If you are struggling with how to entertain your fans on Facebook you are not alone. Only a small percentage of fans actually engage with a product or brand. How can you get their attention? I always tell my clients to behave as though they are a guest at someone’s home dinner when engaging in social media.

Getting a like on Facebook is the equivalent of being invited into someone’s home for dinner and, the prodigal guest would never show up empty-handed! Reward your fans for giving you the nod. It can be something as simple as a discount coupon, a glass of Prosecco (if you happen to be a restaurant), or a depending on your business a complimentary service.

Be a good conversationalist the give and take must be mutual. Respond to their comments, answering questions, and share but be sure not to monopolize the conversation. Lastly, remember, that everyone likes to feel as though they are important. Ask them for their opinion or help – inviting a fan to participate in a brand that they love will make them feel honored and we all know that what goes around comes around.

• Remember that content is still king. Posts that work are those with valuable content.
• Peer to peer recommendations and sharing are powerful referrals. Sponsored posts will give you a leg up in the game and will drive your content to newsfeeds.
• Facebook is a platform where you can step outside of the box and show your fun side. They are not on Facebook to be sold to. Entertain them a bit.
• Try experimenting with FB ads. It’s all about trial and error in social media.

Just because marketers have the ability to include interactivity in an email doesn’t mean that it belongs there. Here are a few rules so of thumb to follow in email marketing.

Exercise caution with the use and placement or use of images. Images are often used in emails – especially at the top of the email. The problem with this is that, especially with mobile devices, that images are often disabled and the embedded image is too large to view on the mobile device. Some companies include an important copy in the image and their message is being lost. it is best to use smaller images alternated with text and, of course, an obvious call to action.

Stay away from multiple columns – while they are a great way to break of content on a website there is not sufficient room in an email to effectively use columns. One clean simple column of text is more effective.

Do not embed multimedia files such as audio and video in an email. These files a better suited on a website where they can help with SEO. An email is an inappropriate venue for these files.

Social media sharing is well and good but links to the sites are becoming so standardized on emails and websites that they are being placed in the footers along with other resource links. This is not benefiting anyone. If businesses are hoping to gain viral exposure through social media they need to make the action more prominent. That doesn’t mean that the links need to be included in every email but when they are included they should be highlighted.

Don’t miss the opportunity to market your business in the email signature block on your cellphone. Not only can you include typical contact and website information but you can also include special offers or mailing list opt-ins. Why let Blackberry or Apple steal the show with their signature?

Don’t overlook the valuable marketing real estate in the e-mail signature block, writes Lee Polevoi. Add to the usual company information — which should include the website and blog address — social media links, special offers, and newsletter opt-ins. Don’t let Apple co-opt your space with a “Sent from my iPad” ad. Change that line to something that promotes your business, while avoiding overindulgence and HTML formatting that won’t make it through to every inbox.

Here’s a neat illustration of the true intent of the FB timeline for a personal page … when applying it to business be sure to make use of the milestones, events, highlights, and ‘pinning’ for the best exposure.

http://mashable.com/2011/12/07/facebook-timeline-guide/