I looked and looked in the search fields for something related to this and couldn't find what I was looking for...

For those of you who are familiar with Facebook...

When you create a page does the amount of friends who like your page determine how much it is seen.Like Google...the higher up you get the easier it is to find your site? Does this ony apply if you advertise on facebook by buying it?I see all these businesses on Facebook that have hundreds of likes...How do you get people to like your page if they don't have access to it or you only have a limited number of friends and not thousands..(Which who does unless your are a celebrity)

Is it even worth having a page unless it gets lots of traffic?I've cross referenced lot sof businesses through the likes on pages and then post on their wall but some come back and do not want you advertising on their wall..What else can yah do to create buzz and business?


Thanks

IMO it's not very professional for a business to have only a facebook page, it's fine if you want to supplement an existing web site with a facebook page but it's important to have your own domain and a standalone site.

Ideally you would be driving customers to your standalone web site with some basic SEO as well as ads on Google and Facebook.

I do have a website also so the facebook page is not the only way I draw business..Thanks anyways..

It takes a while to build up the numbers. What helped me a lot was a couple of bloggers who had tried or seen my cakes/cupcakes and blogged about me. They have a huge following and lots of their readers liked my site. Your friends will become fans, so will some of their friends, some of their friends etc. Once you get a couple hundred fans, you can do a giveaway or something - I have done this a couple of times and people love it. They will tell their friends who may not be fans, so they will also like your site etc etc. I don't think the number of fans you have makes any difference to the way people find your Facebook page. Also, put a link to your Facebook page on your website homepage. You must use an approved Facebook button, the info is on their site. Hope that helps, and good luck!

Thnaks Dayti..Your information is helpful!!

Oh and forgot to say, I hate it when other cakers or companies blatantly push their products/pages on my wall. I tend to just delete their posts. What I don't mind is them leaving comments on posts or photos of mine. If you want, you can tag other cakers/companies in your posts on your own wall (e.g. "look at the fantastic cake that so and so did", or "I made this cake using a texture mat from so and so"), and that helps you network since your post will also appear on their wall, and new people might click back to you. You have to have previously liked those people/companies you want to tag, same as on your personal FB page.

I'm not sure how tagging works ..What do I do??

You just add a @ right before the name of the person/company you want to mention in your post. When you start typing after the @ (don't put a space after it) it will offer suggestions of who you want to tag

so say I want to take a business name like Kiddiekaes..I just add BLAH BLAH BLAH@ kiddiekakes and it will tag the name?

Yep, but no space after the @, so you'd type BLABLABLA @kiddiekakes It turns into a highlighted portion of your post (and the @ disappears), and when you publish it it turns into a link that people can click on. I just checked and you don't need to be a fan of the page you are talking about, but I think you had to be in the past. They must have changed it.

Okay..so I understand that now....I'm gonna try tagging tomorrow....I am so computer illiterate on these social networks on so many levels....

If you have a personal page you can do the same thing, try it out on a best friend or someone first. It's easy when you get the hang of it!

You can also invite all of your personal friends to "like" your business page as long as the accounts are linked. The more likes you have the more people see what you post. You can track this by looking at the insights for your page. If someone "likes" one of your photos or status updates many of their friends will see it too which might encourage them to check you out.

another good tool, after you create your page use your new business page to go and like local businesses and/or products you like. you switch over to your page as a user and just type in the search engine like you would any other time. those people will see that you liked them and they may like you back...or you just post something on THEIR page about taking a look at your services or photos

tagging Tagging TAGGING!!

The more pages you tag the more fans you get. Also like and share! Share pics of other cakes with your fans and tag the page/company in your post. For example:
Cupcations:Stunning ruffle cake by @It's a Cupcake ♥

Add your page's link to your email signature and to your signature here on CakeCentral.
If you see another caker's cake on a third party page. Post on his/her wall and tag the third party page as well for example I posted this on Erica OBrien Cake Design page:
New fan! @Peggy Does Cake shared your cake, indeed spectacular work! ~ @Cupcations

that would make your post also appear on the thirds party's wall (here Peggy Does Cakes)

I launched my page on October 20th and Im almost at 800 fans...
Good luck and make sure to share your page with us I'll be more than happy to help you out

HTH

Thanks Everyone!! You have been very helpful....

Cupcations, I hope you don't mind, I have a question, too. I just signed into Facebook as my business and Liked your page. Your count did not go up, but you were added to the businesses that my business Likes. I then signed in as myself and Liked your page and the count went up. So how do businesses know that I Like them and then return the favor, if they only see my personal page, not my business?

I find this Facebook thing a big popularity contest. I don't care for buying "Likes" by doing give-aways; I had assumed when I created my page that when I respond to email questions that folks would be courteous and Like my page since I have LIKE US on Facebook attached to my email signature and on all my blog posts. But it's been almost a year and I have not reached 200. Uh, oh, now I'm venting...

Mimifix......I just "liked" your facebook.....

I got so excited I forgot to ask: May I return the favor?

wow, some people really know how to kill a topic

And I agree with Jason about Google Ads- we have noticed FAR more business and inquiries as a result of that. We can literally tell when our ad goes live each month. It's like a sudden influx of calls and emails, seemingly out of nowhere!