Are you ready to dive into Facebook?
If you’ve been wondering how to best use the social networking site to promote your work, you’re not alone.
This post is to serve as a resource to you. I’ll update it with more useful info as I find it. So be sure to bookmark it so you can reference it when needed.
If I missed something or you have other questions please add them to the comments so I can update the post with the info you need.
Let’s get started…
Getting started on Facebook
The first thing to recognize is that there are basically three categories for Facebook: personal profiles, pages and groups.
You’ll most likely want to have a combination of a personal profile and a page for your theater, band or business. You can now also start a page without having a personal profile. (<== This only works if you don’t already have a personal profile.)
Why should you set up a page?
There are  few reasons why you’d want to set up a page:
- Pages are indexed by Google which means it’s easier for people to find you.
- You don’t need to accept friend requests from people you don’t actually know. You can keep your personal profile, er, personal.
- You’re able to see insights as to who is interacting with your page. This means you can measure what’s actually working.
- You’ll be able to get a custom url for your page. So instead of: Facebook.com/blahblahblahgobblelygook92374023504584. You can send someone to your page like this: Facebook.com/nameofpage
- There’s no limit to the amount of people who can ‘like’ your page, unlike personal profiles.
- You can add admins to the page so others can help you keep things up to date.
What about a group?
As of the writing of this post groups have changed. From the looks of things at the moment you’re better off with a Facebook Page anyway. But here are 5 Things You Need to Know About Facebook’s New Groups, in case you’re curious.
Getting Started: The first things to do
So let’s get you up an running. If you don’t have one already you’ll need to set up your personal Facebook profile. If you need help check out this How to Create a Facebook Profile. Once you have your profile set up be sure to connect with your friends.
Next it’s time to set up your official Facebook Page. Check the Facebook Help Center if you need it. Also be sure to search Facebook for the name you’d like to use just in case it’s already taken.
Once your page is set up the first order if business is to get 25 people to ‘like’ your Page. Then you can get a Facebook Custom URL.
That’s a good start. Go celebrate. Then you can come back here if you have more questions.
More resources for you…
More on Pages
Facebook Pages: Are You Doing It All Wrong? – JohnHaydon.com
How to Create a Custom Tab For Your Facebook Page – RositaCortez.com
Facebook Friend Invite: The Ultimate Guide – RositaCortez.com
Listening
Open Facebook Search – See who’s talking about you, your subject or whatever else in the public timeline.
Privacy issues
How Admin Privacy Works on Facebook Pages – JohnHaydon.com
10 Privacy Settings Ever Facebook User Should Know – AllFacebook.com
Advanced use of Facebook
How to Target Walls Posts to Specific Fans – JohnHaydon.com
Pages to check out from indie artists
King Is A Fink Productions – This screenwriting duo does an excellent job of engaging film fans with very specific questions. Check out all the comments to their updates.
Promotion
How to add a Facebook LikeBox to your website or blog – JohnHaydon.com
What did I miss?
Let me know in the comments.
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I love the new look!
(Here’s hoping it hasn’t been around too long and I’ve only just noticed!).
I’ve very skeptical about the usefulness of Facebook pages but would love to learn I’m wrong.
In fact, that’s why I followed your Twitter link. I thought, if anyone has figured this out yet, it will be Dave.
Here’s my question: what are the advantages of a Facebook page over a free blog site?
Why thank you sir. (It’s been a while but I still love you.) 😉
The advantage I see at the moment is that you’re meeting people where the are. People are spending something like 55 minutes a day on Facebook. So it’s easy to become part of that time through status updates and such.
And of course with the ol’ like button it’s easy to get seen.
Still trying to figure stuff out. But that’s my initial response.
I still believe the overall goal is to have something self-hosted and to eventually bring people there. (As opposed to Facebook or a free blog.)
I’ll have to investigate for a more detailed response.
Facebook ads are really intriguing to me at the moment.
How are ya?
Eep! Hectic summer, what can I tell ya. 🙂
Yes! I think the real marketing power of FB will be its ads.
I also agree, be where the people are! Absolutely. That’s why I post to my Facebook “tweet stream” whenever I can. Oops, I mean “status update stream” or “my wall” or whatever they call it now.
Aha! Maybe that’s the key point, which you flag in your post.
Personally, I made the choice to treat my FB profile as a public space. Having made that decision, creating a separate page doesn’t make a lot of sense for me. For people who want to have a private FB profile, a separate page makes sense.
But my hunch: people want to interact with people — not pages. A self-hosted site which is personal and updates to the FB stream is probably more useful in the long run.
I’m good, thanks! I may have found the conceptual framework with which to order my life that will allow me to serve the arts and not live in poverty. Stay tuned! 🙂
Sterling,
You bring up a key point: “a separate page doesn’t make a lot of sense for me.”
If you have a theater, band or some other entity that isn’t a person the page works and makes sense. Having a profile for these things is just weird. Not to mention against Facebook terms of service.
But even then you don’t have to do it. There’s no law that people have to be on social media. And people shouldn’t feel bad if it’s not something they want to do.
Are those who don’t missing something? Maybe. Maybe not. It all depends on the resources they have available.
If anything these tools should at least be used to listen. What people are saying is a good gauge as to whether you’re accomplishing what you’ve set out to do.
Let’s try to chat sometime soon. I’m soon to be sharing some cool stuff re: a framework. We should for sure compare notes!
Sounds good! And thanks for the useful post and dialogue!
Hi,
I just created a new facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shelley-Novotny-Online-Administrative-Consultant/163545333725422 I have over 25 like, but the get started page won’t disappear and it’s driving me mad. I also would like to have a more clean facebook url (without the numbers at the end). Can you help me. please?
http://xeeme.com/ShelleyNovotny/
Shelley
Hi,
Is there a place I can go to find a group that I may want to join?
Shelley
http://xeeme.com/ShelleyNovotny/