Facebook is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, from car manufacturers to tampon producers… Everyone is trying to capitalize on Social Media and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. But what I’m trying to figure out is why more photographers aren’t doing everything they can to capitalize on this Media Marketing Mania more? (Wow that was a lot of mmmm’s)!

I almost feel like the Facebook Fan page was designed with us photographers in mind and here’s why… Facebook is the worldwide hub of “look at me, look at me” for us adults. We read walls as friends and foe’s update their status saying how their kids just got selected to orbit to the moon, their husband is the new face of JCREW and their shabby old living-room was just redesigned out of the Restoration Hardware Catalog (pages 8,9,10,11 – basically the whole back half). Everybody loves to enjoy a little bragging right and what do we use to prove it? Photos of course! So as photographers we have the very best abilities to capitalize on Facebook! We get to help clients prove that their kids really are the cutest and that their photographer really is the best!

A recent study by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies, found that:

• 60% of Facebook fans are more likely to recommend a business to friends if they are a fan.
• 79% of Twitter followers are more likely to recommend those brands since becoming a fan or follower.
• 51% of Facebook fans and 67% of Twitter followers are more likely to buy the brands they follow or are a fan of.

I believe that there is huge potential to build a photography business right within our Facebook fan pages. So how can we do it? Here are five tips for turning your Facebook Fan Page into a Referral Engine.

1. I can’t remember where I read it, but it was some huge statistic on how people want to stay within Facebook. For us, that means we need to **make our Facebook Fan Pages mini websites** with everything that we want potential clients to know about us easily available without them ever having to click out of FB.

2. Make your Portfolio available on Facebook. Create Galleries or Albums that represent the different categories and are your very best work. I would suggest 2 to 5 galleries with 8 to 10 images in each one.

3. Network. I have a friend Erin who recently decided to focus on building out her Facebook Page. She started with a couple hundred fans less then 3 months ago. I just checked and as of today she is at 19,534 Fans!! That is amazing! When talking to her about how she did it. She said the first thing she did was ask each of her three sisters to send out an email to their email contact list asking contacts to fan their sister’s photography page. The great thing about this, is that is a personal introduction not a blind lead in! From there she set up a couple contests and the number started pouring in! The great thing about getting the ball rolling is that you’ve now created momentum and with that momentum the “likes” keep on coming. I think it turns into a bit of a popularity thing where people are clicking because “everyone else is doing it” and hey, I’m perfectly okay with that!

4. Stay upbeat! Of course we want to use our new fan base to promote our businesses but don’t abuse the privilege. Share promotions, blog posts and such – of course – but also share things that would be fun, helpful, educational and inspiring for your subscriber base to enjoy. A great exercise is to think of or make notes of the status updates that you enjoy most and translate those into working for your business fan page.

5. Be Remarkable! Just like everything else, we have to standout. Facebook is most definitely NOT an exception! Brand your Facebook Page with Custom Tabs and leave new on lookers wowed with the professional appearance that even your Facebook Fan Page carries!

Parooze over the Go{4}Pro Design Menu on our Facebook Page!

If you’re not a fan on the Go{4}Pro Facebook Page, you want to be!! There is FREE stuff over there!!