Thank you to Suzanne Vara from (http://www.kherize5.com) for this guest post. Take it away, Suzanne!

Suzanne Vara from Kherize5 (Photo credit Salvo Vaccarella)

Facebook, the social networking phenomenon that has left us all a bit melancholy as we reminisce with old friends from elementary, high school and even college about the good ‘ole days of yesteryear.

We openly share information about our present lives with our spouses, divorces, children as well as all that interests us. We are freely and willingly to expose ourselves to brands about our satisfaction and dissatisfaction with them as well as our expectations of them. As a brand, this is interaction is invited, welcomed and a means of communication, engagement and persuasion.

All brands from the largest to the smallest one man shop are beginning embrace and wrap their arms around Facebook, understanding their target audience and how they speak amongst themselves and how they accept to be communicated with. This understanding and knowledge is the first step in persuasion, which ultimately is the goal of any marketing strategy … to persuade people to do what you are asking of them. This could be to answer a question about a price point, to buy, to provide information and insight about a new product launch or to take part in a cause. The Facebook page has purpose other than a head count of how many fans they can tout to one up the competition.

7 Ways to Create a Persuasive Facebook Page

1. Mini Website. Facebook pages are interactive and while a website is the ideal hub, the Facebook platform can be used as a “gathering” or “meeting” place and serve as the driver to the website. Creating a mini website via FBML (Facebook Markup Language) brands can customize tabs so that new visitors land on a specific page, return visitors on another page, promote a new product/service, an event, a sale, clearance items, etc.
2. Content. Content, content, content! Content is king as they say when you have determined “what” to say and match this with the way that the target talks and is able to understand. The content needs to recognize the purchasing process of the target and provide the necessary information to lead the consumer to persuade them to do what is being asked. The content also needs to identify with the level of commitment that is involved for the target to do what is asked. The target will relate to this content as it eliminates any perceived indifference or even negative and brings them to committing emotionally.
3. Credibility. Creating a Facebook page that is easily identifiable to your brand not only removes any doubt within the eyes of the consumer (due to the fake pages) it also provides a sense of credibility. The association between the brand they have been exposed to and the brand that they see before them does not singularly create credibility but it elicits and emotional response. When people are unsure, they shy away. In feeling unsure if they do advance to listen to your message, there will still be a level of doubt and their commitment is weakened.
4. Emotional Connections. Listening to the target audience to learn how they relate to one another about your brand and also to the brand itself is the first step in being able to connect emotionally with them. People buy from people but also from people they like. If they are exposed to your brand in a manner that is acceptable to them and in a way that they speak, they are more apt to be like and be responsive. The greater emotional contact/connection to the brand, the greater the chances they will be persuaded to commit to your asking. After all do we listen to/pay attention to the message of a brand we do not like?
5. Offsite Promotion. Promoting your Facebook page off Facebook and on platforms where customers need you to be (so long as this is in alignment with your strategy and is advantageous to you) to invite them over to the Facebook page. The opportunity on other platforms to engage with the target beyond your offerings as well as immediately hitting them with your message builds trust by increasing like-ability by not only referencing your brand.
6. Membership. Creating a membership style page where those that have liked are privy to sales that are exclusive them as “members.” They are receiving a benefit from liking and linking to your page while you as the brand are gathering information about them. The target is now connecting on a more committed level as they are part of something that others are not and they are real benefits from linking.
7. Engagement and Involvement. Being responsive and engaging the target who communicates with your brand not only is a good business practice, it also attempts to eliminate any negativity where they can lower their commitment to your brand. Remember the purpose of the page is to get them to do something and talking to them increases this. Asking questions and involving them in decisions is a part of this exclusivity and membership as their opinion matters.

As a brand creating a Facebook page that is enticing and persuasive but yet friendly to users builds not only credibility but leads them to committing to do what you ask of them. As a marketing strategy, Facebook continues to be a platform whereby brands can create a place for users to gather and meet for interaction and engagement.

Suzanne is the founder of Kherize5 (http://www.kherize5.com), an advertising and social media marketing agency for small businesses. She blogs daily over at Kherize5 providing innovative ideas on how to market your small business in today’s economy. She was featured earlier today in Chris Brogan’s “You Need A Suzanne Vara.”

Thank you to Debra Leitl from eMentorMarketing.com for this guest post. My comments follow at the bottom. Take it away, Debra!

Social media is not a new concept. True, with the invention of the Internet, it has become a more common phrase in business, but social media has been around for quite some time. Some early forms of social media were (and still are) advertising catchy slogans or taglines which can imprint in a person’s memory and instantly link back to the product or service being advertised. Other classic forms are physical demonstrations and public speeches which will also have a lasting effect. Another type of social media is print media; any form of printed advertising, usually distributed by hand. And of course, with the onset of the Internet, the reaches of social media have no bounds.

Through the Internet, media can be spread inexpensively and with the speed of a fast-acting virus. Some examples of online social media avenues are blogs, forums, social interfaces such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, video and picture sharing sites such as YouTube and Flickr, and aggregation websites.

By using the resources available, businesses can either self-promote, or hire a company or individual to “social network” for them. When you hire a company to handle your social networking, you expect them to practice what is referred to as Social CRM, Customer Relationship Management.

Social CRM encompasses a very broad spectrum of attaining new clientele, maintaining the customers you already have, trying to bring former customers back, and managing and reducing the cost of customer retention or acquiring new customers. CRM also handles the cost involved in marketing, trying to reduce it as much as possible.

So the question of how to nurture customers with social media is a very important question. The easiest answer is, be the best social media networker you can be. Easier said than done, right?

It is important for a company to “keep up with the times,” meaning, use whichever facets of social media are the most popular at the time. Currently, the Internet is definitely the most popular tool being used for social networking. But dig deeper: Do your consumers like blogs more than articles? Do they prefer Facebook over Twitter or MySpace? Should you bombard the Internet with professionally designed ads or with customer testimonials? What is the best combination of all of these?

By knowing your target audience, a social media networker can pick and choose which avenues to travel down; which networking practices will reach (and have a positive impact on) the customers.

In addition, it’s also important “not to put all your eggs in one basket.” Just because the Internet is currently the most widely used source of social promotion, don’t forget about the other forms available: recognizable slogans and taglines, speeches and demonstrations, print media, direct mail, TV and radio ads, etc.

A good, no, a great social media networker will be able to nurture your customers from many different angles, encircling them in a warm fuzzy blanket of information and security, letting them know that you (the company) are always there for them (the customer).

Being every-ready to answer any questions, constantly “on-call” for the customer, and thinking just ahead of the customer’s needs, will make the customer feel appreciated, wanted, and taken care of.

With so many options available to each customer, presenting the image that your company is a step above the rest (and actually being a step above the rest) is extremely important. Social media is the easiest, quickest, and most convenient way to attain this status. Using the resources available to you, the social networker, will allow the customer to choose which is the best resource available to them.

About the Author: Debra Leitl is the Mentor in Residence for eMentorMarketing.com. Follow eMentorMarketing on twitter @MentorMarketing. eMentorMarketing blogs weekly about online marketing strategy, and social media marketing.

Commentary from Joe Hage: Thanks for the post, Debra. I must admit, I was thrown off by your first paragraph and looked up social media on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia says “common forms of social media include” those elements in your list … but continues, “A common thread running through all definitions of social media is a blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value.”

This second concept is where I land. Advertising slogans – in particular – stop me in my tracks. I don’t see how they constitute social media.

My company’s tagline is “At The Heart of Saving Lives.” How, from your perspective, does this fit the definition of social media?

Our takes on the definition aside, yes, I agree it’s wise for social media practitioners to “fish where the fish are.” Metrics like those available on Hootsuite, Facebook, and Google Analytics help track which of your efforts are most engaging to your customers. It’s certainly helped me shift my emphasis away from one popular destination to another.

Thanks again for the post and eager for your reply.