A company’s brand defines the company.

The logo, slogan, colours, fonts and values associated with a brand are what customers grow to love and relate to.

But does that stop companies tweaking and fine-tuning their brands over time? No, many businesses rebrand and modernise – whether that’s a good idea or not is another issue altogether. But in this digital age, companies feel more compelled than ever to evolve and ensure they are not consigned to the footnotes of analogue history.

And Facebook has emerged as a key instrument in many companies’ broader branding strategy. Why? Because it has 600 million registered users and counting. In fact, many companies now receive many more visitors to their Facebook fan pages than to their own website, a fact that has led major brands such as Starbucks to suggest it may ditch its website altogether in the future. We doubt that will happen, however.

A company’s Facebook page is fast becoming a key component of its overall marketing strategy. Brands used to control the conversation, but with social the baton has been passed to the community. The consumer controls the brand more than ever.

But how does a Facebook page fit into the broader marketing mix and how does it differ from a business’s other initiatives?

A company Facebook page, by its very nature, is a unique element of a company’s brand. It is social, it is two-way, it is conversational and it’s engaging. At least, that’s what it should be.

The ultimate point of your company’s Facebook presence is to convert visitors into ‘fans’, and to make those ‘fans’ loyal customers (if they aren’t already).

So here are a few tips on how you can get the most from you company Facebook page…

Setting your goals…

Before you start gaining ‘fans’ you must decide what your goals are. Are you setting up a Facebook page simply because it’s the ‘in’ thing? If so, you’re almost destined to fail, because your heart and mind won’t be in it.

So, is your Facebook page designed to create brand awareness, promote individual products, direct traffic to your company website or something else? As long as you have a goal or a set of goals in mind, then that’s a good starting point.

Gaining ‘fans’…

If someone ‘likes’ your company Facebook page, they will receive news updates from your company whenever they are on Facebook…and many consumers are on Facebook a lot.

Once you’ve directed someone to your Facebook page, encourage them to ‘like’ you with a call-to-action. Just as Red Bull has done here…that’s about as big a call-to-action as you can get.

So tailor a Facebook landing page for your company and make it striking and appealing. Make visitors want to ‘like’ you.

Promoting your Facebook page

This ties in with the ‘gaining fans’ section. You have to let people know about your Facebook fan page, so promote it on your company website and across other social channels such as Twitter. And this leads us nicely to the three tenets of successful Facebook marketing…

Accessibility, incentivisation and engagement…

These three words apply across all your social activity, not just Facebook. You must make it as easy as possible for your customers to engage with you – clear ‘follow us’ or ‘like us’ icons should be spread across all available platforms under your control. Make your Facebook page accessible.

If customers don’t jump on board voluntarily, that’s where incentivisation helps. Offer special promotions for ‘liking’ your Facebook page.

And the engagement part is perhaps most important of all. Once you commit to having a Facebook presence, you have to see it through. There’s no point setting up a Facebook page if you cease all activity after the first week. Getting one of your customers to ‘like’ your Facebook is worthless if engagement doesn’t follow afterwards.

Look and feel…

Your Facebook page is your opportunity to offer something truly unique to your customers. But the same rules of any online platform apply – it has to be visually appealing, easy to use and informative.

Don’t overload your Facebook page with large chunks of text. Think in terms of short, bite-sized chunks of information. Treat your company page like a microblog, an enhanced version of Twitter.

And don’t underestimate the power of photos and videos. Adding visual media to your pages can make your social media presence feel more real, so post videos of your company doing fun things in the office, or interviews with key people in the organisation. Actually, anything at all that’s relevant to your industry and your customers.

You don’t have to worry about hosting videos, post them to a dedicated YouTube account and embed the video in your company Facebook page…easy and free.

If your company sells products, say, tents. You can post demonstration videos on how to erect/dismantle specific models. Useful and informative content encourages your fans to share with their friends too.

Here’s a look at eight great Facebook fan pages for some big, and not-so-big companies.

Tips for engaging

Facebook lends itself well to engaging with customers, and you can use it to canvas opinion and include them in your decision-making process. You’d be surprised at how keen your customers may be to collaborate in any developments you’re making within your business, so don’t be afraid to ask questions.

More importantly, Facebook also allows your ‘fans’ to ask questions, which can be answered by you or by other fans. Facebook Questions was launched last year, and by integrating this with your Facebook page a dedicated ‘Ask Question’ tab helps open further communication channels to your customers.

Moderate…don’t control

Companies are still learning the ropes of social media, but they’re getting there. The important thing to remember about your company’s Facebook page is that it should be moderated, but not controlled. It’s a forum your customers control, they add content and they interact with each other on your fan page.

You may need to remove any offensive content posted by users, but do not try and control what they say about your brand. It will look a lot better for you if you leave any negative feedback on there and demonstrate that you’re actively seeking ways to address any issues a customer has.

Most rational-minded people understand that no company is perfect, and it’s how you deal with any negativity that really counts. If someone is being unreasonable, other customers will arrive at that conclusion themselves.

So, your company Facebook page offers a unique opportunity to properly engage with customers and allows them to guide the future of your brand. It’s your customers that ultimately count, so this can only be a good thing.