How to Develop a Sound Facebook Fan Page Strategy: Step 2

Lisa Braziel | April 16, 2010 | View Comments

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Last week I discussed the first step in developing a sound Facebook fan page strategy, developing a firm value proposition.  This week, I want to cover the next step: developing the content strategy. 

In a nutshell, the content strategy is the guide for the ongoing content posted to the page.  It doesn't need to be a full editorial calendar, nor should it turn into one.  Instead, this strategy is simply the overall guidance for the types of content your page will update on an ongoing basis to help accomplish the value proposition.  Just like brand guidelines, it will save your Facebook fan page from appearing like it has ADHD.

Step 2: Develop the Content Strategy

This step will require your brand to balance content that will help progress your objectives and content that will help drive the value proposition of the page.  To stay true to the value proposition of the page, you must develop content guidelines for what buckets of content you will post, and hold true to these guidelines for at least a month before reevaluating.  You will find that these content buckets will give you the excuse not to update everything that is suggested for the page.

The following are just some examples of what  "content buckets" may look like.  As you can imagine, these are very specific to the value proposition, company, and objectives for the page.

• "Fan Engagement" Specific Posts: Polls,open-ended questions that are designed to specifically garner feedback and engagement from your fans
•  Discount/Deal Posts: Discounts or deals that are specific to fans, or released first to fans
•  Influencer Posts: Content developed by bloggers or other credible parties in the space

Like I mentioned, these are very vague examples (after all, I can't give everything away can I?).  However, I hope they show you that it is better to distill the types of content you will post rather than treating each update to the page as a one-off. 

After developing these content buckets, there are other items to consider in developing a comprehensive content strategy:

• Frequency:  How often will you post content? What time of day do most interactions occur? Will this frequency annoy fans?
• Content Format:  Will your updates primarily include links?  Do you have any photos or videos you can share?
• Content Approvals:  Do updates have to be approved internally before posting?
• Wall Management:  How will you respond to customer support questions on the page? Who will moderate and respond to general questions on the page?

As you can tell from these questions, it is important to not only think about the types of content to post to the page, but to think about the overall management and oversight of the page.  For instance, you can have a firm value proposition and a solid content strategy based around timely and informed updates- but if your organization has an arduous legal review process you will surely need to reevaluate and tweak your strategy accordingly.

I hope you'll continue to join me next week, as I'll cover how to develop your Facebook fan page tab structure!  In the meantime, I'm curious to hear how you've developed a content strategy.  Please share in the comments below!