Facebook has 845 million + users. Engage one, get noticed by hundreds: Facebook users have a large network of sharing power and 57% of Facebook users have more than one hundred friends. Are you harnessing the power of this gigantic network to market your brand?

There’s a ton of ways to get seen on Facebook. If you haven’t already, I suggest you create a brand page to showcase your products or services. Facebook will take you through the easy process here. First, you choose whether you’re a local business, a company, a brand, an artist, entertainment medium or cause. Agree to the Facebook Page Terms, title your brand and choose which category you’d like to be classified in.  From there, you’ll be prompted to upload a profile picture (try a logo or picture of your product) and then fill in some information such as contact details, history of your brand, mission and website(s). Lastly, you’ll customize your Facebook page URL, which makes it easier for consumers to find you.

Now comes the fun part – customization!

Facebook apps attract new fans and drive engagement with visual tools, content and promotions. Here’s a glimpse of some cool apps that Vocus provides (and you can try them free for 14 days!):

Sweepstakes App: Giving away something big? Use the sweepstakes app to display photos of the prize and how to enter. You can embed a form inside the app to collect the information of your customers, and a thank you image will appear after they click submit.

Fan Offer App: Convert visitors into fans of your Facebook page by rewarding them with an exclusive coupon or invitation to a special event.

Video Channel App: Add and organize your YouTube video content directly on your Facebook page to increase views and exposure.

Photo Showcase: Different from the standard Facebook Photo album, this app displays your images super-large to help promote your business. Optional “Buy Now” buttons can convert this app into your social store.

Sign Up App: Create contact forms, online surveys and invitations to capture valuable information directly from your Fan page.

Show and Sell: Sell your products and services on Facebook with this easy to configure social mini-store.

Document Display: Share important documents like whitepapers, articles, instructions and other text or visual-heavy materials directly on your fan page.

RSS Feed: Automatically share your blog posts or news content to your fans. Grow your fan count with the optional gating feature.

Viral Wave Generator: Generate a wave of support and momentum for a product or cause with this extremely viral application.

Twitter Feed: Install this app and make sure your followers, friends and fans never miss a tweet.

And there’s still more apps to check out!

Like what you see? Try these apps for free courtesy of Vocus. Let us know what you think of them in the comments section below.

This is just part one of how to market your brand on Facebook. Now that you’ve got your page set up, next we’ll go through best practices for Facebook marketing. Be sure to visit our blog next week for part two!

(Photo Credit – Flickr Creative Commons: GOIABA)

Filed under: Social Media by Stacey Acevero