By Tori Rose, Blue Media Boutique / Interactive Springboard

As Facebook continues to grow, more and more companies are setting up Facebook fan pages in an effort to engage customers, like-minded businesses, influencers, and champions of their brands. These pages give businesses a home on Facebook that allows their content to be shared with fans in the same information stream that pumps out friend updates and links. The trick for many is two-fold: 1) how to keep this audience engaged, and 2) how to continue growing the fan base.

In doing some research, you will find that there are hundreds of “expert” tips out there to follow. But, which ones really work? Our advice—follow in the footsteps of the brands that are doing it well.

DELL – 181,688 fans: Dell features a custom landing page that immediately communicates their brand and the four or five newsworthy items they want to advertise. They also direct fans to other Dell pages on Facebook.

HUBSPOT – 13,731 fans: HubSpot provides content that encourages people to comment. Comments show up in user’s profiles, which in turn are more likely to show up in fans’ information streams, thus extending the brand.

ERNST & YOUNG – 46,816 fans: Ernst & Young uses a Boxes tab to recruit new employees (students) with a variety of content. Information on this page is geared toward one slice of their larger fan base, putting pertinent information at their fingertips. User interface 101.

BEST BUY – 1,151,209 fans: Best Buy uses a series of custom tabs, turning their Facebook presence into a more robust web presence. Each tab promotes a new initiative, special, feature, etc. making the entire experience more immersive and interactive.

COCA-COLA – 7,208,007 fans: Coca-Cola uses its custom “Fan Downloads” tab to offer users online swag (wallpaper, screensavers, emoticons). Great brand extension. They also have a “Live Positively” tab that promotes their national and global outreach, like the Ocean Conservancy effort shown below.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR COMPANY – 875,058 fans: Harley-Davidson is maximizing its Photo and Video tabs by continually publishing content and encouraging users to do the same. Their 37 photo albums and 78 videos, combined with 13,713 fan photos and 206 fan videos create make for some incredible, shareable content.

SECRET – 445,081 fans: Secret uses interactive games to lure fans closer to their brand. Their “Is He the One?” and “Be In Our Ad” tabs grab attention and then land users on a product page where they can “Buy Now” or “Explore Other Products.” Fun and unique.

Are there other Facebook pages that are connecting with fans in different and innovative ways? Let us know in the comments below.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 10:18 am and is filed under social media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.