I think I’ve fallen into the trap of only really posting links. Well whatever new blog post I’ve published, etc. I’ve found heaps more interaction when i actually publish something real; but working out what to publish that could really benefit everyone (and isn’t just a link) isn’t very easy.
Peter, I have another idea I think might work.
As a FB fan page admin, you (and everyone else) should make it worth being a fan. So my plan is to offer some extra or different things to my FB fans over the time. I.e. they are the first ones that saw my new logo the other day. Not much I know, but if I can make them feel special even a little bit I think it will bring more fans in the long run.
Great and valuable aids to keeping a Facebook Page vital, active, and growing. My page (A Dad’s Point-of-View) follows most of your guidelines and has been steadily growing as a result. NOTHING comes easy and perseverance and consistency is so darn important.
You are so right Bruce. Let me first welcome you to my blog and thank you for the comment.
I learned fast that there is no such thing as “overnight success” in anything so I hope more people will just be strong and push forward slowly
Great Post Brankica!
By listing how not to do it you have actually created the best how to guide I have come across!
Combine this with the interview from Ana and Hector and Ingrid and you ahve a perfect reference to make Facebook work for you
Yes, you are totally right. I love that post of yours, not only did they confirm some of my thoughts but I also got a few ideas on what to do next with my fan page
Thanks for the comment and welcome to my blog. Hope to see you around a bit
You Aussies are rocking here!
Your point #2 is the “build it and they will come.” A common thought process with websites as well
Then there’s #3: interaction. But you said it best, “Communicate with them and show them you care.” Genuinely engage.
Oh and I certainly agree with having to moderate links/posts people submit to your page.
I saw pages where it is allowed to post whatever. Big mistake. I had a person post a get rich quick link on a pet fan page! Has nothing to do with the topic, even remotely. Deleted immediately!
Bad links on your page can’t bring anything good.
Thanks for this, my new FB fanpage is an another world to me, it’s there but I’m not entirely sure what I’m supposed to do with it. It’s good to have some ideas about what exactly I shouldn’t be doing : )
What ideas do you have around initiating discussion and debate on your fanpage?
Thanks
Stacey
With this new stupid Facebook changes it is even harder. Cause your page updates don’t really show on people’s home streams if they haven’t been active with the page. Basically, the new FB shows those who you communicate with a lot at the top so you can miss everything else.
Some people changed different settings so they will have everything displayed on their home streams, but you can’t make anyone to do it.
I have also seen some pages with thousands of active fans that have a “dead” discussion tab. Most people don’t use that feature and discuss right there on the wall.
I guess the best thing is to keep posting, be very active, ask your friends to share the page further, display it on your blog, so the more fans you get the more likely there will be some conversation on the page.
Don’t forget to tag people or pages when you post their stuff to get the attention.
Check some of the pages of the bigger blogs we all visit, not much stuff going on there either.
Not encouraging, is it, lol…
No it’s not really encouraging, lol. I actually debated about whether to have a FB fanpage on my blog, as I can be disorganised, and have a hard enough time just keeping up with all the other stuff I’m learning. For the most part my own FB page, has been neglected for months. Now I have to pay attention again, and once again FB have gone and changed the game. I didn’t realise it wasn’t work, to need fixing. It would good if they left things alone for a while.
Has FB become a necessary evil?
Don’t even get me started with that
I was a complete FB addict until I started using it “for business”. I hate it now. I hate that they implement all these changes without ever considering what people want.
But yes, I think it is the necessary evil