Today we’re delighted to have a guest post about Facebook marketing from Craig Robinson of Qwaya.

If you’re reading this article and have a small business you want to promote on Facebook, we’re going to go ahead and assume that you already know how to create ads and what you should be including in those ads. If you want a step-by-step beginner’s guide to advertising on Facebook, you’ll have to read another article, one suggestion this one. But if you want to know how you, a small business, can set up your fan page in a way to compete with the big boys, then you’re definitely in the right place.

Having a well received fan page as a small business can definitely help you grow into a larger business. Facebook receives millions of unique users every day, and as you begin to win fans and become popular, you will witness a chain reaction. With the right tactics implemented, any business can take off.

5 Must-Use Facebook Fan Page Tips

Tip One: Separate Yourself from Your Brand

Because of the new features on Facebook, you can now post and respond as either yourself (i.e. John Doe) or as your brand/company name. You need to keep these separated here. There may be times where your brand is too impersonal to use, and there are going to be times where your name is just too forward. Using both has its advantages, but they need to be used at the opportune times.

Tip Two: Expand Featured Likes List

The more information you provide to Facebook, the more area you can cover in terms of attracting people to your page. A fan begets more fans, so whatever you can do to get the brand out there is worth doing, and this includes the simple action of picking your featured “likes.” These will be categorized into the same gallery, so you won’t have to worry about clutter. Use this feature to expand your horizons.

Tip Three: Don’t Be Afraid of Flash

Flash videos have to be loaded to Facebook as a mere image until clicked, so some people don’t like this approach. They’d rather a welcoming video auto-play on entry. However, putting the power in the user’s hands to decide whether or not they want to watch a video is a good thing, so don’t shy away from Flash just because the features are different. Also, take the opportunity to load a specific image you like instead of having a random thumbnail used.

Tip Four: Graphic Imagery is a Good Thing

Having attractive graphics on your page is something that’s going to go over well with your audience. Take the call to action for a quick example. Instead of using words to get this message across, use a graphic image to display it. People are far more likely to become a fan if you use imagery.

Tip Five: Entice Users to Like You

If you’re giving every bit of information away, then there’s really no secret behind your brand. There has to be something special about your brand, something mysterious. There has to be something on the other side of the fence to entice people to climb it in the first place. This is why you need to keep some of your content hidden; only made available if they like or become a fan.

Make sure you use these tips on your Facebook page if you want to entice users to become fans and to like what you have going. The more people who join, the more people ultimately find out about you. It’s a beautiful snowball.

For more tips and tricks on Facebook for business check out this article written by the Facebook campaign tool developer Qwaya.