We were just completing the steps to set up our Facebook Fan Page when we realized that almost everything we have on our website can be displayed on our Facebook Fan Page. On our website we have photos and videos of our work, forms to download our free reports and Flash animations.
On our Facebook Fan Page we have the ability to add the same, we have photos, videos and with the use of several applications we can add forms, Flash animations, promotions, surveys, and even our Constant Contact sign up email form has been added to our Facebook page.
We see several advantages to a Facebook Fan Page over traditional websites and Blogs.
First it’s much easier to set up a Fan Page than a traditional website. If you have knowledge of HTML then you can use Static FBML, the Facebook Markup Tool to customize the look of your Fan Page. Take a look at BMW, with their custom created Facebook Fan Page. Between using Static FBML and Flash1 the Flash application for Facebook you can customize your Fan Page to closely resemble your website.
Getting Visitors to Your Fan Page
You have access to just about all of the tools to promote your Fan Page as you would your website or Blog. Facebook has Fan Boxes widgets that you can use in your email signature, Blog post and website to advertise your Fan Page. Once you have 100 fans you can apply for a custom Facebook URL that you can use to drive traffic to your Fan Page.
There are several e-commerce apps like Payvment E-Commerce Storefront and My Merch Store that allows you to set up a store on Facebook and sell your products just as you would on your website.
Your Fan Page is visible outside of Facebook which helps in getting your Fan Page ranked and makes it easy for people to become a fan. You can send emails to your Fans but the emails will only be visible when they are logged into Facebook unlike Facebook Groups where emails are sent to the signed up email also.
With the ability to promote your online presence with content that can be uploaded from your smartphone, online sweepstakes, surveys, auto updates to Twitter and LinkedIn, Facebook Fan Pages are making a strong case as the only web presence you may need.
Great advice and tips, Thanks so much!