Facebook is… “by far” the biggest social network. Only in Greece the latest data shows more than 2.7 million users. Facebook has changed in 3 years the way we interact with our friends probably more than cell phones in the last 16.

It is a very good example of a site going viral. I NEED to be on Facebook. I want to find old friends in Facebook, I want to make new ones. And in order for others to be able to find me I want to give to Facebook my real name, my real photos, my real friends. In order to find new friends I want to give to Facebook my hobbies, my favorite music, my favorite books and my favorite music. I don’t want to lie to Facebook!

The same people that are protesting about the presence of security cameras outside their homes give away for free their photos from the latest party, holiday etc.

Why? People feel nice inside Facebook, it is not just another site, it is a place where they meet with their friends. And in this nice environment they have build for them and their friends some people say that your company needs to “intrude”. But how and what makes a company’s presence in Facebook successful?

A Facebook fan page for your business could be an excellent tool. To make it short a successful fan page is a page where the fans interact with the brand. It is more valuable to have a page of only 1.000 fans where all of them talk about your products than to have a fan page of 10.000 or more and nobody else besides you talks. So how can you make your fans talk more?

Value
Take a moment to consider why someone would like to be a fan in the page you just created. If the only answer you can find is because your company is the best company in the world and that your products are by far the best products in the world then you should probably reconsider being in Facebook. A Facebook fan page must be useful for the fans or entertain them.

Pizza Hut for example has more than 1.2 million fans. What makes it special? Well the Facebook order application is certainly useful. There a lot of teaser messages, special offers for the fans of the page and the people who are writing on behalf of Pizza Hut really have a sense of humor.

Another good example is Victoria's Secrets Facebook Fan page where someone can find videos and photos of sexy models like Alessandra Ambrosio. Who wouldn’t want to be a fan of Victoria’s Secret page in Facebook? That is probably why the page now has more than 3,1 million fans!

Be transparent and respond to users
If you want to succeed in social networks you have to talk to your fans but more importantly to listen to them. This is the most important rule! You have to be transparent and respond to the users. If you are going to start a Facebook fan page you have to be there. You have to answer the questions of the users a soon as possible even if the questions are not pleasant.

When a whale killed a trainer in front of children a lot of people demanded the closure of SeaWorld Parks. The response was impressive. The company not only did not tried to hide the incident (how could they?) but they were among the first to announce it in Twitter. The company used it’s Facebook page and Twitter account to inform it’s fans and critics about the stages of investigation. At some point the “community” in the fan page started to respond to the critics of the SeaWorld and the negative comments.

Be ready to listen and change.
Ask your fans of their opinion about your company or your products. Listen to your fans. Your fans are your customers. Through Facebook you have a unique opportunity to have a direct channel of communication with them. If they want something to change it is in your best interest to change it.

Talk like they do
Don’t be formal. You are not in your own site, people don’t like to read press releases and for sure they don’t respond to them. Talk like the users do, make them feel like they talk to a real person behind the brand.

Maybe you don’t know Howard Schultz. You sure know Starbucks. Howard Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks and if you want to read news about him then you can be a fan of Starbucks page in Facebook like the 6.804.250 other Facebook users are. Starbucks page in Facebook provides and other useful things for the fans. But it's not that often when you find the opportunity to come closer to a CEO of a company this size.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you want us to help you to design a successful presence in Facebook and social networks.