# How to make Facebook work for you



## tango9984

After reading all the negative replies(and failures) about people advertising with facebook, I thought I would type a bit about it. Some of this I repeated in a replied thread, so bare with me if I sound like a broken record.

Facebook has over 500 million registered users, facebook works, if done right. 

Getting FB to work for you isn't just about buying an ad and sitting back and waiting for the sales to roll in. Remember, FB is a social network, where people interact. So to help your business succeed in the FB world, you'll have to interact with your customers. 

The initial focus shouldn't be on getting people to your website to see if they will buy your service/product, but rather the focus needs to be on building your facebook business page. My building, I mean getting fans, and keeping them interested.  

*Using facebook ads* 

 Don't link your advert to your website. Instead, link it to your facebook business page(if you don't have one, your already behind, so make one). You will get some "bleed through" traffic that click to your website from there anyway. If you cant sell them on your product from your business page, chances are you wont be able to on your website. But even if they don't want to buy your product, they may "like" your page. This will allow you to advertise to them on a more personal level via your page updates(you will now be in their newsfeed). Now you have them hooked in to look at your advertisements(new products, deals, discounts etc.) without paying for a click. They may purchase your product at a later time, or spread the word of your business by recommending your page to friends. Also, your page will be posted on their profile, even more publicity. I feel like this narrows down the quality of customers actually interested in your product, and helps build a "fanbase" for your page. The way I see it, if they "liked" my page, they either 1)almost want to buy, 2)want to show somebody else, or 3)want to buy in the future. And if it's not any of those three things, you may be able to entice them to buy with a new product, deals, or discounts in their news feed. Or when you post new designs, they may see a shirt a friend or family member would like.

 With your advert-check it daily, but change it weekly. Experiment with what works, but only change one variable at a time, so you can get an accurate evaluation. Change either the picture, the wording, or the demographic. If your not in it for the long run to see what is effective, then your wasting your money. . Hopefully after 8-10 weeks, you will have a good idea how to setup your ad, and what demographic settings to use.
 
Don't use your logo for the image, nobody cares about that. Use an image that will catch their eye. An attractive model wearing your shirt is a homerun. Keep in mind this image will only be 110px by 73px so try to stay away from to detailed of an image. Most the time the eye will only catch the image, so adding a word or two that will intrigue them on your image would be a good idea.

*How to get fans* 

Having your ad link to your facebook page rather than your website will be alot of your fan traffic. But there are other ways. 

Basically, you do just the opposite with your website. I'm sure you've seen webpages with the option to "like" them right there on the page. Well, you should do the same, that way you can convert your website traffice into facebook fans. Facebook has several "plugins" that you can take advantage of. To have a "like box" or "like button" on your page go here: 
Facebook Developers 
I would recommend having a like box on the top level of your webpage somewhere. Make it as easy as possible for people to become fans of you. You also add more subtle "like buttons" throughout your page. For example, putting a like button below all your designs on the second level of your site. When they see the more detailed image of your design they may think "wow cool design" and boom, they click the like button, and now they are your fan.

You should be blogging to drive traffic to your website and facebook page. Having a "like box" or button on your blog will be beneficial as well. 

Anytime you post in forums, guestbooks, comments, etc. across the web, you should not only have your web address in your signature but right below it should be your facebook address. People are more familiar with facebook, they know what they are getting if they click your facebook link. They may be more apt to click your FB page before your website. (you should also have your twitter address on your signatures) If you don't already have a vanity url, sign up for one here:  Login | Facebook this looks nicer in your signature, and will help people remember it more easily.

*Setting up an effective FB page* 

The number 1 rule with your FB page is interaction. Your statuses and posts should be things that keep and get your fan's attention. Also posting questions in the discussion section is a good way to get customers talking and engaging on your page. It doesn't necessarily have to be things that pertain directly to your business, but should pertain to your industry. For example, if your business sells vitamins, you may post an interesting article about how the body breaks down and uses certain vitamins. Or a new ground breaking discovery of pine needle tea containing four times more vitamin c than orange juice. I will go over a few ideas I had that pertain to the t-shirt business in a sec.  

Fill out all the info section of your page, this will help make you look more creditable. Having a business-casual photo of you will also help your fans connect with you on a more personal level, but know that you are still professional. After all they are on facebook, they are here to connect. 

FB doesnt give you many options to alter the look and feel of your page, but with the help of some apps, you can do some things. Remember, your page should reflect the look of your website and style of your business. 

Here are some usfull apps to jazz up your page 
Static FBML | Facebook 
This app allows you to add FBML(facebook markup language) and some HTML. This will let you add video, images, link buttons and other HTML friendly things. You can even set up a shopping cart with this app, and have the "add to cart" buttons link to your product page on your website.

Extended Info | Facebook 
This will allow you to put an extra tab on your fanpage, and you can label it whatever you want(ex "Free Giveaway") In the tab you can add whatever FBML will support.

Notes | Facebook 
This is facebook notes. You can use this for journal type entries or whatever you feel you need to make a note about! The beauty of this app, is it comes from facebook, so when you make a new post, it will show up in your fans news feed

Twitter | Facebook 
This is the twitter app, a must have in my opinion. If you don't have a twitter account for your business, get with the program. This app will save you some time by posting your tweets to your FB page. And it puts a nice twitter box on your FB page.

Blog RSS Feed Reader | Facebook 
This will add a RSS blog feed to your page, from your blog. If your not blogging, you should be.

Here are some case studies that may help inspire you to build your page 
Target | Facebook 
Victoria's Secret Pink | Facebook 
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5718920&id=131225375740&ref=fbx_album#!/Honda?ref=ts  (honda broke my rule of not having a vanity URL!)

Alright, I'm almost done, now for a couple of my ideas for the t-shirt business on how you can get fans and interaction 

*Clothing line/brand*  *owners*

People love to win free things. Giving away a free shirt/hat/shorts or whatever every week is a great way to get people involved. And it's something you can post in your status and on your page that people will actually be interested in. 

Here's how I would do it: Post that your doing a free shirt giveaway and link them to your website. On your website have a form setup for them to fill out. It can be something simple, like First and Last name, and email address and a submit button. After that send them to another page that thanks them for the submission and we will contact you if you win. On the form page, maybe at the top, showcase a few of your designs, who knows they may see something they like and click. On the thank you page, showcase even more of your designs. You could do this weekly, let your fans know this is something you do every week. This will give them a reason to stay a fan, become a fan and pay attention to you when your in their news feed. This is also a great way to get their email address to add them to your mailing list. To make it feel like they didnt just sign up for your newsletter, send them a newsletter that with the subject "T-shirt Giveaway"(or whatever) and in the letter say something like "We're sorry, you werent drawn for the free t-shirt this week, but keep entering for your chance to win, we give away a free shirt every week". And below this message of course, have your newsletter with your products/discounts/deals or whatever you put in your newsletter. You can also add a "T-shirt Giveaway" tab on your FB page with the extended info app. 

*This one's for the printers* 

Giving away a shirt is fine and dandy, but what if you offer a service and not a product? 

Well, I kind of stole this idea from seeing it done somewhere else, but it didn't dawn on me  _why_ they did it until recently. As a printer, this will cost you a little money, but I think the reward will be worth it.

Setup a design contest. Advertise with the message of something like "Enter our design contest, and win free printing of your design on 50 shirts!" 

Here's how you set it up. Once you have a good amount of designers willing to enter(limit it to 3 colors or whatever you want to spend) Have them submit their proof to a photo album you made on your FB page. The way that the voting takes place is whoever has the most "likes" by Date XXX wins the contest. This will gain you 500+ fans, depending on how many entries you have. Reason being, in order to like a photo on your FB page, you have to "like" the business page first, hence becoming a fan. The contestants will be posting a link to there entry on their page spread the contest, and telling all there friends to go vote for them. And even his/her friends may post it on their page to help spread the word.(the trickle effect) Once you have them as fans, you have them to advertise to. As a printer you can also print up whatever and do the "Shirt Giveaway" tactic too. Don't let the fact that you provide a service stop ya. 

Here is where I saw this done 
VC Sublimation Contest | Facebook

If you'll notice all the likes each image has...that's all new fans VC Ultimate just got. 

And hey, while your there, you can like them and vote for my friends design  The direct link is
VC Sublimation Contest | Facebook
 *
Conclusion* 

This was a lot of typing for my little ol' fingers, I hope somebody actually reads it and finds it useful. If I've helped one person get one fan and sell one product, then it was worth it. 

Remember it's all about interaction with your fans, and keeping them involved. 

If you guys found this useful, I may tackle SEO optimization, blog campaign or twitter next.


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## trexart

That was really fantastic. Thanks so much for putting the effort into that. 

I would love to hear what you have to say about Twitter for sure.

Cheers,
Stephanie


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## [email protected]

What a superb post, i already do some of this on my fb page but you have inspired me even more great post, very interested on the blog & twitter aspect i must say.


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## tshirthippie

greta info, thanks for taking the time to spell it out.


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## GHEENEE1

Thanks for the info. and the inspiration. Mike


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## scuba_steve2699

well written - great info!


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## Dante2004

Do you suggest setting up a "fan page" or a "business page"?

I have heard some people say you should setup both. Makes sense...but that is twice the amount of time spent on updates. PLUS, you will miss some people (on one, but not the other) so the activity level would be split between the two pages...right?

Great ideas and great info! Thanks!


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## Rodney

> Do you suggest setting up a "fan page" or a "business page"?


They are basically the same thing. A "business page" is one type of Fan Page. You can also create fan pages for "events, people, places, etc"



> I have heard some people say you should setup both. Makes sense...but that is twice the amount of time spent on updates. PLUS, you will miss some people (on one, but not the other) so the activity level would be split between the two pages...right?


You only need one (a fan page for your business), and only need to update that one page and monitor it for fan posts.


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## Dante2004

I could be wrong...

But you can't just setup a fan page, right? You have to have a facebook page first, and with that user account setup the fan page. Right? And with a fan page you can't "add friends", right? You have to "suggest" the fan page to other people...using another account (personal account)?

Whereas a business page you can setup as it's own identity. But I don't think you can "like" a business page, you have to friend it...?


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## [email protected]

I have a personal facebook account and then added a page for my business, i still do not know to this day what page it is, all i know is people like it, so it has to be suggested.

I have spent all afternoon following this post and so have have added a new welcome page and a FREE draw page to my facebook page, i must say im chuffed to bits with it, so thanks again for a well written superb post!


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## TwistedLogik

Thanks for the great post, it must have taken a fair bit of time and effort. Well done and I will be looking to start the ball rolling with your ideas and pointers. 

Phil


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## Rodney

> But you can't just setup a fan page, right? You have to have a facebook page first, and with that user account setup the fan page. Right? And with a fan page you can't "add friends", right? You have to "suggest" the fan page to other people...using another account (personal account)?
> 
> Whereas a business page you can setup as it's own identity. But I don't think you can "like" a business page, you have to friend it...?


I think you're confusing Fan Pages with Personal Accounts.

I see what you're referring to now. Yes, some businesses (incorrectly) have setup Personal Accounts for their business which allows people to "friend" them like they would their personal friends and associates.

This is not the recommended way to setup a business account.

First, you would need your regular Facebook personal account. Once you're logged into that personal account, you would go to the "Create a page for my business" link. 

From there, you want to select the option off to the right for the "Official Page" and set up a page for your business or brand.

Generally, people on Facebook don't want to give businesses access to all their personal updates, photos, friends, etc...that's why businesses shouldn't have "personal" Facebook accounts under a business name. I believe it's also against Facebook's guidelines.

Definitely just setup an official business "Page" for your company and do the updates from there. You can add a "like" or fan button to your website to get your customers to "Like" your page and you should put your custom Facebook URL (ie. the facebook.com/tshirtforums short version you can get once you've got 25 fans) on all of your marketing materials so you can let your customers know you're on Facebook.

Once you're logged into your Facebook page as the admin, you can post updates that can show up on your Fans Facebook walls and you can even send out messages directly to fans that go in their inbox.


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## [email protected]

Thanks Rodney at least i did it right, thought i was missing out on something then!


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## tango9984

I will try to explain the difference between a fan page, a business page, and a group.

Firstly, I would suggest not making a group. Just make a business page.

A business page is basically a fan page, but setup by the official owner of the business or organization.

A "fan" page is actually what facebook calls a community page, it is setup by..well a fan. For example, if t-shirt forums didn't have an official business page, I would set up a community page. Typically you will not see a community page setup when there is already an official page on facebook.

A group is typically setup by fans also, and it is limited on what can be done within the group. It allows members to interact with each other by sharing posts and engaging in the discussion board. (but you can also do this with your business page, I'll get to that)

There isn't anything in a group that you can't do with your business page, including how interactive you want your fans to be.

*Why have a business page over a group*

In order to start a group, you have to be the admin, which means you create a group with your facebook account. This will not make you anonymous, people will be able to link your personal FB account with the group. With a your business page, the author(you) will remain anonymous. For me personally, I don't want my fans seeing my personal account, because that is where I'm "less professional" if you catch my drift.

If you want people to be allowed to post on your business page's wall, no problem, it's just a matter of changing the wall settings on your page. If you want to be the only one allowed to post, no problem.

If you want your fans to interact on your page via the discussion board, no problem, it's simply a module you choose to add. Or you can make it where the discussion board is not an option on your page. Sometimes this can make or break your brand if your not monitoring it, because people will be able to express there "not so friendly" opinions and comments about your service or product.

Business pages are allowed to have vanity url's, groups are not.

There is a "suggest" button on pages where fans can spread the word. Groups don't have this button.

After you get a good fanbase and some interaction, you will be able to use the facebook statistics tool to see how often people are coming to your page, and check out their habits.

You can add apps to enhance your facebook page, with groups this is very limited.

And probably the best difference between a business page versus a group is THEY ARE SEO FRIENDLY! That's right, your facebook business page will show up on google.

I hope this clears some things up.


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## tango9984

Rodney said:


> I think you're confusing Fan Pages with Personal Accounts.
> 
> I see what you're referring to now. Yes, some businesses (incorrectly) have setup Personal Accounts for their business which allows people to "friend" them like they would their personal friends and associates.
> 
> This is not the recommended way to setup a business account.
> 
> First, you would need your regular Facebook personal account. Once you're logged into that personal account, you would go to the "Create a page for my business" link.
> 
> From there, you want to select the option off to the right for the "Official Page" and set up a page for your business or brand.
> 
> Generally, people on Facebook don't want to give businesses access to all their personal updates, photos, friends, etc...that's why businesses shouldn't have "personal" Facebook accounts under a business name. I believe it's also against Facebook's guidelines.
> 
> Definitely just setup an official business "Page" for your company and do the updates from there. You can add a "like" or fan button to your website to get your customers to "Like" your page and you should put your custom Facebook URL (ie. the facebook.com/tshirtforums short version you can get once you've got 25 fans) on all of your marketing materials so you can let your customers know you're on Facebook.
> 
> Once you're logged into your Facebook page as the admin, you can post updates that can show up on your Fans Facebook walls and you can even send out messages directly to fans that go in their inbox.


Well put Rodney, I tried to say that, but probably in a more confusing way lol.


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## chard

whats the difference between a fan page and a business page in terms of the features?i created a page months ago for my business and what i created was a fan page under fashion..if im going to make a business page ill have to start over again and lose the fans i already got..


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## Rodney

chard said:


> whats the difference between a fan page and a business page in terms of the features?i created a page months ago for my business and what i created was a fan page under fashion..if im going to make a business page ill have to start over again and lose the fans i already got..


They are the same thing. A fan page is a type of business page. You only need one and it sounds like the one you setup is perfect.


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## 100%pinoy

great info... thanks

how can i make vanity URL?


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## chard

100%pinoy said:


> great info... thanks
> 
> how can i make vanity URL?


click the link on the original post..or click here: Login | Facebook


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## Keeney

Just set one up yesterday. Thanks for all the info.


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## SportBikeTshirts

Wow! This is a phenomenal post! Thank you. You know, I set up a "Fan Page" also before I was aware of "Business Pages" being available.

Since then I have also created a "Business Page" along with my "Fan Page" and Yes... I have to maintain each. Kind of time consuming. But, I do not want to loose all of the fans I have on the "Fan Page" I created a year ago. So, when I make a post on the "Fan Page" I refer them to the new "Business Page" as well. In hopes that they will migrate to the new "Business Page" eventually. But, what I see happening is that two different groups of fans are forming. One on the "Fan Page" and a different group on the "Business Page".

My "Fan Page" does not have a "Like Us" button but, the "Business Page" does have a "Like Us" button. It's all very confusing. So, until I understand more clearly I will continue to link to each different page on my twitter account, web site, blog and newsletter.


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## LickEmWear

Good Post! I will implement a lot of this stuff today!!


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## yilisace

Thanks for the info, and i think it is very useful...


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## aquamonkie17

good info...thanks!


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## LickEmWear

Just had my first giveaway this weekend people are responding good.


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## emilyralph

tango9984 said:


> After reading all the negative replies(and failures) about people advertising with facebook, I thought I would type a bit about it. Some of this I repeated in a replied thread, so bare with me if I sound like a broken record.
> 
> Facebook has over 500 million registered users, facebook works, if done right.
> 
> Getting FB to work for you isn't just about buying an ad and sitting back and waiting for the sales to roll in. Remember, FB is a social network, where people interact. So to help your business succeed in the FB world, you'll have to interact with your customers.
> 
> The initial focus shouldn't be on getting people to your website to see if they will buy your service/product, but rather the focus needs to be on building your facebook business page. My building, I mean getting fans, and keeping them interested.
> 
> *Using facebook ads*
> 
> Don't link your advert to your website. Instead, link it to your facebook business page(if you don't have one, your already behind, so make one). You will get some "bleed through" traffic that click to your website from there anyway. If you cant sell them on your product from your business page, chances are you wont be able to on your website. But even if they don't want to buy your product, they may "like" your page. This will allow you to advertise to them on a more personal level via your page updates(you will now be in their newsfeed). Now you have them hooked in to look at your advertisements(new products, deals, discounts etc.) without paying for a click. They may purchase your product at a later time, or spread the word of your business by recommending your page to friends. Also, your page will be posted on their profile, even more publicity. I feel like this narrows down the quality of customers actually interested in your product, and helps build a "fanbase" for your page. The way I see it, if they "liked" my page, they either 1)almost want to buy, 2)want to show somebody else, or 3)want to buy in the future. And if it's not any of those three things, you may be able to entice them to buy with a new product, deals, or discounts in their news feed. Or when you post new designs, they may see a shirt a friend or family member would like.
> 
> With your advert-check it daily, but change it weekly. Experiment with what works, but only change one variable at a time, so you can get an accurate evaluation. Change either the picture, the wording, or the demographic. If your not in it for the long run to see what is effective, then your wasting your money. . Hopefully after 8-10 weeks, you will have a good idea how to setup your ad, and what demographic settings to use.
> 
> Don't use your logo for the image, nobody cares about that. Use an image that will catch their eye. An attractive model wearing your shirt is a homerun. Keep in mind this image will only be 110px by 73px so try to stay away from to detailed of an image. Most the time the eye will only catch the image, so adding a word or two that will intrigue them on your image would be a good idea.
> 
> *How to get fans*
> 
> Having your ad link to your facebook page rather than your website will be alot of your fan traffic. But there are other ways.
> 
> Basically, you do just the opposite with your website. I'm sure you've seen webpages with the option to "like" them right there on the page. Well, you should do the same, that way you can convert your website traffice into facebook fans. Facebook has several "plugins" that you can take advantage of. To have a "like box" or "like button" on your page go here:
> Facebook Developers
> I would recommend having a like box on the top level of your webpage somewhere. Make it as easy as possible for people to become fans of you. You also add more subtle "like buttons" throughout your page. For example, putting a like button below all your designs on the second level of your site. When they see the more detailed image of your design they may think "wow cool design" and boom, they click the like button, and now they are your fan.
> 
> You should be blogging to drive traffic to your website and facebook page. Having a "like box" or button on your blog will be beneficial as well.
> 
> Anytime you post in forums, guestbooks, comments, etc. across the web, you should not only have your web address in your signature but right below it should be your facebook address. People are more familiar with facebook, they know what they are getting if they click your facebook link. They may be more apt to click your FB page before your website. (you should also have your twitter address on your signatures) If you don't already have a vanity url, sign up for one here:  Login | Facebook this looks nicer in your signature, and will help people remember it more easily.
> 
> *Setting up an effective FB page*
> 
> The number 1 rule with your FB page is interaction. Your statuses and posts should be things that keep and get your fan's attention. Also posting questions in the discussion section is a good way to get customers talking and engaging on your page. It doesn't necessarily have to be things that pertain directly to your business, but should pertain to your industry. For example, if your business sells vitamins, you may post an interesting article about how the body breaks down and uses certain vitamins. Or a new ground breaking discovery of pine needle tea containing four times more vitamin c than orange juice. I will go over a few ideas I had that pertain to the t-shirt business in a sec.
> 
> Fill out all the info section of your page, this will help make you look more creditable. Having a business-casual photo of you will also help your fans connect with you on a more personal level, but know that you are still professional. After all they are on facebook, they are here to connect.
> 
> FB doesnt give you many options to alter the look and feel of your page, but with the help of some apps, you can do some things. Remember, your page should reflect the look of your website and style of your business.
> 
> Here are some usfull apps to jazz up your page
> Static FBML | Facebook
> This app allows you to add FBML(facebook markup language) and some HTML. This will let you add video, images, link buttons and other HTML friendly things. You can even set up a shopping cart with this app, and have the "add to cart" buttons link to your product page on your website.
> 
> Extended Info | Facebook
> This will allow you to put an extra tab on your fanpage, and you can label it whatever you want(ex "Free Giveaway") In the tab you can add whatever FBML will support.
> 
> Notes | Facebook
> This is facebook notes. You can use this for journal type entries or whatever you feel you need to make a note about! The beauty of this app, is it comes from facebook, so when you make a new post, it will show up in your fans news feed
> 
> Twitter | Facebook
> This is the twitter app, a must have in my opinion. If you don't have a twitter account for your business, get with the program. This app will save you some time by posting your tweets to your FB page. And it puts a nice twitter box on your FB page.
> 
> Blog RSS Feed Reader | Facebook
> This will add a RSS blog feed to your page, from your blog. If your not blogging, you should be.
> 
> Here are some case studies that may help inspire you to build your page
> Target | Facebook
> Victoria's Secret Pink | Facebook
> http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5718920&id=131225375740&ref=fbx_album#!/Honda?ref=ts  (honda broke my rule of not having a vanity URL!)
> 
> Alright, I'm almost done, now for a couple of my ideas for the t-shirt business on how you can get fans and interaction
> 
> *Clothing line/brand*  *owners*
> 
> People love to win free things. Giving away a free shirt/hat/shorts or whatever every week is a great way to get people involved. And it's something you can post in your status and on your page that people will actually be interested in.
> 
> Here's how I would do it: Post that your doing a free shirt giveaway and link them to your website. On your website have a form setup for them to fill out. It can be something simple, like First and Last name, and email address and a submit button. After that send them to another page that thanks them for the submission and we will contact you if you win. On the form page, maybe at the top, showcase a few of your designs, who knows they may see something they like and click. On the thank you page, showcase even more of your designs. You could do this weekly, let your fans know this is something you do every week. This will give them a reason to stay a fan, become a fan and pay attention to you when your in their news feed. This is also a great way to get their email address to add them to your mailing list. To make it feel like they didnt just sign up for your newsletter, send them a newsletter that with the subject "T-shirt Giveaway"(or whatever) and in the letter say something like "We're sorry, you werent drawn for the free t-shirt this week, but keep entering for your chance to win, we give away a free shirt every week". And below this message of course, have your newsletter with your products/discounts/deals or whatever you put in your newsletter. You can also add a "T-shirt Giveaway" tab on your FB page with the extended info app.
> 
> *This one's for the printers*
> 
> Giving away a shirt is fine and dandy, but what if you offer a service and not a product?
> 
> Well, I kind of stole this idea from seeing it done somewhere else, but it didn't dawn on me  _why_ they did it until recently. As a printer, this will cost you a little money, but I think the reward will be worth it.
> 
> Setup a design contest. Advertise with the message of something like "Enter our design contest, and win free printing of your design on 50 shirts!"
> 
> Here's how you set it up. Once you have a good amount of designers willing to enter(limit it to 3 colors or whatever you want to spend) Have them submit their proof to a photo album you made on your FB page. The way that the voting takes place is whoever has the most "likes" by Date XXX wins the contest. This will gain you 500+ fans, depending on how many entries you have. Reason being, in order to like a photo on your FB page, you have to "like" the business page first, hence becoming a fan. The contestants will be posting a link to there entry on their page spread the contest, and telling all there friends to go vote for them. And even his/her friends may post it on their page to help spread the word.(the trickle effect) Once you have them as fans, you have them to advertise to. As a printer you can also print up whatever and do the "Shirt Giveaway" tactic too. Don't let the fact that you provide a service stop ya.
> 
> Here is where I saw this done
> VC Sublimation Contest | Facebook
> 
> If you'll notice all the likes each image has...that's all new fans VC Ultimate just got.
> 
> And hey, while your there, you can like them and vote for my friends design  The direct link is
> VC Sublimation Contest | Facebook
> *
> Conclusion*
> 
> This was a lot of typing for my little ol' fingers, I hope somebody actually reads it and finds it useful. If I've helped one person get one fan and sell one product, then it was worth it.
> 
> Remember it's all about interaction with your fans, and keeping them involved.
> 
> If you guys found this useful, I may tackle SEO optimization, blog campaign or twitter next.


This is sure shot a lovely post!!Thanks for such great insights!!


----------



## miamirhinestone

Grat info Thanks congrats on the win


----------



## LickEmWear

Had my first random purchase! Woohoo!! Is it the advice........


----------



## Mike Liberation

thanks so much for the post Tango...VERY helpful!


----------



## damaxer

hi i wanna know, what should we update on the facebook page of clothing store....
as you said, we need to update status or etc.

can you suggest what status or any update thing should we do in the facebook page of clothing store?

can you give the examples of them...


----------



## MySizeCheapTees

Good post. One thing I want to ad is adding a landing page. I do this with my brother's iPhone app business and it has increased our "likes" per day! Some people find it works, some don't. Using the static FBML add on, I create a page that is a graphic, welcoming people and telling them shortly what the company is about and what they can find at the page. The landing page is the first page people see when they haven't liked your company, so when they do like it they won't see it anymore.

Simple, easy and in my opinion a great way to get fans to stick around.


----------



## takingyouforward

Yes. You Really Can Get Free Stuff From Using Facebook. Once you've got that set up. Go to the applications link right under the search bar in the top right corner. Search for iBeg and add it to your profile. 

Now here's the fun part. Check out what prizes are currently up for grabs and make a video "begging" for it. Then, send the application invite to all your friends and ask them to vote for you. Obviously, the more clever you are, the more likely it is people will vote for you, so think outside the box!
__________________
Philippine Call Center Outsourcing


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## yanqin

I heard about facebook for a long time ,but what a pity that I can not open this website on my computer.Who can help me ?


----------



## takingyouforward

ask your internet service provider and talk to their customer support.


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## zainejaz

am looking forward to work on social media!!! And planning to design about 1k t-shirts and distribute them as promotional gifts!!!!

Do you think this pan works for me??
http://www.newtonscreen.com


----------



## uncletee

very cool, got me pumped up to work on my buss page on FB. check out toms tiles on facebook search, let me know what i can do, have some fans there now. Love the article. thanks uncletee.


----------



## Sirvivhor

Absolutely wonderful post and I appreciate that you took the time to write it!


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## RobertG

Very slowly I'm preparing to go into the T-business.
This post is absolutely brilliant to get me thinking about the business side.
A great thank you for this article.

Kind regards, Robert


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## abmcdan

Does anyone have any sales data from their facebook campaign that they are willing to share? 
- Number of fans
- Website traffic generated from your page
- Sales amount and Qty resulting

I always hear a ton of buzz about twitter, myspace, and facebook but rarely anyone talking about making any real money. Having 10,000 followers may be exciting but if it doesn't translate into sales, how is it worth all the effort.

Thanks,
Andy


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## damitenin

Thanks so much!


----------



## AngelaTees

This is very helpful! Thanks so much for sharing. I will indeed read again and implement many tips shared. Thanks again!


----------



## [email protected]

Hi, great post as i've said before, i have been working on my page for facebook and so far thanks to this i now have the following:

over 1000 likes
a landing page
a free draw page which links directly to my contact page on my temp website
also a new fbml page with graphics on etc.

my page can be found at tee-mendous any feedback would be greatly appreciated and please if you visit its appreciated if you like it! lol

Thanks again for a great post.


----------



## lincolnapparel

> Does anyone have any sales data from their facebook campaign that they are willing to share?
> - Number of fans
> - Website traffic generated from your page
> - Sales amount and Qty resulting
> 
> I always hear a ton of buzz about twitter, myspace, and facebook but rarely anyone talking about making any real money. Having 10,000 followers may be exciting but if it doesn't translate into sales, how is it worth all the effort.


I quit Facebook in February because (among other things) I felt it wasn't worth the effort. I barely use Twitter or other "social networks" any more because I feel the same way about all of them. I got up to 72 fans, but it generated less than 10 hits per month on my site. I only ever got 2 sales from Facebook and they were from people I knew already, but that was the extent of it. I probably spent 50 hours there total over 3 months or so.

Yeah, it's free, but it costs time. Lots of time. It's funny, because it's the one thing I never hear social networking proponents talk about. If your brand is new, it'll take tons of time to generate interest; and if it's well-known, it'll take tons of time to keep updating your page/feed/whatever and interacting with fans. I think "social" is mostly hype, and that a lot of brands jump into it thinking "it's free and it's cool and everybody's doing it" without thinking about how much work it is to maintain those profiles. I think in many cases it just simply is not worth the time investment - you're better off finding another low-cost way to advertise that doesn't take so much time. Think about it - are your friends and family really your main customers? To really generate sales, you have to go out there in the real world and find the people who like your T-shirts.

If you're going to spend time on any sort of Internet marketing I'd spend time on SEO first, a lot of my customers have said they found me via Google. Other than that it takes far less time to generate sales and attention through local means than it does through the Internet. 

I think this article illustrates a lot of the pitfalls of "social media" marketing and the ugly truth of what it's really like to market on these sites:
Click. Support. Whatever. - Chicago Tribune

From the article:


> Last year in Denmark, researchers created a Facebook group to save a local fountain from demolition. They gathered more than 25,000 supporters. There were no actual plans to demolish the fountain. Likewise, Solis said, as an experiment, he recently Tweeted a note of support for a good cause, imploring readers to click the link he included, which would register them to volunteer. He intentionally posted a bad link. "There were 86 re-Tweets of my initial Tweet until anyone mentioned that the link was bad. Which tells me in order for these online petitions to mean something, be it about Conan or whatever, you have to embrace it in the real world."


----------



## MisterGreggy

Your single post here answered all the basic questions I had about using FB for marketing. Thank you thank you thank you!!


----------



## Dante2004

lincolnapparel said:


> I quit Facebook in February because (among other things) I felt it wasn't worth the effort. I barely use Twitter or other "social networks" any more because I feel the same way about all of them. I got up to 72 fans, but it generated less than 10 hits per month on my site. I only ever got 2 sales from Facebook and they were from people I knew already, but that was the extent of it. I probably spent 50 hours there total over 3 months or so.
> 
> Yeah, it's free, but it costs time. Lots of time. It's funny, because it's the one thing I never hear social networking proponents talk about. If your brand is new, it'll take tons of time to generate interest; and if it's well-known, it'll take tons of time to keep updating your page/feed/whatever and interacting with fans. I think "social" is mostly hype, and that a lot of brands jump into it thinking "it's free and it's cool and everybody's doing it" without thinking about how much work it is to maintain those profiles. I think in many cases it just simply is not worth the time investment - you're better off finding another low-cost way to advertise that doesn't take so much time. Think about it - are your friends and family really your main customers? To really generate sales, you have to go out there in the real world and find the people who like your T-shirts.
> 
> If you're going to spend time on any sort of Internet marketing I'd spend time on SEO first, a lot of my customers have said they found me via Google. Other than that it takes far less time to generate sales and attention through local means than it does through the Internet.
> 
> I think this article illustrates a lot of the pitfalls of "social media" marketing and the ugly truth of what it's really like to market on these sites:
> Click. Support. Whatever. - Chicago Tribune
> 
> From the article:


 
It really depends on your business...and how "tech saavy" you are.

One of my businesses (used to own) saw a HUGE benefit from our facebook page. We were able to reach out to potential customers that we never would have reached otherwise.

And the updates were easy. It was a sports related business, so I would just post something quick about anything that happened in the last 24 hours in the sports world. Nothing earth shattering... Big upset in the game last night? Post it. "Wow, I can't believe ____ pulled it off"! That post would result in several comments. ----> More traffic to my page and more people paying attention. I got the facebook app for my iphone and (not to be gross) would update my fb page while taking my morning dump. True definition of multi-tasking. lol

Time invested? Minimal... We were close to the 5,000 friend limit in no time. I probably only sent out 100 friend request MAX. The rest added US through the posts on their friend's pages.


----------



## muneca

AW MAN!!!! what a POST!!!! you are the GREATEST!!! I can't thank you enough. yes, it was very helpful & we would love for you to do one on blogs & twitter! everyday you guys amaze me! thanks for all of your help & advice daily. i am SO GLAD to be a member of this forum...y'all just don't know!!!! 

A MILLION THANKS 2 ALL OF YOU!!!


----------



## lincolnapparel

> It really depends on your business...and how "tech saavy" you are.
> 
> One of my businesses (used to own) saw a HUGE benefit from our facebook page. We were able to reach out to potential customers that we never would have reached otherwise.
> 
> And the updates were easy. It was a sports related business, so I would just post something quick about anything that happened in the last 24 hours in the sports world. Nothing earth shattering... Big upset in the game last night? Post it. "Wow, I can't believe ____ pulled it off"! That post would result in several comments. ----> More traffic to my page and more people paying attention. I got the facebook app for my iphone and (not to be gross) would update my fb page while taking my morning dump. True definition of multi-tasking. lol
> 
> Time invested? Minimal... We were close to the 5,000 friend limit in no time. I probably only sent out 100 friend request MAX. The rest added US through the posts on their friend's pages.


How much time was invested? How many hours per week/month posting on FB? How many months did it take to gain momentum? How are sales? Traffic? It doesn't matter if you have 5,000 friends if it doesn't do anything for sales.

I really think SN site success depends on what message you're trying to get out - sports updates are usually short and quick anyway, so they're easier to take in. Perfect for a SN site where people are just reading random mundane updates. Something like art or history is probably harder to get people's attention with on social sites (because the message is more complex and less mundane). There's a museum here that gets 500,000 visitors each year (FAR from a failure), but I wouldn't say that Facebook is working for them - they tried to have a contest to get to 5000 fans by a certain time and didn't manage. I just don't think SN can work for every type of business, any more than, say, TV ads will work for everybody - because the mediums work differently. I'm just sick of the "everybody needs to have a Facebook" hype that Internet marketers are trying to sell everybody these days (just like I got sick of the dot.com hype around 1998 or so.)

And "tech savviness" has nothing to do with Facebook - social networking "savviness" (if there is such a thing) does. Anybody can set up a page, you don't even need to know HTML like you did in the Geocities days. I've been working with computers since 1984 and build my own systems and write my own programs and web pages including my site. But I can't stand the constant noise and "ADD-ness" of sites like Facebook and Twitter - seems like everything I ever posted there just gets lost in all the other status updates people post. I eventually figured it was a waste of my time and frustration trying to get people's attention that way and quit.


----------



## dinotheweirdo

Explain please: You Said Don't link Facebook to website...Then said: DO link to website for Free Giveaway...If your'e trying to SELL ...shouldn't you link to website >WHERE the 'Buy Now' Buttons are ? I use Paypal by the way


----------



## Wrightdesign

tango9984 said:


> After reading all the negative replies(and failures) about people advertising with facebook, I thought I would type a bit about it. Some of this I repeated in a replied thread, so bare with me if I sound like a broken record.
> 
> Facebook has over 500 million registered users, facebook works, if done right.
> 
> Getting FB to work for you isn't just about buying an ad and sitting back and waiting for the sales to roll in. Remember, FB is a social network, where people interact. So to help your business succeed in the FB world, you'll have to interact with your customers.
> 
> The initial focus shouldn't be on getting people to your website to see if they will buy your service/product, but rather the focus needs to be on building your facebook business page. My building, I mean getting fans, and keeping them interested.
> 
> *Using facebook ads*
> 
> Don't link your advert to your website. Instead, link it to your facebook business page(if you don't have one, your already behind, so make one). You will get some "bleed through" traffic that click to your website from there anyway. If you cant sell them on your product from your business page, chances are you wont be able to on your website. But even if they don't want to buy your product, they may "like" your page. This will allow you to advertise to them on a more personal level via your page updates(you will now be in their newsfeed). Now you have them hooked in to look at your advertisements(new products, deals, discounts etc.) without paying for a click. They may purchase your product at a later time, or spread the word of your business by recommending your page to friends. Also, your page will be posted on their profile, even more publicity. I feel like this narrows down the quality of customers actually interested in your product, and helps build a "fanbase" for your page. The way I see it, if they "liked" my page, they either 1)almost want to buy, 2)want to show somebody else, or 3)want to buy in the future. And if it's not any of those three things, you may be able to entice them to buy with a new product, deals, or discounts in their news feed. Or when you post new designs, they may see a shirt a friend or family member would like.
> 
> With your advert-check it daily, but change it weekly. Experiment with what works, but only change one variable at a time, so you can get an accurate evaluation. Change either the picture, the wording, or the demographic. If your not in it for the long run to see what is effective, then your wasting your money. . Hopefully after 8-10 weeks, you will have a good idea how to setup your ad, and what demographic settings to use.
> 
> Don't use your logo for the image, nobody cares about that. Use an image that will catch their eye. An attractive model wearing your shirt is a homerun. Keep in mind this image will only be 110px by 73px so try to stay away from to detailed of an image. Most the time the eye will only catch the image, so adding a word or two that will intrigue them on your image would be a good idea.
> 
> *How to get fans*
> 
> Having your ad link to your facebook page rather than your website will be alot of your fan traffic. But there are other ways.
> 
> Basically, you do just the opposite with your website. I'm sure you've seen webpages with the option to "like" them right there on the page. Well, you should do the same, that way you can convert your website traffice into facebook fans. Facebook has several "plugins" that you can take advantage of. To have a "like box" or "like button" on your page go here:
> Facebook Developers
> I would recommend having a like box on the top level of your webpage somewhere. Make it as easy as possible for people to become fans of you. You also add more subtle "like buttons" throughout your page. For example, putting a like button below all your designs on the second level of your site. When they see the more detailed image of your design they may think "wow cool design" and boom, they click the like button, and now they are your fan.
> 
> You should be blogging to drive traffic to your website and facebook page. Having a "like box" or button on your blog will be beneficial as well.
> 
> Anytime you post in forums, guestbooks, comments, etc. across the web, you should not only have your web address in your signature but right below it should be your facebook address. People are more familiar with facebook, they know what they are getting if they click your facebook link. They may be more apt to click your FB page before your website. (you should also have your twitter address on your signatures) If you don't already have a vanity url, sign up for one here:  Login | Facebook this looks nicer in your signature, and will help people remember it more easily.
> 
> *Setting up an effective FB page*
> 
> The number 1 rule with your FB page is interaction. Your statuses and posts should be things that keep and get your fan's attention. Also posting questions in the discussion section is a good way to get customers talking and engaging on your page. It doesn't necessarily have to be things that pertain directly to your business, but should pertain to your industry. For example, if your business sells vitamins, you may post an interesting article about how the body breaks down and uses certain vitamins. Or a new ground breaking discovery of pine needle tea containing four times more vitamin c than orange juice. I will go over a few ideas I had that pertain to the t-shirt business in a sec.
> 
> Fill out all the info section of your page, this will help make you look more creditable. Having a business-casual photo of you will also help your fans connect with you on a more personal level, but know that you are still professional. After all they are on facebook, they are here to connect.
> 
> FB doesnt give you many options to alter the look and feel of your page, but with the help of some apps, you can do some things. Remember, your page should reflect the look of your website and style of your business.
> 
> Here are some usfull apps to jazz up your page
> Static FBML | Facebook
> This app allows you to add FBML(facebook markup language) and some HTML. This will let you add video, images, link buttons and other HTML friendly things. You can even set up a shopping cart with this app, and have the "add to cart" buttons link to your product page on your website.
> 
> Extended Info | Facebook
> This will allow you to put an extra tab on your fanpage, and you can label it whatever you want(ex "Free Giveaway") In the tab you can add whatever FBML will support.
> 
> Notes | Facebook
> This is facebook notes. You can use this for journal type entries or whatever you feel you need to make a note about! The beauty of this app, is it comes from facebook, so when you make a new post, it will show up in your fans news feed
> 
> Twitter | Facebook
> This is the twitter app, a must have in my opinion. If you don't have a twitter account for your business, get with the program. This app will save you some time by posting your tweets to your FB page. And it puts a nice twitter box on your FB page.
> 
> Blog RSS Feed Reader | Facebook
> This will add a RSS blog feed to your page, from your blog. If your not blogging, you should be.
> 
> Here are some case studies that may help inspire you to build your page
> Target | Facebook
> Victoria's Secret Pink | Facebook
> http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5718920&id=131225375740&ref=fbx_album#!/Honda?ref=ts  (honda broke my rule of not having a vanity URL!)
> 
> Alright, I'm almost done, now for a couple of my ideas for the t-shirt business on how you can get fans and interaction
> 
> *Clothing line/brand*  *owners*
> 
> People love to win free things. Giving away a free shirt/hat/shorts or whatever every week is a great way to get people involved. And it's something you can post in your status and on your page that people will actually be interested in.
> 
> Here's how I would do it: Post that your doing a free shirt giveaway and link them to your website. On your website have a form setup for them to fill out. It can be something simple, like First and Last name, and email address and a submit button. After that send them to another page that thanks them for the submission and we will contact you if you win. On the form page, maybe at the top, showcase a few of your designs, who knows they may see something they like and click. On the thank you page, showcase even more of your designs. You could do this weekly, let your fans know this is something you do every week. This will give them a reason to stay a fan, become a fan and pay attention to you when your in their news feed. This is also a great way to get their email address to add them to your mailing list. To make it feel like they didnt just sign up for your newsletter, send them a newsletter that with the subject "T-shirt Giveaway"(or whatever) and in the letter say something like "We're sorry, you werent drawn for the free t-shirt this week, but keep entering for your chance to win, we give away a free shirt every week". And below this message of course, have your newsletter with your products/discounts/deals or whatever you put in your newsletter. You can also add a "T-shirt Giveaway" tab on your FB page with the extended info app.
> 
> *This one's for the printers*
> 
> Giving away a shirt is fine and dandy, but what if you offer a service and not a product?
> 
> Well, I kind of stole this idea from seeing it done somewhere else, but it didn't dawn on me  _why_ they did it until recently. As a printer, this will cost you a little money, but I think the reward will be worth it.
> 
> Setup a design contest. Advertise with the message of something like "Enter our design contest, and win free printing of your design on 50 shirts!"
> 
> Here's how you set it up. Once you have a good amount of designers willing to enter(limit it to 3 colors or whatever you want to spend) Have them submit their proof to a photo album you made on your FB page. The way that the voting takes place is whoever has the most "likes" by Date XXX wins the contest. This will gain you 500+ fans, depending on how many entries you have. Reason being, in order to like a photo on your FB page, you have to "like" the business page first, hence becoming a fan. The contestants will be posting a link to there entry on their page spread the contest, and telling all there friends to go vote for them. And even his/her friends may post it on their page to help spread the word.(the trickle effect) Once you have them as fans, you have them to advertise to. As a printer you can also print up whatever and do the "Shirt Giveaway" tactic too. Don't let the fact that you provide a service stop ya.
> 
> Here is where I saw this done
> VC Sublimation Contest | Facebook
> 
> If you'll notice all the likes each image has...that's all new fans VC Ultimate just got.
> 
> And hey, while your there, you can like them and vote for my friends design  The direct link is
> VC Sublimation Contest | Facebook
> *
> Conclusion*
> 
> This was a lot of typing for my little ol' fingers, I hope somebody actually reads it and finds it useful. If I've helped one person get one fan and sell one product, then it was worth it.
> 
> Remember it's all about interaction with your fans, and keeping them involved.
> 
> If you guys found this useful, I may tackle SEO optimization, blog campaign or twitter next.


I love this article. I am interested in the twitter and blog. Thanks for all your time.


----------



## T-Shirt.co.uk

abmcdan said:


> Does anyone have any sales data from their facebook campaign that they are willing to share?
> - Number of fans
> - Website traffic generated from your page
> - Sales amount and Qty resulting
> 
> I always hear a ton of buzz about twitter, myspace, and facebook but rarely anyone talking about making any real money. Having 10,000 followers may be exciting but if it doesn't translate into sales, how is it worth all the effort.
> 
> Thanks,
> Andy



After a month, we are coming up for 500 fans.

So far, the traffic going from the site to facebook is about the same as the traffic going from facebook to the site.

Haven't tracked sales properly unfortunately so I can't say for sure but I do view facebook as a worthwhile exercise and will continue to build the "likers" and engage with them on facebook and try and get them over to comment on the blog and that sort of thing.


----------



## lincolnapparel

Thought I'd share this article I ran across yesterday which has some excellent charts about how people find things for sale online:

SEOmoz | Comparing SEO & Social Media as Marketing Channels

Search engines are still at the top. Mailing lists are 2nd. Before you even get to Facebook and Twitter (and their ilk), which are near the bottom of the chart, you have word of mouth, print ads, online ads, in-store signs and ads, and even direct mail.

Only radio ads and product placements rank below "social".

That being said, if your primary market is 18-24 year olds "social" might have some value (notice the massive generation gap there).

"Social" also has a lower conversion rate than search:



> Here's what I see:
> 4.5% of organic search visitors considered a purchase
> 1.3% of social traffic considered a purchase
> While I can't disclose full numbers, I can see that a fair number of search visits converted vs. zero for social.
> 
> In fact, looking at the entire year to date traffic to SEOmoz from social sources, it appears not 1 visit has ever converted for us.


I know this is the stats for an SEO firm, but for the most part they mirror my own experiences. Google traffic is gold, you need to generate many times the amount of traffic on "social" as you do for SEO to generate the same number of sales.


----------



## T-Shirt.co.uk

lincolnapparel said:


> Thought I'd share this article I ran across yesterday which has some excellent charts about how people find things for sale online:
> 
> SEOmoz | Comparing SEO & Social Media as Marketing Channels
> 
> Search engines are still at the top. Mailing lists are 2nd. Before you even get to Facebook and Twitter (and their ilk), which are near the bottom of the chart, you have word of mouth, print ads, online ads, in-store signs and ads, and even direct mail.
> 
> Only radio ads and product placements rank below "social".
> 
> That being said, if your primary market is 18-24 year olds "social" might have some value (notice the massive generation gap there).
> 
> "Social" also has a lower conversion rate than search:
> 
> 
> 
> I know this is the stats for an SEO firm, but for the most part they mirror my own experiences. Google traffic is gold, you need to generate many times the amount of traffic on "social" as you do for SEO to generate the same number of sales.



Same for me, however (and this is especially important for small business) I think that having the social media presence (so long as your active and updating) can help aid conversion (regardless of traffic source). If people see there is something "real" happening, they will be more likely to be confident in making a purchase.


----------



## Ryo13

nice tips for FB. thanks TS


----------



## ChapterTEE

Many thanks. you're the best


----------



## nosymbolrequired

Hi All,

Thanks for a great post, it amazes me that people take the time out on here to give away such invaluable advice. Many thanks, after reading this I will be playing with my facebook pages and updating my website to include like buttons etc. 

just a brilliant post - thanks again


----------



## morgeaux

We use Facebook as a part of our marketing strategy, but the main benefit is being able to have a 'conversation' with our fans. We let customers vote on promotion designs, ask for opinions on new designs, etc. I've asked questions about what magazines they read to find out where our print budget should go, and use them to gather ideas for new designs, quotes, etc. We try to keep it light and fun, but the instant feedback is very valuable to us. Don't think of this medium as purely sales generation, think of these people as your focus group or your sounding board for new ideas.


----------



## Ruby MHarvey

Great info guys I will be updating my facebook page.


----------



## 2bhip

That was great! Any ideas on how to make twitter work for a successful campaign?


----------



## vsrnp

Is there a way to have the Business page RSVP to another business pages event?


----------



## bodyglam

Thanks for doing the write up. This is very helpful!


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## michalstrnad

good tips,but I have a problem with this situation.
for example:
I will building Facebook community,invest a lot of time and money etc., then, one competitor place their ads and target to "my" people. I have no idea how to stop it,haven't I?


----------



## berlinbonez

Thanks guys for this post - Im sure it cut hours off trying to figure out what to do with my Facebook profile. Now Ive got a FBPage for BerlinBonez thats linked to twitter-so thats cool. Next step is a landing page......


----------



## Flight Of Fancy

Awesome info I really needed this to help me out with my fan page!


----------



## alin3117

thaks a lot,it's so helpful for me.


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## williamgreat

I am so happy after read your Post. This is a very informative post; I have created a personal account on facebook and make a fan page also. But only 7 people liked my page. I am trying to increasing liked on my facebook fan page. Now I will add this fan page in forum signature. I hope, It will increase liked on my fan page. Do you know any other facebook application to promote business?


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## WestZ

Thanks for the great write-up!


----------



## familyfanclub

Great post, I just want to clarify one thing....

"_This will allow you to advertise to them on a more personal level via your page updates(you will now be in their newsfeed). Now you have them hooked in to look at your advertisements(new products, deals, discounts etc.) without paying for a click."

_Are you saying that if I link my ad to my faceback page, it's free? Facebook doesn't charge for the click to visit my FB page? I've done some advertising and linked my ad directly to my website and I get charged per click. If I link my ad to my FB page I don't have to pay for the click? 

Do I understand that correctly?


----------



## ScaredPanda

No, Facebook will charge you per click no matter what the destination of the URL is. They are saying that instead of linking to your website, you should be linking to your Facebook page in hopes that the person then 'Likes' your page. If they do, then you've essentially retained them for the long run and can market/advertise to them via their Facebook news feed. Where if you link directly to your site, they may visit, look around, leave and then never remember who you were.

I'd also suggest paying per impression than per click. I've done both and have had significantly better results when paying per impressions.


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## jshade

This was some awesome info, very well said.


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## artchick

Post is interesting had a question regarding facebook, twitter ect... I have most of my designs , completed and have company name/ logo but no website yet or shirts .is it a savvy move to create a FB page and twitter page ? I am worried because I do not have my designs or logo coypwritied


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## artchick

Great advice scared panda but can you explain what Paying per impressions means Thanks!!


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## muneca

good post...i will try to keep up with this one again.


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## ScaredPanda

@artchick - sure! Basically it comes down to you paying for every time someone clicks on your ad or how many times Facebook shows it to someone. An impression is anytime Facebook shows your ad, when your ad shows up on a page, that is an impression. I've had so much more luck with impressions than I have on clicks.


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## artchick

Thanks!! Explained it well. One other question is it a good idea to creat a FB page when I did not copyright my design or even trademark my logo??


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## cocopuff

I agree with Panda, I think the most efficient way is to post an facebook ad that links to your fan page.


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## ScaredPanda

I wouldn't worry too much about trademarks yet. It's more important to get your fan base up and going, in my opinion. There's no harm in getting your Facebook page up, start collecting fans and then revisit your trademark. You should be able to both at the same time without much trouble.


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## RoadRageRor

Great thread here! Thanks.


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## aggieeight

Thanks for posting this valuable information.


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## fishface

Has anyone tried creating a FB Fan Page for just one shirt design (instead of your company or entire brand)? I sell designs that relate to certain activities or hobbies. I thought tiring to gain fans that "Like" "Skiing" (or what ever) for instance might work? Just a thought?


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## Paperplates

Great info!


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## Sure Shop Appare

So helpful!!


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## ishredbanez

Pretty good topic... I'll wanna remember this one.


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## shirtnewbie

I have created a facebook contest like you expained on one of my websites, and it got me a good amount of followers. Facebook is a great tool!


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## ishredbanez

shirtnewbie said:


> I have created a facebook contest like you expained on one of my websites, and it got me a good amount of followers. Facebook is a great tool!


I'm just worried about Facebook taking action if its done against the promotion rules...


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## scuba_steve2699

has anyone heard or seen Facebook take action against any of the promotions that people are doing? I know it is in their rules but I have not heard of them doing anything about it.


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## ishredbanez

I'm about to read this site...

Hold a

So you can't notify a winner by Facebook, but can you post on your/their wall after you've alerted them privately?
Saying like "Congratulations to such-and-such for winning the contest! They won ___"


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## scuba_steve2699

interesting article. They are of course promoting their paid app to run your contest. there has to be a way to legitimately run a contest without having to pay for it.


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## ishredbanez

scuba_steve2699 said:


> interesting article. They are of course promoting their paid app to run your contest. there has to be a way to legitimately run a contest without having to pay for it.


Its not necessarily their app is it, though?
(The site's, that is).


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## scuba_steve2699

I am not sure if it is or not. my understanding is that FB uses the rules to promote their sponsors that make the apps and thus gain revenue. I understand what they are doing just saying there might be a better way.


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## Retro Campaigns

scuba_steve2699 said:


> I am not sure if it is or not. my understanding is that FB uses the rules to promote their sponsors that make the apps and thus gain revenue. I understand what they are doing just saying there might be a better way.


You have to use an app, but it doesn't have to be a paid app. You can create your own.


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## SmarteBuy

Wow, very useful contribution! Expecting your SEO optimization, blog campaign or twitter in future. Thanks,


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## 34Ford

I dont personally have a FB account, but I might look into a business account.

Thing is when you go to start off you are faced with a choice.
Create a Page | Facebook

I only want to do online sales. So which category do you want to pick?

Local Business or Place
Company, Organization, or Institution
Brand or Product


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## gabenick2

I have posted a contest and I paid for impressions, I have NOT had a single tag/like..what am I doing wrong? FB approved the ad already and per them it is going


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## debbifletcher

Such an interesting article written in how to use Facebook to it work from it for us. I like this thread so much and it really update my knowledge of marketing by using social media networks.


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## Sun Turtle

Thank you! I've learned a lot.


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## slkmclaren

this is really true.

before i overhauled our fb fan page we have around 350 likes. that was before our december 14 release. right now we have almost 600 likes. considering the fb fan page was setup last july. fb is really powerful if you put valuable content to your site to entice visitors to keep on coming back.


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