Talk about leveling the playing field. Solopreneurs can take advantage of the new Facebook Pages to expand their reach and improve their following.
Facebook released design and feature changes to Pages that had me puzzled at first, until further investigation. What I realized is that the changes give Facebook Page owners more reach, making the pages more useful.
The biggest change I see is that the Page administrator can be logged in as the Page itself, enabling them to comment on behalf of the Page across the platform on other pages and personal profiles.
These new changes make Facebook Pages even more important today to local businesses and their fan base. If you do have a page it is critical that you allow engagement–allow visitors to engage on your wall. I have seen pages where comments have been turned off. My perspective is that the wall allows solopreneurs as a business owner to create a sense of community.
If you don’t yet have a page and your business relies on local business then be certain to use the local pages, it will give you a little more flexibility in your advertising and promotions. https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
Facebook Pages now look more like a traditional website and can be personalized using Iframes instead of FBML. This means you could actually frame a current page on your website to include on your Facebook page.
Making Facebook Pages Work
Once you have that page established you will begin wondering how to reach your fans and get more likes. This is probably not what you will want to hear but the solution is: create engaging, shareable content to grow your following.
Posting in the AM and weekends is ideal and every other day is optimal. Use a variety of content: videos, blog posts, audio and one of the most popular topics on Facebook is Facebook. Share how Facebook is relevant in your industry to attract even more attention. Like any other marketing strategy consistency and relevance is the key to success.
Facebook pages really give the solopreneur an opportunity to expand their reach improving their following.