But now that everyone’s on the Facebook fan page bandwagon, how can you ensure your page stands apart from the fluff? Here’s 10 must-do’s for your Facebook fan page.

#1 – Give People a Reason to Fan You

People won’t fan you just because you have a page. (who doesn’t by now?!) Smart businesses tell fans exactly what they’ll get. Walgreens does a nice job of this with a teaser landing page. Give your visitors a preview of what your updates look like. Will they get discounts, exclusive news or content? Be specific so you set expectations appropriately.

#2 – Offer Fans Exclusives

If you’re using your page to regurgitate news and content from other company channels, think again. Your fans will see through this sham. Make it a priority to break news or offer exclusive promotions only to your Facebookers. They’ll show their appreciation by eagerly staying tuned to future updates.

#3 – Optimize your Profile Picture

Facebook doesn’t allow for much customizable real estate, so the space allowed for your profile image should be fully utilized. Unlike regular profiles, fan pages allow you to utilize much more vertical space. (see Threadless’ skyscraper style image for a great example.) Make sure to get the most of this real estate by including branding or a call to action.

#4 – Respond to Every Single Comment

That’s right, every single one. When companies ignore their wall, or worse yet, deny fans the ability to comment altogether, they’re openly declaring their only interested in a one-way conversation, which couldn’t be more opposed to the nature of Facebook. Fans feel honored when someone takes the time to respond. Why short yourself on such an easy way to build brand loyalty?

#5 – Strategically Time your Updates

Some evidence suggests updates get more eyeballs earlier in the week, but this will vary based on your users. Regardless, keep a close eye on the insights info that appears below each update, showing you what percentage of fans who engaged in a post. Time your updates when fans seem to be most active.

#6 – Cross Pollinate from Other Channels

Growing a fan page only through Facebook is nearly impossible since fans will rarely go looking for you. If you really want to kick-start your growth, you’ll need to funnel traffic from other sources. A tiny Facebook icon buried in your website footer isn’t enough. Go all out and promote your page in prime real-estate, including on the homepage, in emails, and even in-store.

#7 – Leverage your Fans to Attract More Fans

Your existing fans are the key to acquiring new fans. Every time someone becomes a fan, their action shows up in the news feeds of their friends. So the more fans you get, the more fans you get. Here’s a tactic I’ve used with much success: Try asking your fans to click “Suggest to Friends” link on your page.  Set a goal for reaching a certain number of fans by a certain day, and get everyone involved in helping. Offer a significant, one-time coupon as a reward if you hit the goal.

#8 – Relish Negative Feedback

Many companies claim they have great service. Here’s a way to actually prove it. How else can you show off your awesome service than by publicaly responding to detractors on your fan page? In addition, you’ll likely find that your fans will jump in to defend you. (There’s a reason they call it a “fan” page!)

#9 – Conversationalize your Updates:

When doing updates to fans, speak in a human, open-ended manner. Don’t let your copy come from that press release your PR firm just pushed down the wire. For example, suppose you just launched a new product line. Instead of writing an impersonal update such as “Newly released widget at Company.com”, try something like, “Just released a new widget and would love your feedback. Leave a comment with your opinion!”

#10 – Customize your Profile

Out of the box, Facebook fan pages don’t come with too many bells and whistles. But as the saying goes for another popular gadget, “there’s an app for that.” Customizing your page doesn’t require a lot of programing experience either. The popular Static FBML app allows you to easily add boxes or tabs to your profile that contain regular HTML and images. If you’re willing to invest a bit more time, custom apps open another world of possibilities. Best buy created an easy to use app that lets fans get advice from their network of friends on a purchase. It’s viral marketing and product research all in one.

What brands have you seen doing fan pages right? Leave a comment with your take.

Social media can no longer be ignored, even by traditional marketing agencies and old-school business. But before you make the plunge into this powerful, but often misunderstood marketing tactic, ask yourself these 7 important questions.

1. Can you have a conversation? I recently saw a wall comment posted to a major clothing retail chain’s Facebook page, questioning whether the company was going out of business. As of today, the comment still has not been responded to. Obviously, they are not interested in having a conversation, or managing their brand reputation for that matter. If you want to do social media, make sure you have the time to listen and respond, not just push out content.
2. Do you have the time? Managing a Twitter or Facebook account can easily suck hours of productivity from an aimless employee charged with the task of managing it. Are you willing to invest the necessary time, but able to limit fruitless, unproductive chatter? Are you able to commit to the long-haul? Social media is more of a commitment than a campaign, if you start, expect to finish and stick with it for the long run.
3. Are you saying anything worth listening to? If you’re thinking of using Facebook updates as another channel for press releases or pure advertising, think again. Your friends and followers will quickly see through this sham. The key is to strive for interactions. If your updates contain only push content (e.g. “Come buy our new widgets!”) your followers will quickly tire. Much can be accomplished by transforming push into pull content (e.g. “please comment with your opinion on our new widget!”)
4. Can you stomach the negative? A certain openness is required for social media marketing to work. If the thought of an irate customer posting a negative comment on your Facebook wall scares you to tears, SMM might not be for you. In my experience though, nearly every time I’ve witnessed negative comments on a company profile page, the true fans jump in and defend the organization, sometimes before even the company does.
5. What role will customer service play? Once customers know they can reach you through social media, you will undoubtedly need to get customer service involved. How will you handle the inevitable customer service issues that surface? In my experience, giving at least a few senior customer service representatives the ability to interact instills a sense of ownership, ensuring that customer service will view social media with the same importance as they view a phone call or email.
6. Are you joining the right conversations? You don’t have to be everywhere. Consider first polling your customers and finding out what social media sites they use. Only join those that have a critical mass, there’s no point in talking to no one.
7. Can you accept a fuzzy ROI? Social media ROI can’t and shouldn’t be tracked in the same way as other online marketing venues. Say goodbye to the CPMs and CPCs from typical online marketing channels. Tangible revenue can be tracked in some ways, but much like traditional offline advertising, you’ll never really see the full picture of brand awareness benefits. Make sure your company management sees some of the more subjective ROI indicators, such as positive comments and the extent of conversations.

Social media is surely worth the time and effort, as long as you understand the cost. SMM isn’t free, it takes a serious investment. Before you get into social media, make sure you truly get it.