How to get your business Liked on Facebook

You can use competition prizes, contests and giveaways as incentives to reward people for spreading your message, and magazines and businesses do this all the time. Facebook marketing is no different, and you will help your cause if you offer incentives for people to help you to extend your reach.

Attract an audience through 'Fangating' and interactivity

Linked to this idea, is the 'Fangating' technique, which has proven popular with a lot of businesses. This rewards Facebook users by providing a special offer for people who Like the page. So in other words, people who are not fans of the page get to see a tab on their Facebook pages that contain the special offer, and this attracts them to your page.

Another technique is to be interactive with your Facebook fans, talk to them and help to create comments and user-generated content. By building a community, you will encourage people to stay with your site, and bring other people in. Engagement with fans can stimulate new interest on their own newsfeeds, which their friends will see. And an active fan base can lead to organic growth.

With this in mind, try to find out what makes your fans tick, become interested in their lives and views, and encourage people to talk about themselves. By directly engaging with people, and making them feel valued and important, you will gain their loyalty.

On Facebook content is king

One way to keep content fresh and interesting on your Facebook page is to post content from your website. This might include product updates, blog posts or press releases, and it will mean you are regularly bringing something of interest and value to your fans.

Tools are available that can automatically syndicate your content to your Facebook page, such as dlvr.it , Ping.fm and SocialOomph, although major blog tools also have this facility.

On the subject of content, it's a good idea to try a mixture of text, videos, photos and audio. This can keep things interesting, and videos and images have the greatest chance of going viral.

Lastly, publicise your Facebook page on all the relevant documents and brochures, including business cards, direct mail, outdoor advertising and television advertising campaigns. Fans can come from everywhere, so make sure that you utilise every channel that's available to you.